Greetings Golfers,

Golf is in the news with Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.

You all know that Tiger is playing his first tournament in 15 months. And Jack made the news by declaring that the longer golf ball is responsible for all of the golf course closings in America.

Are these two news items related? I think so … but you’ll have to bear with me.

First off, Woods had a bizarre opening round. He was 4 under par after 8 holes … but finished the day at 1 over par (73). The leaders tore it up. J.B. Holmes shot an 8 under 64,  Hideki Matsuyama shot 65, and Dustin Johnson shot 66. Those are very good scores. So I looked at their scorecards and those leaders demolished the par 5s … that’s really how they got so far under par.

Jack Nicklaus was the first player to really over-power golf courses. Nicklaus knew because of his length, that the par 5s were par 4s for him … so he was all ready 4 under par before they teed-off. Thus, there was no reason for him to take any risks on the other holes. If he could play par the rest of the holes, he would be 16 under par after 4 rounds and probably win the tournament.

Woods took Nicklaus’ model and ran with it. Drive it far and putt great.

So now, there’s a bunch of young guys playing power golf. The PGA Tour loves it … and they’ve built their courses to reward the bombers and punish the shorter, precision players.

But, building recreational courses at PGA Tour length doesn’t work very well – they’re just too long. Jack seems to think that because of the length of the Tour bombers, older classic courses aren’t long enough … so that new balls have to be invented to play at different length courses. I’m not making this up … If it sounds pretty convoluted – it is.

I know you’re probably getting tired of me beating this drum … but I have to say it again. PGA Tour golf and recreational golf are two different games.

The PGA Tour has become a bombers’ game. Jack and Tiger led that charge. Can Tiger keep up with the young bombers? If he can’t, he won’t catch Jack’s record.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

Maybe it’s the format of the emails… but, whatever the reason may be, I’m getting a lot of questions about our Annual Christmas Sale.

So, this should clear up things: The Sale is this Saturday, December 3 at the Clubhouse. The hours are from 9am – 3pm. Everything is 50% off. Everything. Even balls, clubs, and shoes which have very little mark-up in the first place.

Of course we want some winter revenue. But we also want to sell everything and start totally fresh next year. And, believe it or not, we enjoy giving you a great deal. What makes the Sale fun is that we have really good stuff left over. Cool clothes, hats, gloves, bags, etc. A smart way to Christmas shop… and a reason to buy stuff for yourself.

We are also selling the Holiday passes. We originally intended the passes to be purchased as Christmas presents. But people got wise and figured out it’s a great opportunity to set themselves up golf-wise for next year.

As always, we will be serving Christmas cookies, hot chocolate, coffee, Baileys, Kaluha, Irish whiskey. It’s more than a Sale… it’s Christmas party.

See you Saturday,

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

Greetings Golfers,

The weather forecast is that the unseasonably warm weather is over, and that winter will be coming in to Minnesota.

Well, winter is a good time to work on your golf swing. One of the internet golf instruction groups I’m in is always battling about golf swing theories. In fact, the leader of the group believes that golf instruction should all be the same. I believe in certain fundamentals, but I also believe that there is value in different teaching methods and different swing theories. And that not all people relate to the same swing ideas or to the same instructor.

I played earlier this week with an old friend and one of his friends. This old friend of mine has really become a good player. He’s learned a few fundamentals that have given him a solid swing and he’s also learned how to chip and putt. His friend – on the other hand – had a very poor idea of the golf swing. He mostly valued hitting it far. There’s nothing wrong with hitting it far, but not if it comes at the expense of control. It’s pretty hard to play good golf if you can’t control the golf ball.

This friend of my friend, lined-up way right of his target and then came way over-the-top to pull the ball back at the target. That move feels very strong – but that over-the-top move caused him to hit terrible shots … sometimes far … but usually way left or right.

I see the same few problems over and over at the range and the golf course:
* Most people line-up right of their target.
* Most people try to scoop the ball up in the air.
* Most people squeeze the golf club.
* Most people’s left thumb is on top of the shaft instead of on the the right side of the shaft.
* Most people lift the golf club on the backswing instead of swinging it back low and slow.
* Most people swing flat-footed instead of using their feet.
* Most people don’t release the golf club.

Good golfers have a good golf swing. Sounds obvious … but it gets lost in the process of hitting the ball. It’s supposed to be a golf swing. The club needs to be gently held in the fingers so it can be swung. And the body needs to move so that the club can be swung – much like throwing a ball. And the club needs to be swung at the target from the inside-out. That means you have to line-up left of the target to swing out at the target.

Hopefully that helps your understanding of the golf swing. Looks like we’ll have some time to practice – indoors.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

Give the Gift of Play: Rare and Exclusive Deer Run Golf Club Holiday Special Available at our infamous Holiday Sale December 3rd or online until December 20th (click here).

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,

This week we got a new leader – I don’t mean Donald Trump … I mean Jay Monahan. On Monday, the PGA Tour appointed Monahan their new commissioner. And also this week, the PGA of America has a new President – Paul Levy.

Leadership should never be underestimated. They say that a group gets the leader they deserve … but a powerful leader can transcend the group and carry it to new heights.

What would be “new heights” for the PGA Tour? I think a simplified and more likable Tour. The former commissioner – Tim Finchem – brought a lot of money to the PGA Tour and its players. But … I think it needs to be more than a money machine. There are too many tournaments. And what is the deal with this winter season? The 2017 season should start in 2017 – not now … that’s just goofy and greedy. Why not start the season with a bang instead of a whimper? Maybe have the Waste Management Open in Phoenix as the opener – imagine how that could jump start the season!

And the PGA Tour should be more transparent with its discipline of players. The fans don’t really know why someone is suspended. I understand why the Tour wants to be squeaky clean for its corporate sponsors … but the players need to be real human beings to really connect with the fans.

What about the PGA of America? They have to realize that their members are in the hospitality and recreation business. They are not a localized version of the PGA Tour. Yes, club golf pros need to be good golfers – but they especially have to be good with people. PGA Golf Professionals need to be able to wear many hats – teacher, player, merchandiser, manager, etc – but they especially have to be passionate about finding ways to share their love of golf.

Hopefully, Messrs. Monahan and Levy are up to the task. Healthy organizations need good leadership – even golf.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

Wednesday was a big day for sports fans. The 7th game of the World Series was as good as it gets. And – for Vikings fans – Norv Turner resigning is as good as it gets.

I wanted the Cubs to win because of the 108 year drought … and I really like their manager – Joe Madden. But, I actually liked the Indians more – I liked their style of play more than the Cubs. And the 1-0 game played on Saturday night was as good a baseball game as I’ve ever seen – a genuine work of art.

Sports are chess on a field using physical talents. But, they aren’t just X’s and O’s. The X’s and O’s guys presume all of the players to be equal – thus their schemes seldom work. The games are chess … but based on using strengths or exploiting weaknesses. Both of the World Series managers got it. But, Norv never got it. Norv took over the Viking’s offense after the bye week – when they were 5-0. Norv believed that new quarterback Sam Bradford was finally ready to run Norv’s “genius” offense. Norv’s brand of offense is definitely offensive – in the disgusting sense of the word offensive.

Norv’s X’s and O’s strategy doesn’t work with the Viking’s depleted offensive line. So rather than find ways to work around a weak O-line, Norv stayed with his “strategy” and then used the usual blame on “execution”. Mind boggling.

I’d go so far as to say the biggest problem we have in our society is trying to run everything the way that Norv does. Years ago I worked for a GM that smugly stated that he wanted all of our employees to be able to do each other’s jobs. And I said, “Really? You mean that the bookkeeper will give golf lessons, the superintendent will drive the beverage cart, the cook will run the Pro Shop, the GM will maintain the course, and the Pro will do the books?”

Contrary to modern thought – people are not blank slates. People are different. I think people should strive to be well-rounded (as I wrote a few weeks ago). But people are different from each other. Thank God! And people should find their strengths … and not be set up to fail … they should be set up to thrive.

And a good manager or coach should design their strategy to utilize people’s strengths and to minimize their weaknesses.

It will be very interesting to see how the Vikings do from now on.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

It’s almost November – this has been the quickest year of my life. They say time goes faster as you get older … I must be getting really old!

Sunday night we’ll close the golf course for the season. We always close by November 1stbecause we need to put the course to bed before the snows come. In 1991 we tried to stay open as late as possible, and then we got hit by the Halloween Blizzard. Because we hadn’t put the course to bed, we had to pay the price for it in the spring. Even if we don’t get an early blizzard, normal wear and tear to the course doesn’t heal. The bottom line is we close because we want to protect our beautifully maintained golf course.

This year we did open early – in fact we opened in mid-March. But it immediately snowed and we basically had the same opening we have every year in early April.

The weather was pretty typical until mid-summer. But, shortly after the 4th of July to the middle of September, it seemed to never stop raining. That type of rain is a nightmare for a golf course superintendent. Barry Provo did an amazing job keeping the course playable. And in August when we had constant 90 degree temperatures … our golf course was very vulnerable to disease. Barry kept us healthy throughout a lengthy, dangerous time. I can’t sing his praises enough.

All of our staff did an outstanding job and I’d like thank every one of them: Dan Abts, Doug Backstrom, Bill Bailey, Kelsey Bell, Paul Bickel, Jack Braaten, Heidi Breen, Jerry Brown, Scott Clark, Jim Clinite, Gordon Davis, Larry Dobson, Emma Duncan, Darryl Egertson, Bob Elfering, Dick Eller, Don Ellwood, Tyler Erickson, Sam Esse, Shelly Esse, Ray Falls, Kevin Fitzgerald, Bonnie Fredrickson, Carolyn Gaskill, Jim Gibson, Calvin Greene, Anna Hanson, Gabriela Heise, John Herrmann, Paul Hook, Ashley Hughes, Sonny Jurgens, Morgan Kelsy, Willie Kelzer, Todd Knutson, Madison Koebnick, Ray Kutz, Abby Kuzara, Kasey Liebeg, Kevin Loney, Stephanie Loney, Bob MacKinnon, Amanda Malo, Fred McGraw, Lori Money, Lee Moran, Mikalea Meadows, Emma Melander, Beth Melander, Sarah Menzuber, Stephanie Meuwissen, Colton Motschenbacher, Dennis Miller, Kayla Mork, Maddie Mork, Don Nelson, Taylor Nelson, Kristi Notvedt, Nick Peters, Dan Peterson, Gary Peterson, Gary Plummer, Sophia Priem, Barry Provo, John Rochford, Jacob Rollin, Erin Schliesman, Jim Schmieg, Todd Schlinder, Don Schneider, Paul Schullo, Conor Schwartz, Ron Solheim, Roger Swanson, Michelle Tentis, Morgan Tentis, John Thompson, Mike Thompson, Jim Werre, Tom Wellhausen, Kristi Williamson.

Our staff has been recognized for their exceptional efforts by the readers of TEE TIME magazine. In their annual “Readers Poll” they rated Deer Run GC in the top 5 in seven categories: “Best Golf Experience”, “Best Course Condition”, “Best Greens”, “Best Clubhouse”, “Best Pro Shop”, “Best Course to Host an Event” … and “Best Hospitality” for the 5th year in a row!

And … the Midwest Golf Course Owners Association awarded Deer Run GC their 2016 Golf Course of the Year.

Not only for Deer Run GC – but for golf in Minnesota – 2016 was a great year. The Ryder Cup hosted by Hazeltine National was a spectacular event. The Americans pulled off a much needed victory … and the weather was perfect. On stage in front of the whole world, Minnesota golf looked as good as it gets.

It was a pretty good year – no wonder it went so fast.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

Have you been watching the baseball playoffs? It’s been good baseball … and smart baseball. The good managers seem to excel in the playoffs – what a shock.

Sort of like the Vikings. They finally have a good head coach … and surprise, surprise … they’re winning.

But as much as I’m enjoying the playoffs, the season is too long. If the World Series is between Cleveland and Chicago … well, I hope they don’t have to play in snow. All professional sports seasons have become too long. The NHL finishes their playoffs in the summer. That’s ridiculous. I’m a fan, but more is not always better. They’re just being greedy.

The PGA Tour should be done for the year. But now, they’re starting the new season before the New Year. How does that make sense?

Youth sports have also become year-round seasons. They want kids to fully commit to one sport by age 10. That’s also ridiculous.

I’ve heard that the Vikings new quarterback – Sam Bradford – was a superstar basketball player, superstar hockey player, and could have been a PGA Tour golfer. Obviously, he’s a freak athlete. But, I think playing all of those sports helped him become a better athlete and a better football player than if he’d only played football as a kid.

It’s the same with developing your brain. What if a kid decided at age 10 that he was only going to do math?

I think we’re becoming too specialized at the expense of being well-rounded. And maybe by becoming too specialized we’ve lost what was considered common-sense. Common-sense requires more than a narrow perspective … it requires a fundamental sense of how the world works – not just a specialized area.

The best coaches have common-sense. Too often coaches get so hung up on the X’s and O’s that they can’t see the obvious. I think the Cubs and Indians have the best managers in baseball – should be a great World Series. And Mike Zimmer could be one of the best coaches in the NFL. I’d love to see the Vikings and the Patriots in the Super Bowl. How good would that be?

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

Tiger Woods is back in the news. He hasn’t played a PGA Tour event in 14 months … and counting. He’d agreed to play in this week’s Safeway Open, but withdrew on Monday. Usually Friday is the last day to withdraw … but something over the weekend must have convinced Woods to withdraw.

We know he’s had back problems – did they flare up? Or did his chipping yips reappear?

I think the Ryder Cup rekindled his competitive juices … and he committed to play. But, reality probably hit last weekend and he didn’t want to look foolish on a pretty big stage.

This next year is going to be when we find out who Eldrick Woods really is. I think life is all about overcoming. Did Woods make impressive comebacks during golf tournaments? Yes. But that’s not what I’m talking about. Tiger has been Tiger Woods since he was 2 years old on the Mike Douglas Show.

Success is relative. A natural athlete who is captain of his high school team is less impressive than the handicapped kid who becomes a decent athlete.

Most of us love the first “Rocky” movie. In fact, most good movies have the climatic scene where the hero has to decide to whether to give up or overcome. Think of “Gone With the Wind”.

But, some people think those critical decisions are cornball. They say we don’t really have those choices – that we are victims of our circumstances and that society is responsible for our lives. In fact, when I was in high school, we saw a Bob Richards/Wheaties film about Glen Cunningham. As a boy, Cunningham’s legs were burned up in a fire and they said he would never walk again. Wrong. Through sheer will power and determination, Cunningham not only walked, but set the world record for the mile run in 1934. My teacher said that the film was an example of capitalistic propaganda to keep people from revolting against an unfair society. Wow … talk about propaganda – her Marxist ideology was all about brainwashing.

I’ll admit it – I’m a cornball. I believe in the power of the will and love stories of the human spirit overcoming the odds. That’s the main reason I love sports.

Let’s see if Tiger Woods can come back. I always admired his skills and accomplishments. But I never thought he was a hero. If he can come back and overcome his yips – even if he doesn’t win again – he’ll be a hero in my book.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

Have you had time to process the Ryder Cup? Most people would say it was a huge success – not only for the USA and Hazeltine – but for the game of golf.

Maybe some purists are mad. Too much yelling, too much drinking, too many birdies, too much fist pumping. Well, golf doesn’t have to have the atmosphere of a funeral. Golf can and should be joyful.

Speaking of funerals – I hope you saw Arnie’s Public Memorial Service on Tuesday. Though it was reserved and respectful, it was joyful. Arnie’s life was joyful … and Arnie tried to bring joy to others … that’s why he was so special. I think Arnie would have loved this Ryder Cup – especially that moment on hole #8 when Patrick Reed made a putt right after Rory and they back slapped each other as they walked to #9. That was as good as it gets.

Justin Rose complained that the course was set up like a Pro-Am. Do you think we would have seen that excitement if guys were winning holes with bogeys? Thank God they cut down the rough and put the pins in easy places – let those guys light it up. The weather was perfect – warm but not hot – and almost no wind. Hazeltine can be a beast – even for those guys. Yet, if you let the best in the world have good scoring conditions, they’ll tear apart a beast like Hazeltine … look at the Phil-Sergio match – they made 19 birdies and each shot 63. Would Justin Rose rather that each guy shot 75 and sometimes won holes with bogeys?

There is a time and place for that type of golf – the US Open. That’s when par is a great score and it’s 4 rounds of grinding. I love that too. But, match play is great fun and needs to be less of a grind and more of a party. Birdies and eagles are more uplifting than bogeys and double bogeys.

This Ryder Cup was great for golf. It will be talked about for many years and may even become a legend. It was the perfect tribute to Arnold Palmer. What a week.

Cheers,

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