A late tee-off, blustery winds, mud, a tree down on the 18th and intermittent rain dampened spirits at the K Club yesterday.
Winds gusting up to 60kph had forced organisers to declare the course unsafe and practice was suspended shortly before 8am.
Feeder buses and trains scheduled to bring fans to the course from 5.30am were halted and many waited in their cars for more than two hours at the park-and-ride centres before it was deemed safe for the course to reopen.
When the spectators did arrive at the club, shortly after 10am, they were faced with further delays through check-in, which was not designed to deal with a sudden glut of people. However, by lunchtime much of the backlog was cleared and spectators were philosophical about the experience.
Vourneen McGeough, Maria Donnelly and Carmel Barry, all members of the Curragh Golf Club, said they didn't mind waiting at Palmerstown House park-and-ride facilities and were "having a ball".
"The organisation was very good and we are geared for the weather. It's raining and windy but it's nice and mild, one out of three isn't bad," said Ms McGeough.
Michael Kelly from New York spent 1½ hours waiting at Weston Airport but he wasn't complaining either. Enjoying a pint in the tented village, he praised the organisation at the park-and-ride centre.
"They kept us informed all the time," he said. "We didn't mind once we knew."
Richard Hill, Ryder Cup director, explained that in the interests of the health and safety of the players as well as the spectators, organisers had no choice but to close the venue.
He said they had carried out a full review of "loose impediments", and items such as the tables, chairs and umbrellas in the tented village, which could pose a danger if loose, had been battened down.
He said a number of trees had come down during the night, including one at the 18th,.
Supt Kevin Donohue, spokesman for An Garda Síochána, defended the management of delays at the park-and-rides.
"We were extremely happy with the operation and the way it worked," he said. "A decision was taken to hold people at the park-and-ride centres and we hugely appreciated their patience. We got people in as quickly as possible."
Some fans complained that the US team, whose tee-off was considerably delayed, did not seem to be "putting their all" into the practice. Andrew Toland from Castleknock said he was not seeing as much golf as he would have liked.
"Some people travelled a long way to see them; maybe they should be obliged to play," he said.
Carol Gallagher from Derry, who had travelled to Dublin the night before with her husband, was finally boarding a bus at 10.45am at the park-and-ride facility at Weston Airport.
"It's been very long," she said. "We arrived here at a quarter to seven and were told that there may not be any golf today. But there is now, so we're delighted."
Jack Carson made the long trip from Connecticut in the US along with 30 others to see the day's practice. A first-time visitor to Ireland, Mr Carson said he felt preparations could have been better.
"I've been to the [ US] Open a couple of times and they seemed to be much more skilful in getting the buses filled," he said. "Maybe it has to do with the weather this morning and the volume of people coming to one place."
Liam Pyne was part of a group from Clare which left Ennis at 6.15am to make the journey to Kildare. In possession of tickets only for yesterday's practice session, the group feared the worst when they heard the news that play might be called off.
"We were disappointed," Mr Pyne said. "But we kept our fingers crossed."