This year's Ryder Cup was a depressing affair from a European point of view. Not only was it an absolute walk in the park for the Americans, but there were some hints that such an outcome could more commonplace in the years ahead.
The makeup of Team USA meant that they could be set to dominate for the foreseeable future. Not only do they have the vast majority of the game's elite players, but their age profile means the majority of those who played in Whistling Straits will be around for quite a while yet.
What can Europe do to close the gap? Producing more talented players would be a start, although that is something that will take years to have an impact and will be of little help in 2023.
According to Paul McGinley's column on Sky Sports, one thing that could provide some immediate results is changing the mentality of the team.
That includes by creating a 'siege mentality', something he feels has been lost as more and more European players become entrenched in the PGA Tour.
If we Europeans are to take this as the new baseline against which we will have to compete, how do we approach this new force? A clear understanding and evolution of our winning template as Europeans is the key...
As our European players migrate more and more to the PGA Tour and base themselves and their families in America, it is important that we work hard not to lose our identity as Europeans.
The gnarly ways that we have used to thrive in past Ryder Cups are key to us playing with an underdog mindset and a siege mentality...
There has been some media talk lately on who the next captain will be. Whoever will end up captaining Europe, it will be vitally important that he oversees a return to an attitude and performance that has worked so well for us in the past.
We need to re-establish factors that will lead to the kind of enhanced performances from so many on our team, with some performances going above and beyond their world rankings positions. We have achieved this in the past, so why not again?
It remains to be seen who the next European captain will be. Lee Westwood is seen as the favourite by many, with the likes of Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson also thought to be in the frame.
Whoever it is, they will certainly have a big job on their hands to wrestle the trophy back from the Americans.
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