Ahead of this year’s staging of the biggest celebration in golf, I must admit to being apprehensive about the on-the-ground experience on offer at Marco Simone for The Ryder Cup. Hearing of the Herculean crowd to be expected (250,000) and with the relative lack of groups on the course, I was not optimistic about being able to witness much golf.

Having experienced the crowds at last year’s Open at St Andrews and once again this year at Hoylake, the type of fan within me that just wants to watch loads of golf shots has been left underwhelmed. Et Romae, this was going to be no different.

However, having been lucky enough to obtain tickets through the ballot for Thursday’s practice day and Saturday, I came away from the event very impressed. In an Aurelian spirit, below are five ‘meditations’ on the fan experience and perhaps some tips and advice for those hoping to get to Adare Manor in 27.

1. Rome: Pasta, Piazzas and The Forum Romanum

Putting the golf aside, Rome as a host city will be incredibly hard to beat. Whilst the feature attractions of the Eternal City were admittedly hard to access with the extra tourists in town, it was easy to whip round, and at the very least, see all the sights. The Forum Romanum is quiet in the evenings and is always my favourite ancient site to visit.

Eminently walkable, it was possible to tick off Rome’s most notorious sites in just a day and still have time for a long lunch of Cacio e Pepe and Peroni. You would need more time to experience all the city’s antiquities in Mary Beard level detail, but a couple of days would be enough for most as a primer.

You have basically infinite options for good food and drink in Rome if you know where to look, and if you wanted to catch the golf with likeminded fans, there were ample sports bars with energetic atmospheres. The Highlander in particular was rocking, with Tennents (interestingly a popular beer in Italy), fuelling partisan fans of both teams.

2. Marco Simone: A Colosseum of Golf

If you somewhat lowered your expectations about how much golf you would see up close, the rest of the fan experience was that much more enjoyable. As a venue for fast-paced, high-drama matchplay I thought Marco Simone was just excellent. Whilst undulating, the course layout itself felt relatively compact, which meant getting to a random hole at any given moment was not hard work for the spectator.

The undulations, however, were particularly useful for creating several micro-amphitheatres at various points. To the left of the 4^th green, the downhill par 3, there was a steep bank akin to that of the Maiden at Royal St George’s (in addition to a stand behind the green). Behind 15 was another popular bank which became a makeshift stand. They were also hugely useful if you were just navigating to another part of the course and happened to see a group coming up; get yourself on one of the hummocks framing the hole and you would have a half decent view over the rows in front.

As for the actual holes and the course’s suitability for matchplay, I thought it was outstanding. It created a host of matchplay moments (aka Moretti moments) and there was no part of the course that lacked particular interest. Standing behind 13 tee on Saturday as the sun was setting was just about as good an experience I have had watching live golf. We were stood behind 13 tee but could see 12 green, 16 tee and 3 screens with all the action. Kudos to all the marshals who oversaw the stands in such a friendly and convivial spirit, too.

3. The Not So Affordable Nastro Azzuro

Whilst great credit must be given to the European Tour for doing such a great job of having plenty of ‘piazzas’ all around the course, well stocked with food and beverages, the prices were packing a serious punch. At €9 a go, the draught Peroni stung a little bit with every card tap and ‘cheers mate’ from the not-so-Italian bar staff.

It has come to be expected at major sports events, admittedly, but with prices for basic tickets already at well over £200, it felt a little silly. The last leg of this little lament concerns the gastronomy. In Rome itself, there is an abundance of haunts for great food and very affordable prices. Popping into the fan village on the practice day for a midday bite to eat, I found my pockets absolutely singed by two distinctly average beef burgers at €27 each. Accompanied by a warm bottle of water, we weren’t particularly impressed and came stocked up on the Saturday.

The prices of merchandise in the Official Ryder Cup Store, which was big enough to be an indoor driving range, were not particularly different to what you would expect at any other major tournament. That said, the official ball markers were €24.

4. An Italian Scrum

Before the event, I was told by many people that if there’s one bit of golf you see all week it is the opening tee shots in the 1^st tee grandstand. So, that was the plan for Saturday. Perhaps fortunate to be travelling to Marco Simone from one of the quieter ‘Park and Rides’, we made it to the venue at about 5.30AM. There was already a queue to access the course.

When the gates eventually opened at 6.30AM, the ensuing scrum was absolute chaos. I’m sure you have all seen the videos on social media, I had, and I thought it would be quite fun. Truth be told, it was just dangerous and stupid. People were barging through the backs of others; people were falling over onto the tarmac; it just wasn’t really golf. It was basically a mosh pit at Reading Festival.

By the time you reached the queue for the tee the mad surge had calmed down a bit, but from an event management point of view they probably need to think of safer ways of organising that before someone gets seriously hurt. We managed to make it into the 5,000 seater cauldron around the first tee, but it was all quite surreal to begin with.

5. Cricket Spirit

Whilst I fear I might be slightly contradicting point 4, I really enjoyed the edge the crowd’s atmosphere had. It wasn’t the nastiness you would often find at a football match, but it certainly had a bit of spice to it – more like what you might find at The Ashes.

I have always held the spirit in which the game of golf is played in very high regard. Etiquette goes a long way and I’ve never been a fan of the ‘mashed potatoes’ brigade. I must say, I don’t think the Ryder Cup atmosphere falls into that category, however, with the sheer emphasis on the team element, it’s hard to see why a little extra passion is such a bad thing.

The best example would be the treatment Cantlay was getting on Saturday afternoon; fans waving their hats singing ‘hats off for your bank balance’ and ‘he can’t see the ball, he can’t see the ball’. For one, Cantlay seemed to be having a laugh about it himself (it actually seemed to spur him on in truth), but importantly, it was not offensive, it was not nasty, but it was rather entertaining.

The Ashes often boils over a little bit, (i.e., Bairstow) just like it did between Rory and Joe Lacava. But that is team sport, played in a hugely pressurised arena. Would we care anywhere near as much about the Ryder Cup if there were never any instances like that?

For my first Ryder Cup, I couldn’t help getting well and truly involved with the Ole, Ole, Ole’s and We’re the Left Side of the Tee’s. It was like sitting in the Western Terrace at Headingley. Golf fans need to work out themselves whether they think it’s right or wrong to cheer the opponents’ bad shots. I don’t think they should have to be told by anyone.

If the Ryder Cup can continue to balance just the right amount of spice with just the right amount of respect and courteousness, it will continue to be one of the hottest tickets in world sport.

Highlight of the Week: The Italian Falcons performing their flypast (twice) during Zach Johnson’s Opening Ceremony speech. He, and his team, didn’t stand a chance after that.