As the 50th Walker Cup captivated fans around the world, the team behind the scenes quietly crafted an unforgettable experience. In this exclusive for the Victory Club Presented by Lexus, we sat down with Ben Kimball, USGA Senior Director of Championships, to explore how his team brought Cypress Point to life for one of amateur golf’s most prestigious events.
Can you walk us through the preparation process leading up to the 2025 Walker Cup at Cypress Point? When did planning officially begin?
Kimball: Planning for the Walker Cup really starts years in advance. For Cypress Point, the process officially began right after the 2021 match at Seminole wrapped up. From that moment, the USGA and the club had been working closely together to get everything aligned.
At first, it was all about setting the vision — making sure our team understood what we wanted the 50th Walker Cup to feel like and how we could make it an event for the ages. Once that foundation was in place, we started to move into the nuts and bolts: course setup conversations, volunteer efforts, spectator experience, all the way down to the logistics you might not think about but are critical to making things run smoothly.
Even though most people only saw or felt the “bigness” of the Walker Cup about a month out, the real groundwork had been happening behind the scenes for the last couple of years to make sure the match lived up to both the tradition of the Walker Cup and the uniqueness of Cypress Point.
Hole placement can dramatically influence match play strategy. What went into your daily decisions on hole locations?
Kimball: Daily decisions on hole locations are a mix of agronomy, strategy, and championship management. Our team would walk the course each morning, evaluating green firmness, slope, speed and turf wear. We were constantly thinking about balancing the health of the greens with providing a fair and challenging test for both teams.
Hole placement has to consider the golf course’s shot values and strategy. We try to avoid spots where a slightly errant putt gets unfairly penalized, and we aim to reward precise approach shots while still offering risk-reward options. Wind, moisture, and overall firmness can also drastically change how a location plays from one day to the next, so flexibility, particularly at a windy seaside location like Cypress Point, was key.
Variety over the course of the match is another guiding principle. Given the different formats of play, you want a mix of hole locations — some tucked into challenging contours to test touch and patience, others more accessible to allow birdie opportunities. Done right, the combination of placement, pace, and green presentation ensures that all aspects of a player’s game are being tested while also keeping the course in peak condition.
Were there any specific holes that you deliberately set up to encourage risk-reward play or match-deciding moments?
Kimball: All credit goes to Dr. Alister MacKenzie — Cypress Point is inherently full of risk-reward opportunities, so often our role is simply placing the tee markers and letting the players work their magic. That said, for the Sunday singles, we did move the tee markers forward on Hole 17 to set up a potential match-deciding risk-reward moment down the stretch. Of course, Mother Nature had her own plans.
Did you notice any particular holes that became crowd (or player) favorites?
Kimball: Cypress Point is simply a phenomenal collection of holes that blend sand, sea, and forest with remarkable ease. I’d imagine both the players and the crowd had their own shortlists of favorite holes within each of these distinct areas. While Holes 7, 8, and 9 can sometimes be overshadowed by those that run along the ocean, Hole 9 certainly drew plenty of attention during the match thanks to its demanding tee shot when played aggressively and its devilishly tricky green. In some ways, Cypress shares a similarity with Augusta National — just as many people want to see Amen Corner at Augusta before exploring the rest of the course, visitors to Cypress were naturally drawn to Holes 15–18 before taking in the inland holes.
What was the most rewarding moment for you during the Walker Cup weekend?
Kimball: Being part of the team that delivered the 50th Walker Cup at Cypress Point, of all places, was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It’s hard to overstate the privilege of working alongside so many talented individuals here at the USGA, all dedicated to creating a flawless experience for the players, officials, volunteers, and fans — essentially golf’s most important stakeholders. To see it all come together, see the USA team prevail, and know that we helped create moments that players and fans will forever remember was incredibly rewarding.