SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (WFRV)- Ryder Cup week is over after a thrilling Team USA victory on Sunday.
“You’re playing for your country and that means something different to the competitors when you have the flag on your chest, but it also resonates with a totally different form of energy in the property,” says Ryder Cup Director Jason Mengel.
Monday, the Ryder Cup has ended and the tear down and cleanup process is beginning.
“We want to keep Whistling Straits in just as good of condition as we found it,” says Mengel.
Mengel says about 130 staff members are helping to tear down and cleanup Whistling Straits. He says the process may take until the end of the year. It takes around 4,000 volunteers during the week to put on the event.
It’s well worth it after that big USA victory though.
Team USA weren’t the only winners during the Ryder Cup, Sheboygan small businesses also had a big week.
“Based on past domestic Ryder Cups the economic impact was $135 million,” says Mengel.
One of those small businesses that benefitted from the Ryder Cup was 3 Sheeps Brewing Company in Sheboygan.
“It was a big one for all of us and I think everybody came in this morning exhausted, but still smiling,” says Founder and Brewmaster of 3 Sheeps Brewing Company Grant Pauly.
Pauly says his brewery saw three times as many visitors last week as a normal September week. He says he and his staff planned ahead six months in advance to maximize Ryder Cup week at the brewery.
The brewery also created three new types of beer in honor of the Ryder Cup coming to town.
“It’s amazing to be able to show off all the different parts of Sheboygan,” says Pauly.
Pauly says the parking lot at his brewery holds about 250 cars and for most of the week all the parking spots were full. He says Ryder Cup week was a nice boost ahead of the winter season when attendance at the bar tends to go down.
“There’s a coffee house in Sheboygan that has t-shirts that said ‘Sheboygan who knew?’ because that’s what everybody says,” says Pauly. “We have world-class restaurants and we have amazing amenities across the board for whatever you want to do.”