Greetings Golfers,

Well, today is the big shopping day – Black Friday. But for me, this holiday is not about shopping, it’s about eating. So, it’s not “Shop until you drop” … it’s “Eat until you drop”.

I know that’s real classy, but what can I say? It’s Thanksgiving – I’m thankful I can eat.

Here’s a nice story. When I was in high school, I was a wrestler. My sophomore year, our first meet was the night before Thanksgiving. I’d cut a ton of weight, and all I cared about was eating again – the match was barely on my radar. Well, I gained 13 lbs over the Holiday weekend and completely disgusted my family… even my grandparents avoided me… you can tell I’m still emotionally scarred.

Hopefully, I won’t gain 13 lbs this weekend. But, I will catch up on my nourishment and football viewing – hope you do, too.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

I just bought a book that George Washington wrote called RULES OF CIVILITY & DECENT BEHAVIOR. Why does George Washington fly under the radar? It seems like you only hear about him when you’re in grade school.

So I’ve been doing a little research about the great man. Do you know why he chopped down the cherry tree? Because it was right in front of the 2nd green at Powdered Wig Golf Club, and it kept knocking down his shots. So he took out his 7 iron (a mashie-niblick) and chopped her down. Now you know – as Paul Harvey used to say – the rest of the story.

Seriously, Washington did write a book about manners and etiquette. And if he did play golf, I’m sure he was pleasant to play with (despite his famously short temper). Golf etiquette is necessary to play with each other. If everyone is in each other’s way, the game is no fun and probably dangerous.

Same with basic manners and etiquette in daily life. Laws are not enough to live in harmony with each other. Manners and etiquette are the grease that keeps society smooth. If you live long enough, manners and etiquette should become obvious – common sense.

Washington deserves a major movie about his life. They’re coming out with a blockbuster about Lincoln – why not one about The Father of Our Country?

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

People always laugh when I say that my favorite movie is THE WIZARD OF OZ. But, I mean it. That’s how I see life. We don’t know what we have until it’s gone.

We all want both… Oz and Kansas. I’ll admit that I want more Kansas in my life than Oz… but we all need a little Oz. Yet, you don’t want Oz as your home… Oz is fun to visit, but Kansas is home.

Just played golf yesterday at Secession GC. Secession prides itself on being “home” though most of its members live out of state. So, they’ve turned Oz into home… you visit, but feel like you’ve come home.

I think that as the world has become more modern, it has become more like Oz. So if home doesn’t feel like Kansas, you go find it for a visit. Sounds backwards doesn’t it? Live in Oz and visit Kansas.

Businesses are figuring this out. Restaurants are becoming smaller and using local ingredients. People are rebelling at the loss of “home” in the modern world, so they’re looking for “home” when they go out. They want real/authentic/human. They have enough of the virtual world, they want something real.

Secession GC is real. The staff feel like your friends – not that phony name-tag service you get from people “trained” to give “good service”.

Don’t worry – the world will never turn into the Jetsons. No matter how modern the world becomes, people will always find a way to go back home to Kansas.

Cheers,

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