Here’s a shock for many of the world’s top golfers, and golfing fans gathering in Farmingdale, New York for the 45th Ryder Cup.
Samuel Ryder, the British businessman who founded the competition in 1927, was not that passionate about golf! His Christian faith was far more important.
A letter, written by a relative and published in the Herts Advertiser newspaper in 2023, explains, “Samuel enjoyed golf and the company of the clubhouse. But his meaning in life centred on Trinity Church, St Albans, his position as Magistrate, and his great interest in his company, Heath & Heather and the welfare of his workforce. This was far more important to him.”
Millions of golf fans will watch the world-famous competition now played between teams from the United States and Europe from September 26 to 28 at Bethpage Black Course, unaware that the idea began with a middle-aged Hertfordshire seed merchant simply wanting to improve his fitness.
Samuel Ryder, who gave his name to the event, is buried in Hatfield Road cemetery just across from the church in St Albans, north of London, where I minister. He died in 1936, aged 77.
Ryder’s unassuming grave is tucked away among many others but can often be spotted by the golf balls left there by players paying their respects.
The inscription reads: “His body to the pleasant country’s earth and his pure soul unto his captain Christ under whose colours he had fought so long.”
Samuel Ryder – a successful businessman who invented the idea of the ‘penny packet’ to sell seeds in small quantities – began playing golf in his fifties, following advice from a church friend and preacher, to seek fresh air and exercise. He took daily lessons – except on Sundays – and quickly became a competent player. He joined the local golf club and was elected team captain.
Keen to promote golf and the status of its professional players, Ryder proposed a challenge
match between the United States and Great Britain & Ireland and commissioned the competition’s trophy.
The first match was played in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1927 – won by the US team – and the second in Leeds, England, won by the British golfers. Samuel Ryder lived to see two competitions played on home soil, before dying in January 1936.
Ryder’s funeral was a major civic occasion in St Albans – the first to be held in an independent church, rather than in the city’s Anglican Cathedral. His daughter, Marjorie, sent her father’s favourite five iron club to be placed in his coffin.
Samuel Ryder was brought up as a Wesleyan Methodist and attended the Independent Chapel in St Albans. He was one of its elders, with special responsibility for religious education. At one point, he was supervising 18 teachers. When the congregation outgrew the chapel in the late 19th century, Ryder financially supported the building of a new larger church, Trinity Church, in the city.
Ryder is remembered as a man “always aware of his philanthropic and civic duties.” He had witnessed great poverty in his native Lancashire and wanted to help those less fortunate than himself. He was involved in local politics and was elected Mayor of St Albans in 1905.
Ryder is fondly remembered in St Albans with a school and a hotel named after him, and some proposals for a statue. Although the city’s tour guides have researched his history and organise talks and walks celebrating his life, it is Ryder’s connection with the high-profile golf tournament that remains his lasting legacy.
Today, the competition’s organisers describe the tournament in graphic terms: “Drama, tension, incredible golf, camaraderie and sportsmanship are served in equal measure, captivating an audience of millions around the world. It’s an event that transcends sport, yet remains true to the spirit of its founder, Samuel Ryder.”
Ryder, they declare, “is responsible for creating one of the most exhilarating and fiercely competitive sporting events in the world.”
Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, UK, and a former communications director with the CofE.
