Greetings Golfers,

Johnny Miller is a polarizing figure. People love him or hate him. I’m one of the lovers.

I think he’s misunderstood. Let me plead my case. Miller calls it as he sees it – he doesn’t pull any punches. I don’t think he does it to be edgy or interesting … he just says what he believes to be true. And that’s what makes him such a great golf analyst.

Miller is very analytical and insightful. Those qualities helped make him a great golfer. Nobody except for maybe Byron Nelson hit the ball as solid and straight as Miller did in his heyday. Once in a PGA Tournament in Tucson, Miller hit the pin 11 times. Miller really figured out thegolf swing. His instructional videos are the best out there.

Was he a great player? Yes – though his playing ability seems to have been forgotten. His final round 63 at Oakmont CC to win the 1973 US Open is one of the all-time great rounds of golf. A few years later – 1976 – he won the British Open by 6 shots. During that time he dominatedgolf, and that was by beating Nicklaus, Player, Watson, Trevino, and Weiskopf in their prime – not exactly easy pickings.

But that analytical, insightful mind was also his downfall. He’s harder on himself than he is on the players he comments on. And that brutal self-analysis led to putting too much pressure on himself and a tendency to choke. It especially showed up in his putting. He developed a case of the yips that was too painful to watch.

Well this week the PGA Tour is playing at Silverado CC – Miller is one of the owners. Golf has been good to Johnny Miller – but Johnny Miller has been good for golf.

Miller is outspoken. But it is a reflection of his hyper-sensitivity – not a reflection of a being jerk.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

Being a life-long Minnesota sports fan, last week’s Ryder Cup seemed all too normal … I’m used to watching my teams lose.

Is it all about winning and losing? No – seriously. Obviously I want my teams to win, but I also like watching great players play their games. But, I need to like my teams even if they lose. Every team has a personality and style of play … and that part is very important to me.

Was the 2014 American Ryder Cup team very likable? Not very. Was Tom Watson a great captain? No. Did he deserve to have Phil Mickleson blast him at the final press conference? No – Mickleson was out of line. I happen to agree with what he said, but to say such things in that situation was very disrespectful. Phil better hope that Watson doesn’t have friends in the Mafia.

As you know, the next Ryder Cup will be here in Minnesota in 2016. Our neighbor Hazeltine National will be hosting the Event. Can I get all of you tickets? Of course … just stop by the Pro Shop, we’ll be giving them out with our tees and scorecards.

Will we be doing fun stuff for the 2016 Ryder Cup? Of course. Will I spill the beans now? Of course not. Will that Fall be crazy because of the Twins led by Molitor or Mientkiewicz playing in the World Series? And the undefeated Vikings led by Coach of the Year Mike Zimmer? And the Jerry Kill Rose Bowl bound Gophers? I’m planning on it.

Fall of 2016 could be the dream season for Minnesota sports fans. We deserve it.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

Yes – the Ryder Cup has started. Were you up at 1am to watch the opening tee shot? After the opening round, the USA is leading 2.5 to 1.5 for Europe.

The USA dominated the Ryder Cup since it began in 1927 – when it was the USA vs Great Britain. But when it changed to the USA vs Europe in 1979 … the results also changed. Europe has won 7 of the last 9 Ryder Cups.

The big win for the USA during that stretch was in 1999. Though the USA was on home turf at the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts … they were getting blown out after the second day. The night before the final day – almost magically – USA Captain Ben Crenshaw predicted a USA victory. Crenshaw’s prediction seemed as ridiculous as Joe Namath’s “guarantee” before the 1969 Super Bowl.

But Crenshaw was right – the USA won 14.5 to 13.5. And Justin Leonard was the hero when he made a monster putt to beat Jose Maria Olazabal.

What’s happened to Justin Leonard? I first saw him in 1993 at the Walker Cup here in Minnesota at Interlachen CC. The USA won that Walker Cup with Minnesota boys Tim Herron and John Harris leading the way. Justin Leonard was only in college, but already a US Amateur champ and headed for the PGA Tour. He came out hot and won the US Open in 1997 at only 25 years of age. And then Leonard had some tough finishes while leading some Majors. It can be a cruel game.

But maybe the young guys have the magic. The USA hopes so – Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed and Ricky Fowler are all under 25.

This might be worth waking up at 1am to see.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

Scotland had two historic votes yesterday. One was close and the other wasn’t.

The members of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews voted by 85% to admit women members. And the citizens of Scotland voted 55% to remain subjects of Great Britain.

I wonder what Mary Queen of Scots (Bloody Mary) would have thought of these two votes. In 1567, she was seen playing golf shortly after the death of her husband… at St. Andrews Golf Club.

The Scots are known for being feisty, independent people – male and female. Golf is a game for feisty, independent people. I’m not surprised by the St. Andrews vote. But I am surprised by the vote for Scottish independence.

I’ll admit that I like to imbibe in a little whiskey when I play golf – Scotch, Irish, or Kentucky whiskey. But this weekend I’ll change to a Bloody Mary… in honor of the Scots – especially Mary Queen of Scots.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

The other day – Sept. 10 – Arnold Palmer turned 85 years old. And he’s still cool.

Not only did Arnie make golf big time – he made sports big time. At least money-wise for the players. Arnie and Mark McCormick were the guys to come up with the sports agent concept. And Arnie was the perfect guy to represent products and companies. He was handsome – but not pretty. He was stylish with his alpaca sweaters and pink shirts – but still masculine. He was confident – but not arrogant. He was charming – but not phony. Wow. Men admired him and women loved him.

And he was a great golfer. His swing was crazy – it drove Hogan nuts. But he kept the face square through the ball and could play a lot of shots. He had great hands – strong hands and yet had a lot of feel – and for awhile he was a great putter. And he played balls-to-the wall golf – it was so aggressive that it was mesmerizing.

Arnie made the PGA Tour what is. Arnie made the Senior Tour viable – it would have never happened without him. He won over 60 PGA tournaments. He designed over 200 golf courses. And … the half lemonade/half iced tea drink is known as an Arnold Palmer.

But not only is Arnie cool – Arnie is warm … that’s why he’s so special. You can feel it. Years ago at the Masters, a buddy of mine was repping Arnie’s golf clubs and wanted me to meet him. I said no (I’m not into meeting celebrities). But my buddy insisted, so I went over. Arnie looked at me while we talked – he didn’t look around for someone more important. We talked about how we both liked to put leather wrap grips on our clubs. He was very human – he was very warm.

How many people are very cool and very warm? Well, Arnold Palmer is. Hope he had a happy birthday.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

The other day while my wife was walking our dog, 3 dogs ran out into the street and attacked our dog. My wife helped Harvey fight off the dogs until the neighbors came and called off their dogs.

Shortly after, my wife calmly confronted these “neighbors” and they responded with hostility. They didn’t apologize – they got mad at her.

Too often, when people are in the wrong and called out for it… they become vicious and self-righteous when called out on it.

On Labor Day, we had some ridiculously slow golfers whom I politely asked to speed up. They got angry – somehow I was the bad guy because they had jammed up the whole golf course.

Then the other night, one of our regular golfers decided to give me some advice. Though we are not a private country club, he wanted the services of an expensive private club… and especially wanted our staff to call him “Mister”. When I told him that he was out of line – especially about the “Mister” thing – he became angry and hostile… just like my psycho neighbors, and just like the slow golfers.

Is our society becoming more narcissistic? Is modern life making people crazy? I thought spoiled children only acted like this … these people are all adults (well, age-wise).

People of an entitlement attitude can never say “thank you” or “I’m sorry”.

Your comments and advice will be much appreciated.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

Have you seen that email that’s been going around about the sign in the urinal?

If not – here it is:

Obviously the reason it’s funny, is because of how often people are “helping” each other on the golf course. I don’t know about you, but I don’t appreciate unsolicited advice.

Remember that Dale Carnegie book “ How to Win Friends and Influence People?” Well, if you want to do exactly the opposite – just give people unsolicited advice. The name of that book would be “ Bossiness – the Key to Being Disliked”.

Golf seems to bring out the “advice” in a lot of people. I think one of the main reasons is because they themselves are so frustrated and confused. That sense of being out of control causes some people to become controlling – of others. Thus the constant unsolicited advice. Rejection of this “help” is met with: “I’m only trying to help” or “Why are you so sensitive?”

This rude behavior is also considered “just being honest” or “telling it like it is”.

I find this behavior fascinating. The narcissism of these controllers is justified by their desire to “help” other people.

Golf can be frustrating. Life can be frustrating. But unsolicited advice doesn’t make things better.

I hope those control freaks don’t take their agendas into the urinals.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

It’s already time for the State Fair. How did that happen? Seems like Summer just started.

But Fall is near … Labor Day is only a week away. And Fall means that football is back. I’m excited about Zimmer – the Vikings new Head Coach … I really haven’t liked a Viking’s Head Coach since Bud Grant (well – maybe Burnsie).

As much as I care about wins and losses … I care more about the personality of the team and their style of play. I think that Zimmer can finally bring those qualities back to the Vikings.

What about Fall Golf? As far as the Tour goes, that means no more Majors, but the Fed Ex Cup and the Ryder Cup should keep it interesting.

What about Fall Golf at Deer Run GC? Well, we don’t punch the greens until October … so September golf should be perfect – nice temperatures, no bugs, great course conditions. Also, a lot of our tee times open up with fewer events, and the ending of league play. If you have to spend the weekend watching football, come on out and tee-it-up during the week … don’t waste this Fall.

We deserve a beautiful Fall. We didn’t have Spring, and June was a flood. I’m not complaining – just stating the truth. And I’m not complaining about the recent articles about the demise of golf. Sure, golf over-built and some courses are struggling. A few years ago the housing market over-built … but people still need houses. Well, people still want to play golf. And Fall is the perfect time to play golf – hope to see you a lot in September and October.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

On the way to work the other day, I heard that old 38 Special song “Hold on Loosely” … and of course related it to the golf swing.

How about these lyrics: “Just hold on loosely, But don’t let go, If you cling too tightly, You’re going to lose control”.

How true is that? And how hard to do under pressure?

Usually when I see people start playing poorly during a round, it’s because they start squeezing the golf club. Then the worse they play, the tighter they squeeze. Then, they start making swing changes. Usually unnecessary swing changes.

It’s sort of a chicken-or-egg situation … the squeezed grip causes technical problems. But a relaxed grip will very often solve those problems (if they haven’t become too ingrained).

Remember … it’s a golf swing … and it’s pretty hard to make a swing with a super tight grip.

Baseball bats have a knob at the grip end so that the bat won’t fly out of your hands. The baseball bat should also be held loosely. Remember Tony Oliva? His bat was always flying into the crowd … and he was one of the best hitters of all time (and very underrated).

Do I want to rant about how the song lyrics relate to relationships and to leadership? Of course. Do you want to read about that this morning?

Well, I’m going to take the advice of the song and “Hold on Loosely” to this blog. I think you get it.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

I can’t believe that it’s already the PGA Championship. How did that happen? In some ways I feel like the golf season just started.

Maybe it’s because we opened the course at the end of April, and then May and and June were cold and wet.

But July was beautiful. And August is starting out gorgeous too. Let’s hope for a glorious Fall – we deserve it.

The PGA has never had the cache of the other 3 Majors. I’m not saying it’s a dud … but it definitely doesn’t have the magic and aura of the Masters, US Open, and British Open. Can it? I think so … but it needs a different flavor – it needs to draw on its history. If I were in charge, I’d make Walter Hagen the face of the PGA Championship. I don’t understand why Hagen is so underutilized by the PGA. He single-handedly made the PGA of America respectable … and he won 5 PGA Championships. Hagen is also third in Major victories – behind Nicklaus and Woods – no one ever mentions that.

To get fan interest, the PGA is asking fans to vote for where to put the pin on the 72nd hole. Did the PGA every hear about the Law of Attraction? That’s how you get people interested – not some survey.

Well, I’ll still watch. Rory is playing out of his mind. So is Sergio. Your buddy Dustin Johnson won’t be there … and who knows about Tiger. A little drama always helps. But an exciting tournament with a magical vibe and a vaunted history is what is really needed.

Cheers,

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