American Dollar is thumping the British Pound and Euro: Good for golf travel - and an omen for Ryder Cup squad?

I don’t want to jinx the American greenback, but lately it’s been on quite a tear versus many of the world’s foreign currencies, most notably the Euro and the British Pound.

I was in the United Kingdom in May, and the rate was right around $2 to £1. The worst I’ve ever seen it in the last two years was about $2.04 to £1.

The Euro has been even worse, getting to levels of over $1.60 per €1.

Apparently Americans are not only good at exporting fast food and Hollywood, but also subprime interest loans and our lack of credit card discipline. That’s good news for U.S. travelers, because the European economy is going to suffer the same - and some argue worse - economic woes as North America in the coming years.

We’re realizing that now, as the pound has dropped over 10% to about $1.76, and the Euro appears headed south of $1.40. The dollar is still historically weak, but it’s just going from “dwarf” status to “awkwardly short” versus the Euro.

A strengthening dollar also means cheaper jet fuel, as crude oil is traded in USD, which means plane ticket prices won’t escalate as fast as initially expected.

I’ve come to the conclusion that traveling golfers are still going to try and play most of the “name” courses no matter how bad the exchange rate. It just means we have to shamefully sneak a few extra pieces of toast away from the complimentary breakfast and instead of a decent dinner, we’re eating a sandwich and coffee at a motorway Road Chef.

But now it looks like you can actually enjoy a few sit-down meals on your links trip, whether it’s in Scotland, England, Wales or Ireland. Check out GolfEurope.com if you’ve got the itch.

So can the American Ryder Cup team gain inspiration from its currency? Suddenly Abe and G-Dub are looking a little more powerful than they used to. It could be a momentum shifter at Valhalla.

Or it could mean the U.S. is going to get trounced again - but at least links golf vacations are getting cheaper.