David Leggat: Into the swing of it with the shaky-knee boys

Anyone with a passing interest in golf knows about the Ryder Cup.

Anyone who doesn't and wonders what the fuss is about this weekend should nip into the library, and get a book called A Good Walk Spoiled. If you can find it.

Then turn to chapter one. It's titled "The Only Time Your Legs Ever Shake".

It's perhaps the best first chapter of one of the best sports (let alone golf) books you'll find, written by American John Feinstein and the William Hill Sports Book of the Year in 1995.

In it, American Davis Love talks of standing on the 18th fairway at The Belfry in 1993, his match against Italian Constantino Rocca all square, all to play for - and wanting to throw up, wanting to bend over and put his head in his hands, and knowing that, with millions watching, that was not an option.

Nerves you see. Rattling away like he'd never known before. It's brilliant, gripping stuff.

A personal favourite Ryder Cup memory, because I saw it, was in 1989, also at The Belfry, an average course in the English Midlands, but one which was a favourite of the Europeans because they tended to win there.

Irishman Christy O'Connor was 209m from the 18th green against Fred Couples. The American was in a better spot, but O'Connor, and Europe, needed something.

Captain Tony Jacklin whispered in O'Connor's ear: "If you put him under pressure, I promise you will win the hole and the match. Just have a good swing".

O'Connor did. He banged his second shot over the water to 1m from the pin. The crowd erupted, Couples crumpled, O'Connor took his place in cup folklore with his only win in the event and Europe hung on to the cup with a 14-all draw.

It wasn't always like that. After the US won 12-7 in 1977, leading English writer Peter Dobereiner opined that "In America, the Ryder Cup now rates somewhere between Tennessee frog jumping and the Alabama Melon Pip Spitting Championship", such was its one-sided nature.

That all changed once Britain invited the Europeans in, or more specifically Seve Ballesteros, who can claim to be the most important figure in the history of the event, apart from an English seed merchant named Samuel Ryder who got things moving in 1927.

The fiery Spaniard was magnificent cup after cup, a driving, cajoling, explosive force who stirred his teammates to deeds often thought beyond them.

In 1983, stuck in a fairway bunker at the 18th at the PGA National in Florida, he grabbed his 3-wood and with a mix of power and slice flew the ball more than 200m to the green to halve his match with Fuzzy Zoeller.

Jack Nicklaus reckoned it "the finest shot I've ever seen".

It was Nicklaus who conceded a putt to Jacklin at Royal Birkdale in 1969 at the end of a remarkable contest, which ended a draw, allowing the US to retain the Cup.

"I don't think you would have missed that putt, but in the circumstances I would never give you the opportunity," Nicklaus told Jacklin.

The point is that this is the one event, held every second year, where men who spend the rest of their lives going about their business in solitary splendour have to play for each other.

The Europeans tend to do it better; they've won four of the past five competitions.

The Americans seem to find it hard to pull in the same direction, unless, as at Kiawah Island in 1991, they have a war to inspire them. That was dubbed The War on the Shore. Ugly Americanism abounded.

And they do odd things when the heat's on. After all, who but the Fred Flintstone lookalike Hal Sutton would have put Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, world No 1 and 2 but known to be far from bosom buddies, together in foursomes or fourball play?

He did two years ago, and the result was predictable. The US never recovered from that first-day fumble.

Woods, by the way, has lost 10 of 16 Cup games when he's had a partner. Make what you will of that.

So, even if you're not a golf nut, switch on the TV tomorrow night and check the scores. The likelihood is it'll be close as they set off on the 12 final-day singles matches. Then watch for shaking legs early on Monday morning.