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. Monday and Tuesday the report was for rain … it missed us and we were fine. But because of this 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. I get that weathermen have a responsibility and safety concerns. However, if it’s not life-threatening such as a tornado …make your tee times dependent on your schedule – not the weather reports. And, if it’s too nasty of weather – just cancel. In fact, we’d prefer if you don’t cancel. It doesn’t help us. You can decide at the last minute. Try it …  if it’s not fun … get 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 not us. 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 golf. 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.

Remember those old Alka-Seltzer ads: “Try it – you’ll like it.”

Golf will fix any ailment better than Alka-Seltzer.

So … “Try it – you’ll like it!”

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351
www.deerrungolf.com
www.facebook.com/DeerRunGolf
www.twitter.com/DeerRunGolfClub

Greetings Golfers,

So, we’re almost 2 weeks into playing golf in Minnesota.  Thought you might like to hear some of my observations.

First – people are shooting great scores. Why? It’s very simple – the protruding cup is a much easier target than the cup in the ground. Because, if you hit the cup, it counts the same as if you made the putt with a normal hole in the ground.

The protruding cup has inspired our players to putt aggressively. Basically, just take out most of the break and let it fly. Not only are players making long putts – they almost never miss a short putt.  Think that helps your score?

For our leagues we’re amending the rule. The putt will only count if stays close to the hole after it hits the cup. Remember that saying “within the leather”?. So, if the putt stays within the length of the grip on your putter … it’s good.

What else is happening? Well, we’re running into some folks who have no problem disregarding our rules that comply with the new restrictions. One guy was violating our range policy so I asked him to stop it. He didn’t apologize … instead, he thought about what I said and then replied “That’s ok – I guess”. So … he gave me his approval??? … that, “he guessed” it was ok to him that he shouldn’t violate our policy.

He’s far from the only one to grant us their “forgiveness” when we tell them not to do something. I almost used the word inform … but they already were informed when they read the sign informing them not to do it.

You know that I would love to dive into this philosophically … however, this is a light Friday morning golf blog.

Speaking of philosophy … last week I read an amazing article by a philosophy professor. When I went to look-up some more of his essays, I ran into a RATEMYPROFESSORS.com heading about him. This made me curious to see what his students said about him. Well, every rating was either a 1 or a 5 (highest). Nothing in between. The comments were amazing. Most of the 1 raters said the same thing “He’s mean. Doesn’t let you show up late or leave early … get’s mad when you talk during his lectures.” The 5s said that he was kind and one of the best professors that they’d ever had.

I think we have a new development in America because of a misunderstanding of the concept of “rights” and “tolerance”. Some people think it means that they have a “right” to do anything they want … and that it has to be “tolerated”.

People think they’re special and like being special. I get it. But, that’s not a license to do the wrong thing. Hopefully, putting well with these protruding cups satisfies that “special” need.

Take care,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351
www.deerrungolf.com
www.facebook.com/DeerRunGolf
www.twitter.com/DeerRunGolfClub

Greetings Golfers,

It’s fun writing a weekly blog. People always ask if I’m worried about running out of things to write about … no I’m not. I have a lot of leeway … sure, it’s a golf blog, but that’s not very limiting. And, I don’t have an editor assigning me stories or ripping apart what I write.

The reason I’m saying this, is because lately it seems that a lot of the online golf magazines are loaded with stories that are just space-fillers. I read some of them, and when I’m at the end of the article … I keep looking for more … “that can’t be it?”.

Read one the other day saying that golfers will never shake hands again … ever … even after this crisis is over. And the reasoning was just flat. Could have been interesting … but wasn’t. Just a space-filler.

Our golf course hasn’t needed a space-filler lately … we’ve been stuffed since we opened last Saturday. Thank God. We’ve been grateful … and the golfers have been grateful. It feels really good.

We started pretty bare bones: no carts, no range, no food & beverage. Just wanted make sure everything was manageable.

Of course we were/are concerned about safety … that’s priority #1. Yet, we were/are also concerned about perception. If it seemed like we weren’t taking precautions, we could hurt golf for the rest of the state. As I said, perception is very important. If you remember the show “Bewitched”, they had a neighbor – Gladys Kravitz – who lived for spying on her neighbors. I’m sure there are “Gladyses” out there who would love to take down a course or even golf in Minnesota.

So, we’ve now added carts, the range, and some beverages and snacks. However, the range and other practice areas are only for pre-round warm-up. There’s no other way we could manage it. Imagine if we had 50 people on the putting green … or 100 waiting to hit balls at the range. Gladys would have her big chance.

Hopefully, you’re getting out to play. As much as I love reading about golf … I’d rather play the game.

Take care,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351
www.deerrungolf.com
www.facebook.com/DeerRunGolf
www.twitter.com/DeerRunGolfClub

Greetings Golfers,

Yesterday, golf courses in Wisconsin got the green-light from their governor to open-up … according to safety regulations.

Obviously, we golf course operators in Minnesota hope the green-light flashes our way … soon. When the weather is nice, we have more people walking the course than we do on a normal day of golf. Putting a golf club in their hand wouldn’t hurt social distancing … it would probably spread them further apart!

Golf is such a great game. We can play it all of our life – no matter our physical condition. A few years ago, I helped give golf lessons to disabled military veterans at a course in South Carolina. These guys and gals were beyond amazing. You think you need the perfect swing to play golf? Hardly. These people had found ways to make it work that you couldn’t imagine – you’d have to see it to believe it.

And that’s true for most of us. Not as extreme … but most of us aren’t in perfect shape, really strong, super flexible, with flawless timing, and great feel. However, we can find a way to hit a golf ball with a golf club well enough to play the game.

I just heard that a course on the Wisconsin border filled their Saturday tee sheet in 45 minutes. Not exactly shocking.

If you are in a state that is playing golf – lucky you! And for those of us who aren’t … let’s not take it for granted when we can tee-it-up.

Remember this verse from that Joni Mitchell song:

Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Better not start paving golf courses!

Take care,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351
www.deerrungolf.com
www.facebook.com/DeerRunGolf
www.twitter.com/DeerRunGolfClub

Greetings Golfers,

The other day I was talking to a local PGA teaching pro. He’s a smart guy and I always enjoy his stories and insights. He gets it. Doesn’t get caught up in the frills – he has a real sense for the bottom line. And what really makes him a good instructor, is that he can figure how to get a student to that bottom line.

He’s also figured it out for his own game. He’s a very good player. And gets better every year. I want to emphasize that point … he gets better every year. That’s a rare thing … not just in golf, but in anything.

Too often we try to make the big jump to “perfect” … it doesn’t happen … so we quit.

There’s an old saying that I love: “Perfect is the enemy of good”. Think about that. Not “bad” is the enemy of good … bit it’s “perfect”. People are not perfect. Life is not perfect. But, we can get “better”.

We’ve all been around nit-pickers. All they see are the flaws … no matter how small – they focus on the flaws. Gee, what a talent! Obviously, I’m kidding. That takes zero talent or awareness. Understanding how things work and why a flaw may be part of the picture takes a lot more insight.

For example, someone’s golf swing might have a little too much lateral motion, but they need it to get movement in their swing because they aren’t very flexible – yet their swing gets them in the proper position to hit the golf ball. A golf course might have some bad spots on the course … but 95% is well-maintained and the superintendent  doesn’t have a giant staff because his budget isn’t huge because the course doesn’t charge $200 a round.

The nit-picker/perfectionist doesn’t see the picture … just focuses in with the microscope to find flaws. Micromanaging is not a skill.

Am I defending bad business, or faulty golf swings, etc? Not at all. I’m trying to put things in perspective.

And … I’m trying to bring up how destructive that perfectionist attitude is. Not just to everyone and everything around a “perfectionist”, but especially to themselves. Being a perfectionist is debilitating. They can’t attempt anything because they can’t do it perfectly.

Many years ago when my sons were in Little League … one son was making the change from a season of “Coach Pitch” where the coach would lob the pitch into where the kid wanted it. The next year … was completely different … now the pitcher was trying get the batter to strike out – not to hit the ball. Also, these pitchers were kids and usually a little wild … not exactly their coach lobbing it into the perfect spot.

So, the Head Coach asked me to be the Batting Coach. (A move he soon regretted!) When we would scrimmage between ourselves … the kids wouldn’t swing the bat. They all wanted to “walk”. It got so bad that I insisted that they swing at EVERY pitch. You should have seen those first few games: kids swinging at balls over their head, or in the dirt, etc … and usually everyone striking out at every at bat. The parents went crazy. I kept asking the Head Coach to hang-in-there with me. He did. Wow.

Well, the season had two divisions: First Half and Second Half. We finished dead-last in the First Half. However, we never lost a game in the Second Half. We could hit. By swinging at every pitch … the kids learned how to get the bat on the ball. After they became good aggressive hitters … I let them choose when to swing. Then they got really good. And, they couldn’t wait for their turn to go to bat.

Did every kid get a hit every time at bat? Of course not. But, now they loved playing baseball. They could deal with the fear of failure at the plate.

There’s even a happy ending to this story. At the end of the season … the First Half champs played the Second Half champs. We won – handedly. The other team had won the First Half because they always walked. They never learned how to hit. Well, not just did we win … our kids were full of energy and confident. The other team was just a bunch of scared kids. It wasn’t pretty.

I know, I know … this blog is too long. But, you’re probably wasting time at home anyway.

Before I end this blog … I want to make it clear that I’m not advocating recklessness. Everything is risk/reward … reckless is just plain dumb. And perfectionism is also dumb … though it’s usually accompanied with a smug attitude – what a combination.

The goal is “better” … not “perfect”. We can get better. It’s a constant process. Usually just baby steps.

But it sure beats sitting on the side-lines of life and just pointing out everyone’s and everything’s flaws.

It’s all about “better” … not “perfect”.

Take care,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351
www.deerrungolf.com
www.facebook.com/DeerRunGolf
www.twitter.com/DeerRunGolfClub

Greetings Golfers,

Yesterday, my wife asked me what I was going to write about … I said “Chi Chi Rodriguez”. I have no idea why I said that. Haven’t heard his name lately … he hasn’t been in the news … no reason to say that … and I didn’t hesitate – just jumped out of my mouth.

Last week I did read an article about Ben Hogan. It was a reprint of an article from 1970 in Golf Digest written by Nick Seitz. You have to read it. It’s unbelievably well written, and a fascinating portrait of Hogan. I can always read Hogan stories.

Chi Chi said that he played 11 tournaments with Hogan and saw him never miss a green. Now, Chi Chi is a storyteller and a lot of fun … but he might not be exaggerating … Hogan was that good.

And Chi Chi was crazy good … not Hogan good … but unbelievably good. He was about 5’7” and 150 lbs and hit it as far as anybody. And he could get it up-and-down from anywhere. He was made for Tour golf. He could hit any kind of shot and was a showman. He played for the galleries. He’d be in the middle of the fairway with a basic shot to a middle pin … and instead, he’d hit a crazy hook or some type of goofy knock-down shot just for the fans. And of course he was known for his bolero act after he’d make a putt.

I’m sure that not all of the other Tour players appreciated his act … or wanted to be paired-up with him. However, normal tournaments on the Tour are not the same as the Majors. The Majors are about pure golf. They’re about testing the best players in the world.

Whereas, the Tour is about good players touring around the country putting on a show – a golf show. Of course the galleries want to see their heroes play great golf … but it’s not the US Open.

Chi Chi had success on the Tour – he won 8 times – but he really did well on the Senior Tour. Probably because the Senior Tour was less serious than the PGA Tour. Also, Chi Chi aged well – at 60, he looked and moved like a 40 year old.

Talk about not having a modern robot swing! You have to check out videos of his swing. And his interviews. He’s a bright, thoughtful, charming fellow.

And, check out that Hogan article. You can’t just watch Netflix and “Tiger King” every day.

Take care,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351
www.deerrungolf.com
www.facebook.com/DeerRunGolf
www.twitter.com/DeerRunGolfClub

Greetings Golfers,

If you’re in Minnesota … you aren’t playing golf. At least not on a golf course.

Besides playing, there are other ways to get your golf fix if you’re cooped-up indoors: movies and books.

Here’s a pretty standard list of good golf movies. Just because it’s pretty typical doesn’t mean it’s a bad list. You’ve probably seen most of them … but they’re all fun to watch again. Here they are – no review or comments:

• “The Greatest Game Ever Played”
• “The Caddy”
• “The Legend of Bagger Vance”
• “Follow the Sun”
• “Caddyshack”
• “Dead Solid Perfect”
• “Seven Days in Utopia”
• “Happy Gilmore”
• “Bobby Jones: The Perfect Stroke”
• “Pat & Mike”
• “Tin Cup”
• “Tommy’s Honor”
• “Miracle on the 17th Green”

It’s certainly not an all encompassing list … but it’s a pretty good variety of dramatic, funny, biographical, historic, and magical.

Speaking of magical … my list of golf books starts off with a magical, mystical look at golf:

• “Golf in the Kingdom”
• “The Match”
• “A Good Walk Spoiled”
• “A Course Called Ireland”
• “The Dogged Victims of Inexorable Fate”
• “Down the Fairway”
• “Doctor Golf”
• “Who’s Your Caddy”
• “The Complete Golfer”
• “Final Rounds”
• “Scotland’s Gift – Golf”
• “Golf Between Two Wars”

Hopefully, you can get some fresh air and exercise … even without playing golf. And while you’re indoors … you’ll have books and movies to keep your golf juices flowing.

Take care,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351
www.deerrungolf.com
www.facebook.com/DeerRunGolf
www.twitter.com/DeerRunGolfClub

Greetings Golfers,

What a week!

Obviously, everyone and every business has to be careful and smart.

Golf courses are open in some states … and closed in others. Not to be self-serving, but I could see golf clubs close their clubhouses, yet keep their courses open. It would be easy to maintain a safe distance while playing golf … and keeping the flagstick in the hole and giving 3 foot putts would eliminate most of the risk. Courses could disinfect the carts and people could ride solo or walk. Set-up payment at a table outside … and another table for canned beverages, etc.

People need something to do … and people need fresh air. Golf could be a very good thing during this crisis.

And golf is a good thing, not just during a crisis. My favorite golf course architect – Alister MacKenzie – was a former doctor. MacKenzie claimed that he did more good for people as a golf course architect than as a doctor.

Here’s a quote from the great man “One of the reasons why I, ‘a medical man’ decided to give up medicine was a firm conviction of the extraordinary influence on health of pleasurable excitement, especially combined with fresh air and exercise. How frequently have I, with great difficulty, persuaded patients who were never off my doorsteps to take up golf, and how rarely, if ever, I have seen them in my consulting room again.”

These are not normal times. We all need to be cautious and considerate and aware of what is going on.

Take care,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351
www.deerrungolf.com
www.facebook.com/DeerRunGolf
www.twitter.com/DeerRunGolfClub

Greetings Golfers,

Bryson DeChambeau gained a bunch of weight over the Winter and is driving the ball 18 yards farther than last year. I also gained a bunch of weight over the Winter and am driving it 1/2 a yard farther than last year. I guess Bryson was also lifting weights and adding muscle. I rested on the couch and added much needed padding instead.

However, DeChambeau is not a great player because of his girth … he has great control of the club with his hands. Like many Tour players, he’s a star at ping-pong. Seriously. He and Kuchar and Mickelson and most of those guys are wizards with a ping-pong paddle.

As you know, the key to success in ping-pong is controlling the spin of the ball. Basically, there are two types of spin: Topspin and underspin.

Same with golf. A hook is topspin … and a slice is underspin. And, it’s the same hand-action. Most golfers don’t think that they’re good enough to control the ball with spin. They are. Those same golfers probably think they’re good enough at ping-pong to control the spin. If you can do it at ping-pong … you can do at golf.

Think of your clubs as just ping-pong paddles with really long handles. Take your sand wedge and hit little chip shots with the ping-pong concept. Try to give it topspin and watch it roll out. Give it underspin and watch it go high and stop. Keep doing it until you feel confident you have control. Then start trying it with the rest of your clubs – especially your driver. The driver is made for the topspin/hook shot. You tee it up high … and then hit on the way up like a ping-pong shot. You’ll get rid of the slice forever.

Don’t worry about the mechanics of your golf swing. Learn to control the face of the golf club. It’s just a version of a ping-pong paddle.

As your reward … if you master how to control the ball with your golf club … you can then copy Bryson DeChambeau and gain weight (with no guilt) so you can hit it farther.

Sounds like the best of both worlds.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351
www.deerrungolf.com
www.facebook.com/DeerRunGolf
www.twitter.com/DeerRunGolfClub

Greetings Golfers,

How good is this weather? 64 on Sunday? Here in Minnesota?

Well, we deserve it. The past few years were brutal.

We normally have our annual Ranger-Starter meeting the last Saturday in March. Looks like we’ll have to move it up … because … we’re planning (hoping) to open the last week of March.

Every year, the theme of my big speech at the meeting is the three C’s:

• Courtesy
• Communication
• Common-sense

That’s Rangering and Starting in a nutshell. In fact, it’s what the service industry is all about.

Every morning I read the Daily Stoic – “Ancient Wisdom for Everyday Life”. This week is about the four main virtues of Stoicism:

• Wisdom
• Courage
• Temperance
• Justice

No matter how advanced as a society we get, we don’t become too evolved for the Stoic’s four main virtues. And, no matter how advanced our golf operation gets, we don’t become too evolved for the three C’s.

Life seems to always go back to the basics. Get the basics right and most things work pretty well.

Same with your golf swing. Now is the time to review the basics.

Hope to see you on the course … in March!

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351
www.deerrungolf.com
www.facebook.com/DeerRunGolf
www.twitter.com/DeerRunGolfClub