Being at the heart of the latter stages of the Ryder Cup without physically being present at the Celtic Manor Resort was a rather unusual experience.

As one of the guest contributors (studio-based) to Monday’s BBC Radio Wales lunchtime “phone-in” which was considering whether the staging of the Ryder Cup had been a success for Wales, was a slightly surreal experience as my observations on matters relating to the legacy of the event were interrupted by regular cheers and groans from both the crowds and BBC golf reporters, as either a European or an American player fluffed, or produced a magical stroke.

Although used to live Radio, the programme was challenging as the producer (in the studio) and presenter (at Celtic Manor) had to marry public gut reaction primarily concerned with the issues of weather, the timing of the event and costs to the Welsh economy, whilst juggling with more co reflective perspectives offered by the contributors ranging from First Minister Carwyn Jones to my myself as Sport Politics consultant, senior American golf journalists and a local publican. Suprisingly, no comment was made about the willingness of all British fans becoming European for four days.

Fortunately I had the opportunity to wrap up the discussion before the play entered its most thrilling sequence and this enabled me to remark that the event was a success as a sporting spectacle, but in terms of making a judgment on both its impact on Welsh golf, and the commercial gains, it is far too early to say. Far from being a wasted opportunity to raise the international profile of Wales, the only substantial downside remains that many. particularly those not inclined towards golf are unable to see a tangible benefit for their own community such as much needed investment in infrastructure.