Greetings Golfers,
Can’t believe that it’s almost Christmas. They say that time goes faster as you get older – but this is ridiculous.
So, let’s slow down and enjoy the Holiday Season. Now is the time to be thankful, thoughtful, warm, and generous.
2015 was a wonderful year. Thank you for your love and support.
Merry Christmas,
Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com
Greetings Golfers,
When I was in college, one of my friends stated that good conversation is the best thing in life. I’d never thought about it – I was young and more into being active.
But now I think he may have been correct. At Deer Run we host a lot of golf events, and what people seem to enjoy the most is the conversation after the golf. People want to talk. Alcohol helps loosen the tongue, but also makes people more tolerant listeners. That combination can really get the conversations going.
Another guy I went to college with was known as “Long Story”. Not only was he long, but he was unbelievably boring. His stories went on forever – they were just random uninteresting information about his day. For example, he’d start to tell you the facts about his morning – such as his breakfast, which would remind him of a breakfast he had years before with someone named Sue, then that would remind him of someone else named Sue … then … you were running for the door. His stories never had a point – they were just uninteresting information.
One weekend back then, I was sick in the bed with the flu. Long Story lived for opportunities like this – I was trapped. The flu wasn’t fatal – but the stories almost were – I’m lucky to be here today.
Goethe said that the test of civilization is conversation. A really good conversationalist is like Ricky Rubio with the basketball. Rubio controls the ball, but doesn’t dominate. He keeps the ball moving and passes it to the open player – he keeps everyone in the game. He might try a tricky behind-the-back pass … not to show off, but to get somebody the ball. Witty people can be good for a conversation – but not if they’re just showing off – if they’re keeping the conversation lively and interesting, that’s great – but not if it’s just a trick shot.
Many years ago I read that Jack Nicklaus said that he made a point of looking at people during conversations at parties. I’ve tried to do that ever since … there’s nothing worse than talking to someone who’s always looking around for someone more interesting than you are.
That’s my advice for holiday parties.
Cheers,
Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com
Greetings Golfers,
Every Christmas season I watch a bunch of old cornball Christmas movies that I never get tired of. One of my favorites is “Holiday Inn”. It stars Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. (This is the movie where Crosby first sang “White Christmas).
Obviously Bing could sing and Fred could dance. But those guys were also golf fiends and very good players.
So, I’m including a link to a video of Fred Astaire hitting golf shots during one of his dance routines. It’s not from “Holiday Inn” but from “Carefree”.
An ex-local golf pro sent me this video because it reminded him of a mutual friend of ours – a guy whose feet are always dancing when he swings. This ex-local pro was a great player who never liked the business of being a golf pro – he liked playing and teaching – not running a business. Since moving away to concentrate on teaching, he’s become a believer in “dancing” during the golf swing.
That’s enough backstory … take a look at this video – it’s only a minute and a half long.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Ho-ho-ho,
Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com
Greetings Golfers,
Thanksgiving is only a few days away.
You know what that means… you need to get your Christmas shopping started.
As usual, we’re here to make your life easy (or easier).
We are offering a special Christmas promotion – you should have received an email about it last week. It is the deal of a lifetime, but was misunderstood. Because it is offered as a two-some, four-some, or eight-some… some people believed that you had to use the passes in the size group that was purchased. Not so! You may use the individual passes in any way that you desire – another example of our Christmas Spirit.
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Give the Gift of Play: Available at our infamous |
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Dynamic Duo – 2 rounds of golf plus cart, no restrictions: $120 (15% savings)
Festive Foursome – 4 rounds of golf plus carts, no restrictions: $200 (28% savings)
Get your Group On – 8 rounds of golf plus carts, no restrictions: $360 (35% savings)
Gift cards and envelopes are ready for you to personalize and sign.
Cheers,
Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com
Greetings Golfers,
Though Arnie’s birthday was in September, I just received this email about him a few days ago. It’s a good one:
The King was born 86 years ago. There’s no record what Arnold Palmer weighed at birth, but there is no doubt he became one of America’s true heavyweight sports figures.
To paraphrase Rudyard Kipling, Palmer truly walked (and golfed) with presidents and kings but didn’t lose the common touch. Here are 86 reasons to celebrate Arnie on his big day:
1. He made hitching up your pants cool.
2. He brought big-time golf to Orlando, turning the sleepy Florida Citrus Open into the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
3. He signed a zillion autographs — all of them legibly.
4. He beat prostate cancer.
5. He served three years in the U.S. Coast Guard.
6. The Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children is ranked among “Best Children’s Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report.
7. JFK sent him film of his golf swing to critique.
8. In 49 years, he made $1,784,497 on the PGA Tour.
9. In 2014, he made $42 million in endorsements and other income, according to Forbes.
10. He went to the same high school as Fred Rogers from “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”
11. He rallied from seven shots behind on the final day to win the1960 U.S. Open.
12. He designed the first golf course built in China.
13. You can order an “Arnold Palmer” and restaurants worldwide will pour you a half-iced tea, half-lemonade.
14. He’s still a member of the Latrobe (Pa.) Elks club.
15. He broke 100 for a round of golf when he was 7.
16. When Palmer turned 37, Dwight D. Eisenhower flew to Latrobe to deliver a surprise birthday greeting.
17. He met his first wife, Winnie, on a Tuesday and asked her to marry him four days later.
18. They were married 45 years until her death in 1999.
19. He played in 50 Masters.
20. He became a pilot to help overcome his fear of flying.
21. He rode into a 2013 Wake Forest football game on the back of a motorcycle.
22. He was the last golfer to look debonair with a cigarette dangling from his lips.
23. He has a Congressional Gold Medal.
24. He has a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
25. He’s the only sports figure to have both.
26. His grandkids called him “Dumpy.”
27. He has 62 PGA Tour wins.
28. When archvillain Goldfinger was cheating while playing golf against James Bond in the1964 film, Sean Connery’s caddie said, “If that’s his original ball, I’m Arnold Palmer.”
29. He gave Kate Upton her first golf lesson.
30. He personally taught hundreds of pro golfers how to properly comport themselves.
31. His father was a lowly club pro, so Arnie wasn’t allowed to swim in the club pool.
32. He swam in the creek that supplied the pool water and joked that he urinated in it.
33. He hung out with Frank Sinatra.
34. He really did drive that tractor seen in the Pennzoil commercials.
35. He helped start the Golf Channel.
36. He was honorary national chairman of the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation for 20 years.
37. He made eye contact with fans.
38. The Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies delivered 13,800 newborns in 2014.
39. Richard Nixon asked his advice on how to end the Vietnam War.
40. He was Associated Press Athlete of the Decade for 1960’s.
41. He won seven majors.
42. Kirk Douglas was asked of all his famous acquaintances, who had the most personal magnetism? His answer: Arnie.
43. He loves bologna.
44. He worked as a paint salesman after getting out of the Coast Guard.
45. He has 13 streets named after him.
46. He doesn’t expect people to call him “Mr. Palmer.”
47. He addressed Congress in 1990 on the 100th anniversary of Eisenhower’s birth.
48. He shot 71 in his first high-school golf match.
49. He has his own winery.
50. He has refused any marketing overtures to make an Arnold Palmer wine comprised of half-Chardonnay and half-Cabernet Sauvignon.
51. It took him 13 years to become the first golfer to win $1 million in career earnings.
52. Matt Every, winner of this year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, got a first-place check for $1,134,000.
53. In 1976, he set a round-the-world speed record in a Learjet that still stands — 57 hours, 25 minutes, 42 seconds.
54. Only two rooms in the Pennsylvania house he grew up in had heat.
55. He had a hole-in-one five years ago.
56. He was confident enough to wear pink before it was fashionable.
57. The Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History is home to the world’s leading collection of golf artifacts.
58. He quit the Champions Tour when he felt he was playing like a golf artifact.
59. He expects men to take off their hats when they go indoors.
60. He helped found a nature preserve named after his first wife.
61. Gerald Ford’s first act after leaving the presidency was playing a round of golf with Palmer.
62. The Latrobe airport is named after him.
63. He bought the golf course that wouldn’t allow him to go swimming as a kid.
64. He came up with his simple yet iconic multicolored umbrella logo.
65. He often cries during the national anthem.
66. After a lifetime of signing autographs for free, he finally charged for his signature during the 1994 Bay Hill tournament when his grandchildren told him business was slow at their lemonade stand. Palmer agreed to sign for anyone who’d buy a $1.50 glass. The kids made a quick $50 before running out of lemonade.
67. The Arnold Palmer Medical Center is the largest facility in the U.S. dedicated to children and women.
68. When he was 17, he had a photo taken with Hollywood starlet Esther Williams.
69. His around-the-world record flight would have finished sooner, but he stopped to refuel in Sri Lanka and rode an elephant.
70. For years, the trophy at his Orlando tournament was a sword.
71. His would-be father-in-law boycotted the wedding because he doubted Palmer could make enough to support a family.
72. He designed more than 300 golf courses around the world.
73. He came up with the concept of modern Grand Slam in 1960.
74. He flew a Boeing 747 before they were in commercial service.
75. The golfing great Arnold Palmrock appeared in the animated “The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show” in 1971.
76. He’s an honorary starter at the Masters.
77. There’s an Arnold Palmer statue at Wake Forest.
78. Nike’s “LeBronold Palmer” sneakers are named for him and LeBron James.
79. He led the campaign to prevent golf courses from being built in Florida’s state parks.
80. After first seeing Palmer’s jerky swing, Gene Sarazen said Palmer wouldn’t amount to much of a golfer.
81. He can still can be spotted walking his dog at Bay Hill.
82. His dog’s name is Mulligan.
83. His review of Bill Clinton’s golf game: “He can hit a long way, he just doesn’t have a ZIP code.”
84. In 2010, Esquire named him one of “The 75 Best Dressed Men of All Time.”
85. He smoked his last cigarette on Dec. 23, 1973.
86. He had his very own Army.
Good stuff. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
Cheers,
Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com
Greetings Golfers,
|
Give the Gift of Play: Available at our infamous |
|
Dynamic Duo – 2 rounds of golf plus cart, no restrictions: $120 (save up to $18)
Festive Foursome – 4 rounds of golf plus carts, no restrictions: $200 (save up to $76)
Get your Group On – 8 rounds of golf plus carts, no restrictions: $360 (save up to $200)
Gift cards and envelopes are ready for you to personalize and sign.
Cheers,
Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com
Greetings Golfers,
The theme of Matthew McConaughey’s speech to the U of Houston’s graduates was “Life’s not fair – don’t be a victim”. I agree – couldn’t agree more … but some people think that’s a license to not be fair.
We need referees in sports to keep things fair. If the leagues and refs aren’t keeping things fair, the players take matters into their own hands – sort of like vigilantes. And I get that too. But, sports should be a contest of skill, not a battle between thugs.
A few weeks ago, the Wild’s star Zach Parise was hit from behind and was injured. That’s not what hockey’s about. The league and the refs have to stop that stuff to keep the game fair. Hockey teams shouldn’t have to have “enforcers” to keep things fair – that should be the role of the league and referees.
And last Sunday, the Viking’s quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was knocked out while he was sliding … sliding is basically waving the white flag – he shouldn’t have been hit like that. I can see why Coach Zimmer was so mad – that hit wasn’t fair.
People can and should be held accountable. They should play fair in games and in life. Those players weren’t giving clean hits – those were dirty hits trying to injure players.
In golf, lot’s of things aren’t fair – bad bounces, bad lies, etc. But, that’s the game – deal with it.
The golf analogy is different than the football/hockey analogies because the golf situation isn’t about dealing with people … it’s about dealing with outside factors.
Life isn’t fair – deal with it. But, it’s not a license to treat people unfairly.
Cheers,
Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com
So Phil Mickelson has left his instructor Butch Harmon. Tour players need any possible edge – the competition is relentless. So, if a new instructor might bring some new knowledge or just a fresh attitude … I get it.
And maybe the same is true for amateur golfers. But … I think amateur golfers are looking for something that Tour players already have – a good golf swing.
Let me say that again – a good golf SWING. Most people don’t swing the golf club. They hit or hack or flip … but they don’t swing.
The “King of Swing” was Ernest Jones. Mr. Jones was a Brit who lost a leg in World War I … but still kept breaking par after the loss of his leg. Ernest’s mantra was “Swing the Clubhead”. In fact his classic book of the same name was published in 1952. Here are some of the titles of chapters in “Swing the Clubhead” :
* Good Golf is Easy
* The Swing
* Swinging vs. Hacking
* How to Acquire a Swing
* Timing and Rhythm
* Obstacles to Swinging
How about the title of the first chapter – “Good Golf is Easy” …? It has a sequence of photos of a 5 year old girl with a perfect golf swing … she’s just SWINGING the golf club.
What happened to the golf swing? Well, the obsession with power wasn’t good for most golfers. Then that led to the emphasis on body positions, instead of the swinging and timing of the swing.
Many years ago a senior golfer came to me for help – he’d been taking lessons from a young, mini-tour golf pro in Florida. This young professional emphasized “coil” to such an extent that this senior fellow told me that his body was actually all bruised-up (I took him at his word – I didn’t want to look).
The idea to use the body as a spring that should be coiled and then unwind with great power has become the goal of too much golf instruction. Maybe that technique is good for young, strong, flexible, talented Tour players (maybe) … but, I think it’s disaster for most of us.
In fact, maybe Phil would be better off reading “Swing the Clubhead” than finding a new instructor.
Cheers,
Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com
Greetings Golfers,
Tomorrow is Halloween. The ancients Celts celebrated this as the festival of Samhain – meaning the end of Summer and the “first of Winter”.
I never liked Fall until I was about 40. I just wanted non-stop Summer. Fall made me sad and I just couldn’t appreciate the beauty of the season.
But life has the same cycles as the seasons, and they all need to be appreciated. The Celts honored their dead with the passing of the seasons … and for them, Samhain was the season of death and renewal.
And for us at Deer Run, this is also a time of death and renewal – we close the golf course, yet renew the golf course with projects.
This month had an extra special project. A group of Deer Run neighborhood guys have built a bridge to the tee-box on hole #4. The reason it is so special is that it is a memorial to one of their best friends – Joe Smith. Joe passed away this Summer from ALS.
These neighborhood guys refer to themselves as “The Band of Idiots”. In this case, that moniker is off-base. Led by Ron Smith, the BOI have built something that is very meaningful – and what better symbol than a bridge? In terms of the Celts and this time of year … a bridge of death and renewal. Perfect.
Slan leat,
Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com
Greetings Golfers,
Are you watching the baseball playoffs? I really wanted the Cubs to go all the way … I hope it happens in my lifetime.
It blows my mind how good major league baseball players are – it’s ridiculous. They make hard plays look easy … and they can hit pitching that is unhittable. Imagine if they used metal bats like high school players and softball players use. The ball parks would become obsolete.
Well, that’s what’s happened to golf. Metal headed drivers and souped up balls have made classic courses obsolete (for Tour players).
Here’s what Gary Player said last week at the Western Golf Association’s fifth annual Green Coat Gala:
“If we look at the Tour in 30 to 40 to 50 years’ time, 50% of the Tour will hit the ball 400 yards. What’s going to happen to golf? It’s going to be obsolete. Leaders are not handling this in the way that they should. They should cut the ball of professional golf down by 50 yards, and let the amateurs use what they like. They don’t recognize that there are two different games between professional and amateur, and that they are as different as night and day”.
I agree. It’s a shame that the equipment is making great, old, classic golf courses obsolete. Imagine if Wrigley Field became obsolete. I want to see the Cubs win a World Series at Wrigley … not at some crazy ball park that looks like an erector set and center field is 600 feet from home plate.
Cheers,
Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com