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

Greetings Golfers,

Yesterday I watched some of the PGA Tournament at Firestone on tv. I only planned on watching a few minutes. But, I watched almost the whole thing – because watching Tiger Woods is fascinating.

I’ve never been a big Woods fan. He’s just never seemed very likable. I wasn’t one of the haters – I just wasn’t a fan. Maybe because rooting for Woods seemed like rooting for the Yankees – I can’t do it. I’ve always rooted for the underdog (it’s in my bones as a life-long MN sports fan).

But, Tiger Woods makes a golf tournament interesting. He’s trying to make a comeback, and was paired yesterday with Martin Kaymer. Kaymer will probably be Player of the Year, and his US Open victory was one of total domination. So on the first hole, Kaymer beats it around but makes a long putt to save par. Woods hits it perfectly and looks like he’ll make birdie. Woods three putts and walks off with bogie. So on the next hole, Woods snap hooks his drive into the next fairway. I thought he was done right there … looked like he was going to break his driver as he was walking to his ball. But, in typical Tiger fashion, he made birdie. Unbelievable.

The whole round was like that. Somehow Woods shot 2 under. Kaymer also played bad, but he shot 7 over. So what is it about Woods? He’s determined … but so is Kaymer. He’s talented … but so is Kaymer. Woods is different – he plays every shot like it’s the most important shot of his life. Who can do that? Woods seems to will the ball into the hole. Remember when he made that putt to tie Rocco for the US Open? Or when he chipped in on 16 at the Masters? I could go on and on. Who is this guy?

That’s why I watched the whole round.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

I need to talk about the “Spirit of the Game”. I think it’s at the heart of golf and what makes it such a great game.

Here’s what the R&A says it means: “Honesty, Integrity, and Courtesy”. They then go on to say: “Part of that spirit sits beneath the term ‘etiquette’ and part of it relates to the Rules of Golf. But the Spirit of the Game goes much deeper than just those two intangible terms. It is something that every golfer should develop an innate sense of, something that is born of golf’s unparalleled history, and something which lifts golf, one could argue, among other sports.”

You probably don’t want to just read quotes from the R&A, but you have to admit that they did say it well; because without the Spirit of the Game, golf just doesn’t work. You have to be your own referee. And that sense of honor and fair play extends to the etiquette of the game. And etiquette means not just being a courteous player, but also not being a rules Nazi. Too many people need to learn that concept.

I wish that the rules of golf were much simpler. The fundamental rule was to play it as it lies. A rule was needed when the ball was lost or unplayable. But the Rules of Golf have been increased to cover every possible situation and to make it fair for everyone. Everyone is as likely to get a bad break as someone else – that’s fair. The game is about taking responsibility for your shot and then making the best you can out of the next shot.

When golf is too much about the Rules rather than the Spirit of the Game … it’s missing the point.

About 100 years ago … Oswald Spengler wrote a book called “The Decline of the West.” The basic premise is that cultures last about a 1,000 years – they start out with Sprit and energy, and then devolve into just a bunch of rules and regulations, and lose the Spirit and energy that made them vibrant. Too often that happens with golfers – they lose their initial zest for the game and just turn into Rules freaks.

Remember – as the R&A says: the Spirit of the Game means Honesty, Integrity, and Courtesy. The Rules are just a way to play the game – the Spirit is why we play.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

This week the British Open is at Royal Liverpool. It’s not nearly as famous as the other British Open venues such as St. Andrews, Turnberry, and Muirfield … but it has a great history. For example, Royal Liverpool is where Bobby Jones won the second leg of his historic Grand Slam in 1930.

Royal Liverpool last hosted the Open in 2006 when Tiger Woods won by 6 shots. Tiger’s back – he shot 69 yesterday. Sure, the weather’s perfect … but I didn’t think Woods would break 75.

Last year’s Open champ – Phil Mickelson – shot a wobbly 74. Phil has usually played poorly in the Open. Last year’s victory was a shocker … but Phil is definitely a wild card – ya never know with him.

Rory McIlroy lit it up with a 6 under par 66. Rory has been struggling on Fridays … if he can play well today, he’ll probably take home the Claret Jug.

The locals would probably love a Rory victory – Liverpool is hugely Irish and would enjoy an Irishman winning the Open on their turf.

Liverpool always makes me think of Paul McCartney and the Beatles. It’s a port city that brought music and guitars in from America. So they combined American Blues and Buddy Holly Beat music with Irish folk music … thus the start of the “British Invasion.” John Lennon named the Beatles as a take off from Buddy Holly’s “Crickets.”

An Englishman hasn’t won an Open since Nick Faldo in 1992 … and an Englishman hasn’t won an Open on English soil since Tony Jacklin in 1969. But Justin Rose could change that.

This should be a fantastic Open – looks like the city of Liverpool is back on the map.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

Have you heard of Adam Grant’s book “Give and Take”? The concept is that you will be more successful in the business world if you give more than you take.

It’s not really that simple – you need to give what you care about … not just random giving. And you have to do it from the heart – not just act like you’re giving.

Grant says that there are 3 types of people: Takers, Matchers, and Givers. All 3 types can be successful … but the Givers seem to be the most successful – especially in the long run.

This is very interesting, and for some people counter-intuitive. I think for short-term thinking people, this concept is mind-blowing. But the author – Adam Grant – is not just some New Age guru … he’s a big time professor at the Wharton School of business. (Ironically, Donald Trump went to the Wharton School … a long time ago).

I think one of the main reasons that Givers do well is that people trust them. Trust is way underrated in business schools. The book also talks about the importance of networking and relationships. I agree. But networking and relationships only work if based on trust.

Is being a Giver a Spiritual concept? I think so. Is that separate from business? Hardly. You know that saying “It’s not personal – it’s business?” That always drove me nuts. You can’t separate your business life from your personal life unless you’re a psychopath. People who view business as a license to be a-holes are shockingly mis-guided … their god is money … thus the ends justify the means. With their ill-gotten money, now they need to try to do “good deeds” to justify their nasty behavior.

I’m glad to see a big-time business school professor advocate and prove the success of being a good person. Hopefully this will blow-up other concepts such as managing by fear – another short-term concept.

America has some serious financial problems. I believe the only way to solve these problems is to start doing things right. We got in this mess by selfish, short-term thinking – a pretty immature attitude. It’s time to grow up.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

I’m writing this from Beaufort, SC … not Beaufort, NC. The North Carolina Beaufort is getting pounded by Hurricane Arthur. I’ve seen enough rain for this year – I didn’t need to travel to the eye of a hurricane.

My brother and I have made this trip to South Carolina an annual 4th of July adventure. Is it hot here? Yeah – feels good … I actually haven’t been wearing sweaters. Some years we leave a hotter Minnesota – seriously. Fortunately, MN isn’t in the 90’s … those ultra-hot temps would do bad things to the saturated turf.

This area is known as the “LowCountry” … it ranges from Savannah up to Charleston and includes Hilton Head Island … Beaufort is in the middle. It’s pretty rugged country – I can’t imagine what it was like to settle it. Those had to be pretty hardy people to deal with the jungle-like conditions and zillions of snakes and alligators. But it’s also beautiful – Pat Conroy does a great job describing it in his books.

The Fourth of July is a big deal here – the Marine base at Parris Island is only 7 miles away. Our plan is to play golf today on the base golf course. You can hear the recruits going through training drills – it’s an amazing place.

And this is an amazing country. The 4th of July reminds me of what early Americans did and sacrificed so that we can live in such an incredible country. I can’t imagine how people settled this area. Or how others settled Minnesota. I guess dealing with a year of heavy rains isn’t so bad.

But I’m still glad that I’m not in Beaufort, NC … I don’t think I could minimize being in a hurricane.

Have a Happy Fourth.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.” We all know that saying – either from the Bible or from the Pete Seeger song.

I guess that the season of Spring just ended … Summer supposedly began a few days ago. (I’m aware I capitalized the seasons – I think they should be). Spring is supposed to bring rain – April showers bring May flowers (we capitalize the months – why not the seasons?).

Well, if the purpose of Spring is rain, it was successful. Some would say it’s been too much of a good thing … some such as farmers, golf courses, marinas, outdoor restaurants, lakeshore home owners, etc.

So I’ve been thinking about time. Is time circular or linear? Is life a time-line or a circle?

I think time for golf is circular. The holes leave the Clubhouse but come back.

In football the time is linear – it starts and ends according to a prescribed time.

A clock is circular. But a digital watch just flashes the numbers. Maybe time is both linear and circular?

Some of us haven’t slept much during this “time”. I would worry less if I saw life as more circular and less linear. But the non-stop rain almost brought our golf season to an early end. Fortunately, we recovered nicely … and because of the exceptional talents of our Superintendent Barry Provo, we’re actually in very good shape.

Whether time is circular or linear … I just need to stop worrying and be thankful. That is probably the purpose of every season.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

It’s still US Open week at Pinehurst #2. But this week it’s the women’s turn. This is not an easy golf course. Last week only 3 men finished under par. The women are not playing at the same length as the men did, but it’s basically the same course.

How about Lucy Li? She’s 11 years old and qualified to play in the US Open. How crazy is that? And she shot 78 yesterday – I can’t believe she broke 80.

How old was Michelle Wie when she hit the spotlight? It looks like she’s turning into the star that seemed to be her destiny. She’s only 24. She shot 68 yesterday.

Stacy Lewis is the leader – she shot 67 – she only missed one fairway, and one green. And she can putt. She’s an unbelievably good player.

Women’s golf has really improved over the years. When I went to ASU, I used to practice and play with some of the young women on the ASU team. Obviously they were good players – but nothing like the current crop of top college players.

Of course the new equipment helps … but more than anything I think it’s because girls play a lot of sports nowadays. One of the girls in the Deer Run Neighborhood – Christine Piwnica – just won the MN Class A High School Golf Championship. Christine is also a basketball superstar. Playing sports is a huge help to playing good golf.

We hosted the MN Women’s State Open a few years ago – they we’re very impressive players. You know that PGA Tour ad that says “These guys are good” … well, when watching the Women’s State Open, I kept saying “These gals are good”. Hope I don’t get sued.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

This week the US Open is being played at Pinehurst #2. The course has been restored to the original Donald Ross design and conditions … it looks more like the British Open than the US Open.

I like it. Golf courses – especially in America – have become too perfect … too resortish for my taste. The game should be about shot-making and strategy … and dealing with bad lies and bad weather – especially major championship golf.

The town of Pinehurst is very cool – looks like an old New England village, though it’s in North Carolina. And as cool as Pinehurst #2 is … it’s not the coolest thing in town – that honor goes to the Pine Crest Inn. That’s where Hogan and Snead, etc used to stay when they played at Pinehurst. And they had legendary chipping contests into the Inn’s fireplace.

Local PGA Teaching Pro Eric Chiles stopped by the other day and talked about how excited he was to caddy for fellow Minnesotan Clayton Rask at Pinehurst this week. I asked Eric if Rask could make the cut, he replied “He could finish in the top ten.” So yesterday morning while watching the US Open on tv, they flashed to Eric and Rask fist-pumping after Rask made a putt to go to -2 … which at the time put him in second place. But not for long – he finished at 3 over par … hope he makes the cut.

But the media attention was on Phil Mickelson all week. With Tiger gone, Phil is the big star even though Adam Scott is ranked #1 in the world. And in 1999 Phil finished second to Payne Stewart in the US Open at Pinehurst #2.
Phil has finished second in the US Open 6 times – that’s crazy. I think the restoration of the course to the old style of golf plays into Phil’s strengths. And maybe he’s been having chipping contests at the Pine Crest Inn against the ghosts of Hogan and Snead.

Sam Snead never won a US Open … maybe he can help Phil take home the trophy.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

50 years ago (June 12, 1964) the Rolling Stones played at Danceland in Excelsior. Legend has it that the next day, Mick Jagger went to Bacon Drug and tried to order a cherry soda. While standing in line, Mr. Jimmy Hutmacher supposedly said ��You can’t always get what you want” and thus the title of the famous Stones’ song.

I wasn’t there – I’ve missed out on a lot of the local highlights like all three World Series. But I did see the Stones about 10 years later (and I thought they were getting old) … yet that was 40 years ago and they’re still playing concerts.

Old has changed. Last week Tom Watson almost won the Senior PGA Championship at age 64. And Watson almost won the British Open a few years ago at age 59.

How about Miguel Angel Jimenez winning the Spanish Open a few weeks ago at age 50? They call him the “Most Interesting Man in the World” because he looks like that guy on those Dos Equis’ ads … and smokes cigars while he plays golf.

Will a senior win the US Open next week at Pinehurst? Probably not. I wish it would happen … but as Mr. Jimmy said “You can’t always get what you want.”

Cheers,

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