Nathan Smith was able to get some early scouting in last week.
Smith was in California at the Cypress Point Classic. Famed Cypress Point is hosting the 2025 Walker Cup, the 50th edition of the Ryder Cup-style battle between the best amateurs from the United States and Great Britain and Ireland.
Smith has played in three Walker Cups as a part of a decorated amateur career that included four U.S. Mid-Amateur victories. He’s also set to lead the squad at Cypress Point, No. 2 on Golfweek’s Best 2023 for top Classic Courses in the United States, in two years.
Golfweek caught up with Smith recently to talk Walker Cup, Cypress Point and amateur golf.
GWK: Did you ever imagine yourself being captain of a Walker Cup team?
Nathan Smith: “Oh, you always hope for that. I mean, that’s something you know, when you’re younger, you’re still kind of not too totally far removed from that, but you’re always trying to play and then you’re always hoping one day, you know that you could have a chance. I mean, being named captain… being on the Walker Cup team is one of the biggest honors of your life, let alone the captain. That is incredibly fun. And I’m just so thrilled and honored and humbled, and then nice to have it at Cypress Point? I mean, just beyond words.”
GWK: “Not a bad place for the 50th edition, right?”
NS: “Absolutely, I’ll take it. Everybody is really excited.”
GWK: How well do you know Cypress Point?
NS: “I hadn’t played out there until I got named captain. They invited me out to play in a member-guest. I’ve played a number of times in U.S. Amateurs down the road at Pebble Beach. I was just completely blown away.”
GWK: What stands out to you about Cypress Point as a match play course?
NS: “It’s just one of those great courses. It’s an incredible match-play course, it’s made for drama. Anybody that’s ever heard anything about Cypress, the first thing goes to the 16th hole, par 3. The 15th hole is an incredible par 3. The 17th hole, the par 4, one of the most incredible holes. I just think it’s made for drama down the stretch, and it just builds to a crescendo to the ends, and I think that it’s going to be an incredible match-play course and then you know, it’s going to be an incredible Walker Cup.”
GWK: What type of player will have success at Cypress?
NS: “The great thing about Cypress, you have to have the full package. which obviously a lot of these great college players do. You know you need to be accurate with the driver. I think a lot of the pins, they can put them in sections where you got to be very sharp with the irons and everything. And, and then the speed of the greens. There’s a lot of speed slots in the greens, you’re going to have to be a great putter with speed. Then the wind kicks up, so you’re gonna have to have a full package there.”
GWK: What did you learn from Mike McCoy about being a captain?
NS: “It was great being a part of it. That was his team, but being selected right after him that I could be kind of like be a little kid in the corner, so to say, watch the process. Watch him, you know, go through it with different captain duties with speeches or the selection process or getting to know the committee and I think it helped me a lot to see that, get to know everybody there, watch at St. Andrews, just watch the week unfold. Get to know some of the guys in the process. Some of those guys could still be back or they could play another Walker Cup. So, for me, it was incredible to go through the process on every level and talk through with him when he was feeling and with the guys and certain matchups, and it was extremely valuable.”
GWK: How unique is it to have a Walker Cup at Cypress Point?
NS: “To go from the home golf at St. Andrews to Cypress is just beyond words, especially if you’re just talking about the college guys who went and experienced those courses. I’ve played a lot of them, and I think Cypress is just the greatest course in the world. It’s awesome. I mean, it’s as good as it gets. And I think everybody you know, part of it players and everybody from myself and everybody that’s there, you know, we’ll just have a blast. It’s just incredible. It’s beyond words.”
