Ryder Cup Weather 2014

They're talking about the weather for the 2014 Ryder Cup already. How utterly daft is that. No sooner were the dates announced yesterday - 26 to 28 September 2014 - than the naysayers started discussing the weather. How very British... and Irish.

It's Scotland, in case people had forgotten. And since when does the month make a blind bit of difference? Our summers hardly stick to the script.

Now, I'm not looking at Scottish stats, but for comparative purposes let's look at Ireland:

• In 2008, Ireland had its wettest August in 170 years... and I should know since I was travelling the countryside in a leaking camper van;
• In 2010, we endured the wettest July in 60 years;
• In 2007, Northern Ireland had its wettest June since 1958...

... so, considering how wet our so called summers have become, when would these naysayers prefer to see the event held?

I don't deny that September is a wet month (the 5th wettest month statistically, after October to January), but it's also a warm month (the 4th warmest month statistically, after June to August), so it's in the lap of the gods.

What will happen if Scotland experiences a September like 1986, when there was no rain at all in several parts of the UK and Ireland? Will these same people complain it's too dry?

How can you possibly predict weather 3 years in the future? That said, there is one person who can predict such things...

Evelyn Cusack is RTE 1's main weather forecaster. She says she is constantly asked by mothers of brides-to-be what the weather is going to be like on such-and-such a date, 18 months in the future. Tongue firmly in cheek, Evelyn replies that she'll need to know whether it's a morning or afternoon wedding before she can make a prediction.