Valderrama vanquished its critics

It worked. The fears and anxieties - prompted by poor access to the course and inadequate vantage points, and compounded by electrical storms - were surmounted, perhaps by the grace of God as much as the technological operation.

When all is said and done, Valderrama, a controversial choice for the first Ryder Cup in continental Europe, had its reputation enhanced by the manner in which it staged the event so satisfactorily.

You could nit-pick, certainly. The temporary toilets used were unacceptable and the location of the public catering and tented village, by the fourth and seventh fairways, was some way removed from the real action where matches were won and lost.

And, perhaps, too many people - 27,000 on each day of competition - were allowed in to the event. Many of them had to content themselves with watching the drama develop on one of the four giant video screens around the course.

Also, there were serious hold-ups at a number of points. "We knew there would be bottlenecks," remarked Ken Schofield, Executive Director of the PGA European Tour. "But there are bottlenecks on every course. Most people go for the atmosphere. "

The Ryder Cup is a different event from any other tournament. By its nature, only four matches - on the first two days - are in progress at any one time; consequently, there is more movement around the areas in play. This factor undoubtedly contributed to the bottlenecks which, it must be said, were accepted as minor irritations by the majority of spectators, most of them in a very good mood.

There were more positives than negatives. There were a number of delays on the approach routes, but these were caused mainly by the thunder storms on Friday and Saturday. As a result, most spectators travelled and arrived at similar times. On Sunday, for example, a journey that had taken an hour and 45 minutes the previous day was executed in less than 40 minutes, with no traffic jams.

And, as Schofield commented: "Don't tell me the access is any worse than Carnoustie, where the British Open will be held in 1999."

The biggest plus of all was the impact which the much-maligned 17th hole had on the event. The natural amphitheatre was a mass of colour, with upwards of 8,000 on its grassy banks. "In terms of key holes, we may or may not have been fortunate that so many matches actually went that far," said Schofield. "But I firmly believe it is the single best viewing hole in the world of golf."

"I'm just glad the 17th became recognised as a great golf hole," said Seve Ballesteros, who was responsible for its controversial re-design.

The main factor in Valderrama's successful hosting, though, was the golf itself. The manner in which Europe took a grip on the event, and then had to endure a fightback from the Americans captivated one and all. Unquestionably, the course came up trumps, with tournament director John Paramour and the club's greenkeeping staff emerging with considerable kudos.