‘What Are We Doing Here?’ – Solheim Cup-Walker Cup Clash Set To Give Golf Fans Major 2028 Dilemma

For fans in attendance and those tuning in from home, the 2026 editions of the Curtis Cup, Walker Cup and Solheim Cup provided a proper spectacle of golf.

First up, Team USA secured a 13-7 victory to reclaim the Curtis Cup at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles in June.

Then, the Walker Cup at Lahinch across the weekend of September 5-6 was perhaps the most thrilling in the tournament’s history as Team GB&I staged a comeback for the ages to take a famous 13.5-12.5 win over the USA.

And hot on the heels of that, last weekend’s Solheim Cup also featured another sublime Sunday as Europe won seven of the 12 points on offer to triumph 15-13.

But now that the dust has settled, a look to the near future paints what is likely to be a pretty disappointing picture for fans of these three superb cup competitions.

As pointed out by golf journalist Geoff Shackelford, the organization of the 2028 tournaments leaves plenty to be desired.

The Curtis Cup is set to be staged at Royal Dornoch across the weekend of September 1-3, pushed back from its June slot of this year.

Then, the following weekend, there is a clash, with the Solheim Cup taking place at Valhalla Golf Club at the same time the Walker Cup will be contested at Bandon Dunes.

As remarked by Shackelford: “What a dreadful ask of fans to cram three of the four premier Cup events into a two-week window.”

Sharing an excerpt from Shackelford on X, Kyle Porter, another well-known golf journalist, asked: “What are we doing here?”

It’s a pertinent question.

With space to breathe in 2026, each of these tournaments got the attention and spotlight they deserved, and each one delivered accordingly.

In 2028, there is now a real threat they could be impacted by this scheduling mayhem.

If fans were considering going to all three, that is now not possible, so which one(s) will they prioritize?

For those watching on TV, will they choose to tune in for the Solheim Cup or the Walker Cup? Or will they try and split their time between the two?

There is also the risk of saturation. One of the reasons matchplay is so popular is that we get to see so little of it. Now, we are getting five days’ worth of it jammed into three across the second weekend of September in 2028. And that’s right on the back of the Curtis Cup, which finishes just five days prior.

Whatever way you slice it, it feels inevitable these wonderful events will suffer in some way as a result.

Clashes in sport and in golf are not uncommon. This year's Solheim Cup had to compete with a star-studded Irish Open, for example, but to have two of these three cup competitions is a major faux pas.

While the Ryder Cup gets to sit out on its own next year and every other year, is it too much to ask that these other tournaments, at the very least, get their own weekend slot?