Author: graubergerkyle@gmail.com

Greetings Golfers,

A bunch of us got into a heated discussion about golf yesterday … it reminded me of a column I wrote for a golf magazine 10 years ago … thought you’d get a kick out of it:

IF I RULED GOLF

Years ago, the band TEARS FOR FEARS had a hit song “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”. Well, I don’t want to rule the world, but I do have some thoughts on how I would rule the world of golf.

Most of you know that golf has been flat for many years – maybe even shrinking. I sure don’t want golf to go the way of tennis (and I don’t think it will), but it could, and golf has to take a good look in the mirror.

The problem is pretty obvious: for a lot of people, golf isn’t any fun. Though golf looks easy, it’s a very difficult game and most people never play it very well.

So if golf is so hard, why do people play the game? Well, people need recreation, they love to be outside, and they’re looking for ways to spend time with friends and/or family. Fortunately, golf is a good vehicle for all of those preferences.

Ok, we’ve established that golf is difficult and that people are still willing to spend a lot of time and money at it because of recreational/social reasons … so, why do the powers that be make golf even more difficult and frustrating?

Don’t forget, golf was originally a game played by Scottish shepherds to pass the time while tending to their flock. They basically said ” I can hit this rock with a stick to that spot in fewer swings than you can”.

Their rules were few: don’t touch the rock with anything other than your stick, play the rock as it lies – unless you can’t because it’s lost or in water, etc. What a great game and what simple rules!

But in our modern quest to be “fair” we’ve ruined the integrity and basic simple beauty of golf by developing the USGA Rule book. If you love our modern world that’s full of countless rules and regulations, you’ll love the USGA rule book.

What about the golf swing and modern instruction? That’s as goofy as the rule book. Most of the stuff the average golfer worries about is nonsense. Golf is fundamentally hitting a ball with a stick – people need to train their hands and understand impact. That’s it. Stop the insanity. Minnesota has great golfers because we have so many hockey players. Obviously hockey players have trained hands … and they learn how to stick-handle without looking at the puck.

Golf course design. Are you kidding me? Who can or wants to play 7,000 yards? How about fairways guarded by hazards on both sides? How about severe undulating greens that stimp at 12? And, how about a constant diet of greens with no area in front to run the ball up on? Average golfers are not tour players – they can’t play those courses … not even most low-handicappers. Do you think that they have fun losing a dozen balls, shooting a million, being humiliated, and playing in a 5-6 hour death march?

One of golf’s beauties is that players of different abilities can play against each other due to the handicap system. This shouldn’t be rocket science. A player’s scores should be averaged and a handicap established. It can never be a perfect science, it’s just a reasonable way to try to provide a level playing field. Worried about sand-baggers? Why penalize everyone with a complicated handicap system? Just nail the cheaters. And don’t play with them.

Golf is a fabulous game. It doesn’t need people trying to make it cute … that’s the last thing it needs. It needs to go back to it’s roots of being a pure, simple game. But the rules, instruction, course design, and handicap system need some common sense.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Greetings Golfers,

In America it’s spelled “rumor” and elsewhere it’s “rumour”. Remember the big Fleetwood Mac album in 1977 – they spelled it “Rumours”.

Fleetwood Mac named the album “Rumours” because of all the rumors flying around at that time about the band. I think it was their biggest album … but of course I liked them before “Rumours” when they were a blues band and Bob Welch wrote their best songs.

I’ve never really been with the current culture – even back in my youth.

But, we are in the middle of the culture as far as rumors … so I thought I’d tackle some of what’s floating around out there:

* We are not renting out the golf course for a zillion dollars during the Ryder Cup. We do have a deal with a company out of Chicago for 4 days (Thursday–Sunday) during the Ryder Cup … but we won’t have gold-plated golf carts next year.
* Telephone poles will not be strung along the golf course. I seriously thought that telephone poles were a thing of the past. I couldn’t believe it was a possibility. It was an option – but thankfully it’s not happening.
* Our staff is not leaving. They claim to be happy and not leaving for greener pastures (do such places even exist?).
* Harvey will not be our official mascot. He rejected our offer.
* Marty Lass – the venerable Head Pro at Edina CC – has challenged me to a duel. True. But it’s a duel of words. He wants to take a team before the Ryder Cup and beat yours truly with his vaunted verbal attack.

Whether it’s spelled rumor or rumour – it still means the same thing.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Greetings Golfers,

I’ve got golf instruction on my mind. I hope it’s not too boring – I think it’s a fascinating subject … it’s like solving a mystery or a puzzle.

I’m a member of a few internet groups that discuss the golf swing. What blows my mind is that no one wants to go deep … the discussions are pretty superficial (that’s what I think is boring).

For example: Should the hands be quiet or active? Why? Should the legs be quiet or active? Why? Is a one-plane swing better than a two-plane swing?

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Should everyone swing exactly the same? Is there a perfect model swing for everyone to emulate? Or, does every good swing have certain fundamentals which must be mastered? Should the golfer focus on the result or the process? Should the golfer be emotionless or use their emotions? Should the golfer have a set routine or be spontaneous?

Those questions open the door to age-old questions such as: Do you believe in the “Great Man Theory of History” or would history have evolved the same way no matter who lived? Is intuition real or just nonsense? Do people have free will or are their actions predetermined by their environment and genetics?

Then you can get into cultural differences. Why are Spanish players like Seve Ballesteros and Sergio Garcia, etc such feel players? And why do the Korean women have such a disproportionate amount of success on the LPGA?

Every time I go down these lines of questioning – the discussions stop. Are these questions threatening – or just boring? I’m flabbergasted … if you have thoughts and insights as to why my questions are ignored … please let me know.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Greetings Golfers,

The reaction to last week’s U.S. Open has been pretty brutal. Not a lot of love for the golf course or the tournament … and especially all of the negative reactions to the USGA’s rulings.

I think the intense reaction is the result of a lot of pent up hard feelings. People know – consciously or unconsciously – that something is wrong with golf.

The problem with golf is that it has evolved into two different games – Tournament Golf and Recreational Golf – but the USGA will not recognize that fact. In their attempt to keep it one game, they have managed to screw-up both games.

Imagine if Major League Baseball allowed “hot” balls and metal bats. Every ball park in America would be obsolete and the fundamental nature of the game would be changed. It’s great to go to Wrigley or Fenway and compare modern players to Ted Williams or Ernie Banks. I’d love to see the same Oakmont golf course that Hogan played and compare Dustin Johnson using wooden woods and a balata ball.

Let Recreational Golfers use metal drivers and “hot” balls – but don’t ruin Tournament Golf with that stuff.

And let Recreational Golfers relax. A basic round of golf is not the U.S. Open. Last Sunday on Father’s Day I played golf with my sons – we didn’t keep score. Is that a violation of my USGA Handicap – was I trying to get away with not posting a score?

You’re going to hear a million arguments about the problems at the U.S. Open. But the root of the problem is not accepting that golf has evolved into two different games – Tournament Golf and Recreational Golf.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Greetings Golfers,

It’s U.S. Open week… and at Oakmont. That’s as good as it gets for championship golf. I just hope that the weather shapes up and they can finish on Sunday.

The USGA does a great job with the U.S. Open. They do championship golf extremely well. You can’t get lucky and win the U.S. Open … or the U.S. Amateur. But, the 2003 U.S. Amateur champ is caddying in this year’s U.S. Open – success at that level can be fleeting.

This is very serious golf. Though golf is a game – championship golf takes all of a person’s physical talents, strategy skills, and emotional control. This is the ultimate test of golf. And I respect it.

But, recreational golf with your friends is not this type of challenge. And a round of golf where you get paired up with a random person hoping to play, should especially not be intense. Here’s what happened here last weekend. A single player got paired up with a 3some. They did not have a match set up between themselves … just 4 people playing a casual round of golf. During the round, one of the players’ balls was deemed to be in the way of the single player who joined the group. This player demanded that ball be marked, and picked-up with two fingers, and not be cleaned because the ball wasn’t on the green. Now … was this player correct in the specifics of how to mark this ball? Yes. But, was the comment on how to pick up the ball and not clean it out of line? I sure think so. This round was not a competitive round of golf. Ironically the player who was scolded on how to mark the ball is knowledgeable of the rules of golf. But even if she wasn’t – she didn’t deserve this type of treatment from a stranger during a casual round of golf.

Once again, the difference between tournament golf and recreational golf rears its head. They are not the same game.

Tournament golf is about winning. Recreational golf is about having fun.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Greetings Golfers,

We’ve all heard the saying “Golf can be humbling game”. And it can be … Tiger Woods recently hit 3 wedge shots into the water at an exhibition. Think how he felt … humbled?

Bobby Jones wrote “Golf is said to be a humbling game, but it is surprising how many people are either not aware of their weaknesses or else reckless of consequences”.

As usual – Jones was very insightful. Lots of people play golf like they’re on a bender. They have every right to do so if that’s what they enjoy … but I don’t see how wasting a lot of strokes is much fun. Golf is a game … and it involves strategy. Sort of like poker. One night I played poker with a bunch guys who went all in every hand … and usually on the second or third card … it was just crazy. I didn’t think it was fun – it wasn’t even a game.

People play golf like that. They hit driver on every par 4, and they also try to reach every par 5 in two shots. And they don’t take into consideration their tendencies. If they usually slice their driver, why hit driver on holes with out-of-bounds on the right side?

That brings up penalty strokes. I constantly have guys tell me how well they would have played if they didn’t have penalty strokes. I don’t know what to say to that. That’s like saying they’d be a good driver if they didn’t have so many car accidents.

Golf is about positioning. It’s about putting the ball in position to put the ball in a better position to get it into the hole. It’s not about hitting the perfect one-in-a-million shot. It’s about hitting a realistic shot to set up the next shot. Don’t laugh – this needs to be said.

Yes – golf can be a humbling game. And I’m not saying to not take chances. But I am saying to take calculated risks – not just go “all in” on every shot.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Greetings Golfers,

What is the “perfect putting stroke”? The one that makes the putt. I’m serious. I know guys who have pretty putting strokes who never make anything. Golf is not like a diving competition with judges giving out scores … golf is about the number of shots it takes to get the ball into the hole.  And putting is all about getting the ball into the hole.

Lately I’ve been working with some good players about making putts – not making a pretty putting stroke. I want them to believe they can always make the putt – that it’s easy to make a putt. So, we practice all kinds of ways to putt, but always with the focus of making it. I’m talking about hitting the ball off the toe of the putter … or off of the heel … or with the right hand only … or the left hand only.

There is no reason not to be able to make putts a million different ways. Learn to putt well with a wristy stroke … and with a shoulder-pendulum stroke.

Practice putting with all of your clubs – wedge through driver. And any type of stance – open, closed, wide, narrow, tall, crouched. Make putting fun. Don’t make putting a chore – unless you want to be a bad putter.

You want to look forward to getting on the green because you know you’ll make the putt. We all know people who dread getting on the green – they’re convinced they can’t get the ball into the hole.

Lots of golf people talk about “perfect practice”. Perfect practice in putting means making the putt – not making the “perfect putting stroke”.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Greetings Golfers,

You know that saying “April showers bring May flowers”? Well, I think for Minnesota it should be “May showers bring June flowers”. We’re about a month north of most of the country. But, a little rain shouldn’t stop your golf plans. Last Sunday the report was for rain – it rained for 15 minutes at 4pm – big deal. Because of this rain phobia inspired by an over active media to heighten the threat of storms, people waste valuable beautiful Minnesota days.

So, every year I send the following:

Did you ever see the episode of CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM when Larry accused the weatherman of manipulating the weather reports so he can have the golf course all to himself?

Did you also know that episode was based on fact and that all weathermen manipulate their weather reports to keep people off the golf courses?

Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit … but not much.

Bad weather makes news. Bad weather keeps everyone tuned in. Gee, how did we survive before Doppler Weather reports?

Make your tee times dependent on your schedule – not the dubious reports of the weatherman. And, if it’s too nasty of weather – just cancel. Or, try it out and if it’s not fun, come inside for a raincheck, refund, etc. We’re not trying to take advantage of you trying to play golf in bad weather. I’ve heard of golf courses that won’t give rain checks if you play one hole – that’s real fair. We’re not like that. We’ll do whatever is fair. And, we’ll error on the side of getting you on the golf course. That’s what we do. We want people to play. We don’t do all of this work just so people can drive by and say “What a beautiful golf course.”

You’re under no risk making a reservation to play golf. And you’re under no risk trying to play if it looks like rain.

Try it – you’ll like it.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Greetings Golfers,

This is more than my usual Friday blog. It’s actually my June column. So it’s longer than usual … but thought it was worth sending. Hope you enjoy it.

Arrogance is probably the most shocking quality that I encounter. I’m always shocked by it. You’d think after all of the years that I’ve spent on this planet, that I would be either numb or just accepting of arrogance. But no, it blows my mind every time I run into it.

I’m not talking about the random bragging or momentary puffed-upness that everybody does. I’m talking about the just fundamental trait of arrogance. Webster defines being arrogant as “having or showing the insulting attitude of people who believe that they are better, smarter, or more important than other people”. The key word in that definition is “insulting”. Confidence is a great quality. But confidence isn’t insulting – arrogance is.

The other day I was talking to an old friend who used to manage a golf course, but got wise and now is a full-time golf instructor to people who enjoy golf for fun. He’s a happy man – he doesn’t miss the arrogant characters who used to tarnish his ex-golf course.

Besides the weather, most of our problems at the golf course come from arrogant people. I’m going to bore you with a list of typical infractions: they show-up late for their tee time; drive their cart in restricted areas; play slow and back up the golf course; play too fast and hit into people; they’re loud and obnoxious; they try not to pay; they demand an extra long pour at the bar; they cut in line; they don’t want to be paired up with anyone; they spit sunflower seeds on the golf course; they bring their own food & drink onto the course; they never repair a divot or fix a ball-mark or rake a sand trap; they give their playing partners unsolicited swing advice … I could go on and on. Basically they think they are too special to observe the rules of the course and the rules of common courtesy.

Do we all screw-up? Probably. But the arrogant people that I’m talking about do these things consistently. And what really defines them is that they get angry when called out for their bad behavior. They believe that they are “entitled”.

Ah … being entitled … what a charming attitude! But, as a society, we’ve brought some of these problems on ourselves. The ridiculous statement “The customer is always right” is flat out dangerous. So if a customer comes in and throws a rock through our front door, I guess that’s ok? So money (a paying customer) trumps everything?

It’s not only customers – it can be employees. Sometimes we have staff members who are “too important” to do what has to be done. Or, “it’s not my job”. Really? As you can imagine, those people don’t last very long at Deer Run.

And politicians promise everyone everything. “Vote for me and I’ll give you what you’re entitled to”. So with people constantly hearing that they can have and can do anything they want with no personal responsibility … it’s not surprising that there is so much arrogance. Then add in that every player gets a trophy … when do people learn the values of delayed gratification and persistence? And what about the value of fair play? And what about the reality of getting what you pay for? People take pride in getting products and services for way less than what they’re worth. How does that work? Shouldn’t transactions be fair?

Do I live in La-la land? I hope not. I think that most people want to do the right thing. I just think there are so many messages out there telling people what they want to hear, that they’ve been brainwashed. Most marketing is constantly telling people they can have whatever they want, whenever they want … and at “a deal”. Really? How does that work?

This gets back to arrogance – the attitude that “my specialness means that the normal rules of society don’t apply to me”.

I’m not saying to be a conformist – I believe in individualism. But real individualism is based on personal responsibility. It seems to me that arrogance is a form of being spoiled. Ironically, people are always telling me that because we provide such a good golf experience that we’ve spoiled our customers. And I want to spoil them in the sense of giving them the best golf experience I can. Yet, “spoiling” can turn into an attitude of that it’s never enough. Same thing happens to spoiled kids. I tried to raise my kids to be individuals and independent and self-reliant. And I tried to give them what they wanted. It’s a tricky balance … as a parent, as a society, as a business.

I think things have to be earned. That’s why that “everyone wins a trophy” thing is not good. Experiences like that develop arrogance. Spoiling kids develops arrogance. Things coming too easily develops arrogance. And then you can see how arrogance leads to taking advantage of other people – and they feel it’s right.

But, how do we deal with arrogant people? What works? They feel entitled and get angry when they can’t do or get what they want. I try to emphasize what is right and what is fair when dealing with arrogant people. That’s the only way I can feel good about dealing with them. It’s amazing that I’m still shocked by arrogance – but it’s probably better than taking it for granted.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Greetings Golfers,

I was a lucky guy growing up In Minnesota. My neighborhood was full of kids and we played baseball, football, and hockey all the time. It was way more fun than organized sports – we played for the shear love of playing the game.

We’ve always wanted to bring that basic fun of playing a game to Deer Run GC. That’s why I still play golf – I don’t play as well anymore, but I still love to play golf. I wish the powers that be would simplify the rules of golf and the whole etiquette thing would lighten up. It’s not brain surgery – I don’t buy into the whole silence and non-movement deal … just get up and hit it.

Now if people want to play heavy-duty golf, that’s another thing – go play in the State Am and State Open, etc. But your round of golf with your friends should be a lot more casual – even if some money’s riding on it.

In fact, the money should never matter – the winner should buy the drinks after the round. I have no issue with people gambling on their golf game – but I do have an issue if it’s about the money. I’ve seen too much money involved and it can cause hard feelings or even destroy friendships.

I believe that golf should be played for the joy of playing the game, and for the joy of being with good people.

Playing strictly for money seems to be the opposite of that. If it’s just frosting on the cake – fine. But, if it’s about the cash … go to Las Vegas.

Professional golfers are trying to make their living playing golf. They probably love golf – but it’s their job. They better take it seriously.

The rest of us need to relax and enjoy it. Just like when we played neighborhood sports as kids.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com