Greetings Golfers,

Most acquired skills take time and practice … and then the technique evolves. Golf is no exception. As Hogan said in his famous book “The Five Fundamentals”, most natural ways to hit a golf ball are wrong.

The two typical ways to hit a golf ball are to scoop it up in the air … and to beat down on it like killing a snake. Neither way is very successful or consistently successful.

Control is needed for the short shots and power is needed for long shots. Firm wrists are the key to controlling the short shots. And looser arms and rotating wrists are the key to longer shots.

Most people slice because of the two methods mentioned earlier. The scooped shot opens up the clubface and sends the ball right of the target. Iron shots won’t slice much – especially short irons – because the loft of the club counteracts the slice side-spin. Low lofted clubs – especially the driver – will really slice because there is not enough loft to counteract the side spin put on the ball. Usually by swinging hard, the player comes over-the-top and cuts across the ball with an open clubface … a perfect recipe for a big slice.

So, golfers have to learn to close the clubface with a counter clockwise wrist/hand action to overcome slicing the ball. Then, when confident the ball won’t slice, they can swing right of the target and draw the ball back in.

Hopefully this technique will last the rest of their golfing days. But, that draw can turn into a hook – especially as the golfer gets older and doesn’t have strong enough leg action to counter balance the strong hand/wrist action.

Many Tour players develop an anti-hook swing … not because of weak legs … but just because they want even more control of the golf ball. Thus the power fade.

But – the power fade is a bad model for golfers who have not progressed to the draw/hook phase of the golf swing. Many Tour players’ swings are not good models for most golfers. And many books and videos are not good for the golfer who hasn’t learned to draw/hook the ball.

You know those drawings of Darwin’s evolutionary model of human beings evolving from creatures in the sea? We need a drawing of the steps of an evolving golf swing … from scooping all the way up to Hogan’s power fade.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

Have you read the book “The Halo Effect” by Phil Rosenzweig? He debunks many of the popular business books that promise easy answers to success. The “halo” means that when a business is rocking that the halo blinds people to believing that everything they do is right … though, when they start failing and the halo dims, they are still doing the same things that were once praised.

I think he brings some much needed clarity and sanity, but he doesn’t offer any options to success.

Most business books talk about strategy and execution. Most sports teams talk about strategy and execution. Most generals talk about strategy and execution. But few businesses or teams or armies continue to succeed, because most can’t change their strategies. They rely too much on execution.

Do you remember when Childress had the Vikings running AP only in obvious situations? He’d gain one yard and then Chilly would blame the offensive line for poor execution. How about blaming himself for poor strategy?

The key to success is to execute a successful strategy. For guys like Chilly, strategy was by the book and the total emphasis was on execution. That only works if your talent is WAY better than the competition. Or, in business if your product is WAY better than the competition. Or in war, if your army is WAY more powerful than the enemy.

Years ago I played golf with a college player who hit the ball beautifully and shot 80. I scraped it around and shot 72. We talked about strategy after the round – he had no clue. He tried to hit the perfect shot every time – with no margin of error. Good shots were a yard off and turned into nightmares.

As good as Adrian Peterson was, he couldn’t run through a defense that was expecting him to get the ball.

Years ago, I beat a local tennis pro in a match – he then threw his racket at the clock and it exploded. He was an excellent player with beautiful strokes … I was a garbage player like Bobby Riggs. I never got into a rally with him – why would I try to beat him at his own game?

Your strategy has to be based on what you can do. Not based on some perfect model. The perfect model will work if everything is perfect. Talk about La-la land.

I believe in creative and realistic strategies that allow for a large margin of error. We need a book called “The Reality Effect”.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

How good is the Open? It just has such a great feel about it – I’d love to see it in person. The Masters also has a unique and great feel. The US Open used to, but it’s starting to feel more like a PGA Championship (and that’s not a compliment).

The first round leader board is excellent – Spieth and Koepka and Kuchar lead at 5 under. Three Americans are leading the Open … but England’s Paul Casey is right behind them – don’t be surprised if Casey wins his first Major – he’s the real deal.

Today (Friday) is supposed to get nasty – rainy and windy and cold … it’s Britain! Then the fun begins. I love links golf – especially bad weather links golf. I want to see shot making and course management and resiliency. The winner will definitely have those qualities.

How’s this for goofy – Tom Lehman beat Sergio and Phil in the first round. If the weather gets crazy, crafty Tom could sneak his way up the leaderboard … like another Tom did a few years ago (Watson).

Justin Thomas played great and is at 3 under. He also wore a cardigan sweater and a tie. But Jordan Spieth is probably the guy to watch. He just knows how to play golf.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

Golf can be very frustrating. Life can be very frustrating. Some people deal with these frustrations with grace. I used to think their graciousness was the result of being relaxed and easy going. Now I think it comes from having the heart of a lion.

Yesterday, Don Ellwood, playing in our Thursday Men’s League, made a Hole-in-One. Though only in his 50’s … Don’s body has been breaking down for at least 10 years. In fact, I can’t believe he can play golf. Is Don one of those relaxed, easy going guys? No. Is he cheerful, and kind, and warm spirited? Yes.

After Don made his Ace on hole #2 … the word spread like wildfire across the golf course and clubhouse. I figured that he’d come in after 9 holes and celebrate his amazing achievement. He was tired – really tired. But, he was determined to finish his round. Which he did. All 18 holes.

The story gets better. He shot 89. I can’t tell you how amazing that score is. That score was the result of having the heart of a lion. Most of us would have quit after 9. Heck, most of us in Don’s condition wouldn’t have even played.

The heart of a lion doesn’t show itself in pointless displays of roaring. It tackles life’s challenges with grace and class.

Cheers to Don Ellwood,

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

Greetings Golfers,

Ratings were down for last week’s US Open. Was the problem the course, FOX’s coverage, or just golf itself?

I think it was all three. Ironically, I love Erin Hills … but I don’t think it’s a US Open course … more of a PGA Championship golf course. Too long and too wide open … plays into the hands of bombers instead of Hogan-type control shotmakers.

FOX’s coverage was boring … but I think most televised golf coverage is boring. Way too much putting … way too much hopping around … too much dumb swing analysis … not enough strategy analysis … too much of a phony tone. I don’t want loud and obnoxious like it’s “Pro” Wrestling … but I’d like a tone that feels more like a conversation between real people.

Real people = Tour players and Tour swings. Is that a fit? Not for me. I feel like these kids were just shoved out on Tour out of a life-long golf camp. Tennis went through that stage and died. Around 30 years ago I went to a tennis camp in Tampa that had those year round “students”. It was really creepy. They took that “charm” to the Pro Circuit.

What is “pure” golf? I think it’s more like the Scottish shepherds who invented the game by hitting rocks with their walking canes and winning a shot of whisky. Or when we played neighborhood sports as a kid.

I like the modern stuff to make golf easier – clubs, balls, carts, etc. But, I don’t like the modern atmosphere that is sterile, lifeless, and false.

I’d like to see the US Open adopt a rotation of courses – like they do at the British Open. Old school venues like Merion, Oakmont, etc. Because that’s the US Open. I also enjoy crazy tournaments like the Phoenix Open or last year’s Ryder Cup. There’s room for both. But I think the hybrid is neither fish nor fowl.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

As you probably know, many golf courses are struggling – public and private.

And, as you probably know, many people struggle to play decent golf.

I think both situations are related. The problem with both is the idea that one size fits all. Too many golf courses try to be everything to everyone. Sort of like the restaurant that has every type of food on the menu … it’s usually all bad.

Trying to make everyone swing the same way is also a recipe for failure.

Let me make a leap. You know how we’re always hearing about “celebrating our diversity”? Ironically, I think what many people who say that really mean is this – that they can make ALL types of people exactly the same.

I don’t think they like diversity at all. They want to take away the uniqueness of people and turn them into highly functioning robots.

This attitude has spread to all areas of our society.

We’ve become process driven instead of results driven. Process driven takes away creativity and uniqueness. Let people find a new way to get a result. Let people find a unique way to hit a golf ball. Let people find a unique way to run a golf course.

The “Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave”? I still believe in it. But, that’s the opposite of trying to make everybody the same.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

Remember the scene in “Bull Durham” when Crash (Kevin Costner) is telling The Kid (Tim Robins) how to talk to the press when he makes the Big Leagues … that The Kid needs to use a bunch of dumb, bland cliches?

Aren’t people tired of that junk? Whether in sports or politics or business or anything … people are tired of phoniness – they want authenticity.

The former commissioner of the PGA Tour – Tim Finchem – created a product to sell to corporate sponsors by promising it would be squeaky clean. So if the players weren’t living up to the image … their exploits were covered up. How long have they been covering for Tiger? My sources say that this behavior has been going on for a long time.

Now I’m not advocating that players be under the microscope and sports coverage becomes the National Enquirer. But, I would like to see athletes lose the double-talk and cliches and talk like real people.

And I don’t mean that sleaziness or bad behavior is what makes someone real. I just want to know who they really are. And I think this goes hand-in-hand with this modern robotic golf swing. Last week at the Colonial … PGA Tour players tried to hit Hogan’s old clubs with a balata ball. They failed miserably.

Obviously the PGA Tour is not going to make a 180. However, I would love to see a bunch of players talk like real people, not swing like a robot, and not wear this “athletic” clothing … they look like dorks.

Last month they asked Rory McIlroy what is the all-time coolest picture in golf. He said the one at the 1966 Masters of Hogan & Palmer waiting at the tee box smoking cigarettes. Yeah – I agree.

“Bull Durham” was a great movie because the characters were so interesting … bland, phony people are not interesting … golf should figure that out.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

In the early 90’s … Deer Run was cursed with slow play. So, we came up with Fast Play Friday, which put us on the map and changed our culture. We became know as a course that you could play in around 4 hours every day of the week.

The challenge is to maintain that pace when the golf course is continually full from sunrise to sunset. Yesterday, we did just that. We were stuffed all day and it never got over the 4 hour mark for a round of golf.

I don’t say that to be smug or self-congratulatory … I say that to emphasize that it is a result of a culture that has developed and been continued for 20 years.

However, not everyone is acquainted with the nuances of playing golf at a reasonable pace.

So, hopefully without sounding tiresome, here are some tips to keep your round moving at a nice pace:

*    Play from the right set of tees.
*    If walking, don’t travel as a member of a pack all going to each others’ ball – go to your own ball.
*    If riding in a cart, go to the first ball and drop off the first player with a few clubs … then the other player goes to their ball.
*    Begin reading the green and lining up your putt as you walk to the green.
*    Get off the green after you putt … and write down the scores at the next tee box.
*    Keep your putter in your hand when you get to the cart and put it in your bag at the next tee box when you take out your club to use on the next hole’s tee box. Same thing with your driver – don’t put it in your bag until you’ve driven to your next shot.
*    Be considerate about lost balls. If it’s obviously way in the jungle, don’t waste your time. And don’t ask your playing partners to waste their time looking for your lost ball – they should be going to their next shot.
*    Don’t hunt for golf balls when playing golf.
*    Save your funny stories for waiting situations such as second shots on par 5s.
*    Don’t use a long set-up routine … it doesn’t help your game and is just annoying.

I hope those help. Golf should be fun and relaxing – not a race track. But, slow play is not fun and relaxing – it’s frustrating for your playing partners and the people behind you.

A 4 hour round is not “fast”. It’s equivalent to driving 60 mph on the freeway.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

You seldom hear golfers talk about footwork. The modern swing emphasizes “the core”. Over the years, emphasis on hand-action and footwork has been almost eliminated.

Swinging a golf club is a lot like throwing a ball. Football announcers love to analyze the footwork of quarterbacks. Good footwork puts the quarterback into position to throw the ball. Same with the golf swing. Good footwork puts you in position to hit the ball with your hands.

Jackie Gleason had a bad “core” but he had great hands and footwork and was an excellent golfer. I’d take him as a playing partner over the gymnast with the great core.

Sam Snead had the best golf swing of all time … and probably had the best footwork.

Here’s a fun video about footwork: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E_bpACouKU

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

The other night, a young man was in my office talking about his golf game. Nothing unusual about that, but what was unusual was that his friends said that he swings like a Tour Player and can’t break 100. What? And, all of his numbers on Trackman are perfect – launch angle, clubhead speed etc. And he plays like a Pro on an indoor simulator.

But golf is a game that is played outdoors on a golf course.

Here’s a great quote from Bobby Jones: “Golf is played by striking the ball with the head of the club. The objective of the player is not to swing the club in a specified manner, nor to execute a series of complicated movements in a prescribed sequence, nor to look pretty while he is doing it, but primarily and essentially to strike the ball with the head of the club so that the ball will perform according to his wishes. No one can play golf until he knows the many ways in which a ball can be expected to respond when it is struck in different ways. If you think this all should be obvious, please believe me when I assure you that I have seen many really good players attempt shots that they should have known were impossible.”

So what does Jones mean and how does that pertain to our Tour Swing 100 score golfer? You have to train your hands to control the clubhead. That goes for every shot – putting, chipping, irons, driving, bunker shots, etc. Your golf swing doesn’t hit the ball … your golf swing puts you in a position to hit the shot with your hands.

That basic fact has become lost or taken for granted on the modern obsession with developing a perfect powerful golf swing.

Work on your chipping. Become a great chipper of the golf ball. That skill will translate to control of the clubhead on all of your shots.

I told the young “Tour Player” that he needed to develop his hands. I hope he tries to do it … and I hope you do too.

Cheers,

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