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 The 1991 tournament held at Kiawah Island Golf Resort is often credited with escalating the competition and vitriol of the Ryder Cup. A feud had developed in 1989 at The Belfry where each side accused the other of cheating on the way to Europe retaining the cup due to a tie. The Ocean Course at Kiawah played host to the 1991 competition that was dubbed “The War by the Shore”. The tournament ended in misery for Europe as Bernhard Langer missed a six-foot putt on the last hole that would have tied the competition and retained the cup. The enthralling competition notched its place in history due to the tensions of the time and the determination of both teams to be victorious.
Another sub-plot emerged that weekend that parallels the struggles that we face in organized medicine…the ability for the US team to overcome its individual supremacy to conjure a team effort that delivers victory. The inability to create this team dynamic continues to haunt the US to this day. Unmatched individually yet unable to deliver as a team, America has only won three of the past eleven Ryder Cups. One of those victories occurred on Kiawah Island.
Next August, the SCOA will again converge on Kiawah to celebrate our profession and cultivate the relationships that bind us as colleagues and create the foundation of our association. If we are honest with ourselves, like the US Ryder Cup Team, historically we have not been successful in embracing a team dynamic that ensures our success. Certainly we’ve all had our individual success and our profession has a long list of recognized individual leaders. But in the trying times over this past generation an underlying notion has emerged that maybe our inability to capture that collective spirit has lead to some of the difficulties we face.
The general public and elected officials seem to grasp the potential power that such collaboration would yield. Our inability to pull it together is often a mystery from their perspective. They understand the wealth of knowledge and resources and individual talent we all possess having risen to the top of such a noble profession. What if we can truly unite with each other and lead a focused and committed effort to take back medicine?
I see this dynamic emerging within the South Carolina Orthopaedic Association.
The next generation of leaders continues to emerge willing to share their time and talent to forge a brighter future. Their enthusiasm and insight is greatly welcomed. At the 2007 SCOA meeting a sense of cohesion and commitment to task was ever-present. Those in attendance vowed to do their part to lead our mission forward.
While our pleas for political action among our ranks used to fall on deaf ears, they are now being answered in greater numbers. While historically we may have been taken for granted in the political and legislative process, we are now recognized and viewed with importance.
Leading up to the “The War by the Shore” in 1991, Europe successfully defended the Ryder Cup on three successive occasions. Heading into next year Europe has again won the cup with staggering ease the past three tournaments. Will the Americans be able to muster the team effort necessary to win back the cup in 2008 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky?
Can our association and organized medicine as a whole, embrace the team dynamic that will deliver our own success? Please join us in Kiawah next August as we continue this journey.
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