Greetings Golfers,

I’m in Orlando for the annual PGA Show. I love seeing everything: clubs, clothes, computer systems, etc. And, I especially love seeing the people of the golf industry.

But, it’s not just a party … we do a lot of purchasing.

So, to get extra sharp at negotiating, I just read “Never Split The Difference” by Chris Voss. Mr. Voss is a former FBI hostage negotiator and has some pretty interesting ideas. He especially emphasizes the power of no. He understands that negotiating is all about trust. All of these tricks to get someone “to yes” … can backfire. It’s easy to get someone to say yes to bland questions such as “Do you like nice weather” … but that’s not really establishing rapport. Both parties need to be able to say no … otherwise the negotiation is not real.

We all have to learn how to say no. Remember that silly Jim Carey movie when he says yes to everything. That’s not freeing yourself up or becoming positive … you’re just eliminating your judgement and being a robot who does anything.

I’ve wrestled with this all of my life. My nature is to be a people pleaser. That’s why I’m in the hospitality business. But, to really please the most people, I have to say no to many individual requests. Our operation can’t do everything. I can’t say yes to everything. People can’t just order things we don’t have on the menu … people can’t buy clubs below cost … people can’t play too early in the morning and get in the way of our grounds crew … people can’t set-up their own league within our leagues … people can’t stay in the pub all night … we can’t host weddings. Obviously, I could go on and on.

Of course people are going to try to get special treatment. I get it. But, it usually comes at the detriment of our service to everyone else. Good for them … bad for most of our customers.

Our goal is to provide a great golf experience. Ironically, saying yes to everyone’s whims would defeat our mission.

That means that I have to say no.

Negotiating is about getting to what is best. The title of Voss’ book says “Never Split The Difference” because the 50/50 compromise usually isn’t what is right – it’s just usually a way out that won’t work or last. Remember the tale about King Solomon offering to cut the baby in half? Same concept. Doing the right thing is not always easy … especially in negotiations. No is necessary to doing the right thing. Too often yes is not a positive … it’s just an easy way out.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351
www.deerrungolf.com
www.facebook.com/DeerRunGolf
www.twitter.com/DeerRunGolfClub

Greetings Golfers,

Rules: “One of a set of explicit or understood regulations governing conduct within a particular activity”.

Well, do you “understand” the new Rules of Golf? Are they “explicit”? Not sure that I do, but let’s give it a go.

I’m all for simplifying rules and laws. The simpler and clearer the better. And hopefully this is a start.

You can now fix spike marks on the green. Good. You could fix ball marks before … why not spike marks? Obviously, people have to use common sense … you shouldn’t go crazy and try to make every inch of the green perfect. It’s not a billiard table. Fix obvious stuff and putt.

Also on the green … you can leave the flagstick in while you putt. Fine. I leave it in when I chip. Some people take it out. It’s probably 50-50. At least, if you’re first to putt and far away, you won’t have to wait for someone to tend the pin.

People are going crazy about the new drop rule … that you have to drop the ball at knee height? Is this a big deal? What am I missing? If I changed the rule, you could place it. Then, you wouldn’t have to worry about weird drops, or having to re-drop until you place it anyway.

Speaking of drops. We don’t have “water hazards” anymore … they’re called “penalty zones”. And, they’ll be much easier to hit out of than before … because now, you can ground your club and remove loose impediments. Basically, you have to hit the ball as it lies, but you’re not penalized for infractions that were not intended to improve your lie. Makes sense to me.

How about sand traps/bunkers? Similar to water hazards – I mean penalty zones (I’m learning). You can move loose impediments, but you can’t ground your club. Again, the focus is on playing the shot as it lies, not penalizing the player for an involuntary infraction.

Same concept when looking for a lost ball. If you accidentally step on it, you’re not penalized. And, you can replace it – not drop it. Again, sensible.

What about playing with a broken club – one you broke during the round in anger? You can keep using it or replace it. The old rule was that you could only use a broken club if the damage happened during normal use. Now, you can have a temper tantrum and still use your bent putter. You should learn how to putt with your wedge anyway … it’s good for your putting.

No more worrying about double-hitting a chip shot – it’s not a penalty. It’s embarrassing enough without adding a stroke to your score. Somebody sent me a video about people trying to double-hit a shot to hit around a tree, etc. If you’re talented enough to do that, you’re probably not double-hitting normal chip shots. Another good decision.

Here’s another accidental situation:  if your ball moves while on the green or while you’re preparing to putt. If the wind moves it – move it back. If you accidentally kick it, or move it with your marker or some other clumsy maneuver … it’s not a penalty … just sort of embarrassing and probably funny. A penalty makes it harder to laugh. Another common sense decision.

Now to me, this next one is the biggie. If you hit the ball out-of-bounds, you can drop it in the fairway in line with where it finished or went OB. Hmmm. I’m not sure exactly what that means. I guess you can choose either the spot it went OB or where it ended-up. And, then you drop it on the edge of the fairway where it meets the rough. Is this free? Hardly. You must take a 2 stroke penalty.

This is an interesting solution. I’d prefer OB would be played as a lateral hazard, and you would drop, and take a 1 stroke penalty. I said would drop – not could drop. And you couldn’t go where it went and play it. You would have to take a drop – but it would only be a 1 stroke penalty. This would speed up play and end a lot of confusion. Maybe someday.

Then we have some easy ones: You can use a measuring device such as a range finder, GPS, etc. Fine. Most of us aren’t playing in the US Open. Also, if your shot hits your bag or even you … it’s not a penalty. Again, the embarrassment is bad enough.

I believe we’ve covered the Rule changes. And if not, I’m sure I’ll be sent scathing emails. (I probably will be anyway). However, I’m pretty pleased with the new Rules. They seem to based on common-sense and fair play.

More rules and laws are not always an improvement. As Thomas Hobbes said many years ago, “Unnecessary laws are not good laws, but just traps for money”. Unnecessary golf rules are not traps for money … they’re probably misguided attempts at making golf more fair. But golf (like life) can never be perfectly fair. I admire attempts in all aspects of life to make things more fair. Yet, the bottom line is, we have to make the best of the situation – fair or unfair.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351
www.deerrungolf.com
www.facebook.com/DeerRunGolf
www.twitter.com/DeerRunGolfClub

Greetings Golfers,

This blog was supposed to be about the new USGA Rules of Golf. But, I got side-tracked.

We just arrived in Beaufort, SC. Of course, I couldn’t wait to hit some golf balls – not even through unpacking. So, I went to a local golf course that I’ve played for many years. However, the sign on the door announced that it’s closed. I mean closed. It’s not a huge shock … but the owner is a heir of famous nut company. We’ve talked many times about running a golf course (don’t blame me!). His idea of management is cutting expenses – to the bone and even the bone.

Here’s the scenario: It’s in the middle of a beautiful neighborhood with upscale homes, and some holes are even on the water. The layout is as good as the property – designed by a famous golf architect. It has a big charming clubhouse with a full-blown restaurant and chef. Has a nice driving range, cart barn, and even a workout facility.

Sounds pretty good? It is.

What happened? Well, I’ve seen multiple owners over the years. When it went up for sale about 10 years ago, it sold for a shockingly cheap price. So, a financial guy from Boston bought it … he thinks all good deals are in the buy. But, he doesn’t understand the golf course business. A few years ago, a local (MN) real estate developer wanted me to buy a local course (MN) that he thought was way under-valued. I told him that he wouldn’t want it if it were free. He didn’t understand. I told him that it needed about $5M just to be brought up to a C golf course … and even then it probably couldn’t cash-flow. That blew his mind.

Well, the genius from Boston pulled me over in the parking lot one day after his first year of ownership. I asked him how was his first year … he told me that he’d lost a million dollars … I told him to sell it before he lost another million.

This blog has even changed from my intention. I meant to write about how much I love to play golf. Though closed, I played the first hole and hit a bunch of chip shots. I couldn’t believe how happy I was … how much I enjoyed being outside on a golf course with a few clubs and balls.

And then, I couldn’t believe how sad I was walking back up the first fairway thinking that this place might be finished for ever. I can’t stand-it when golf courses fail.

Next week I’ll dive into the new Rules of Golf. Thank God there are still enough golf courses surviving so that we can worry about the new rules instead of worrying about where to play.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351
www.deerrungolf.com
www.facebook.com/DeerRunGolf
www.twitter.com/DeerRunGolfClub

Greetings Golfers, 
I love strategy in sports. I may even like it more than the physical skill part of sports. In fact, I’m more frustrated watching stupid errors than watching physical mistakes.

That’s why winning is important. It’s about what actually works. It’s a test of reality. Though I love strategy, it has to be based in reality. Too often coaches fall in love with the X’s and O’s on the chalkboard. And too often their schemes are based on all players being of the same caliber. If that was so … why do sports have a draft?

Obviously every team has a variety of talent. No one has it all. So, successful strategies are based on maximizing talent and minimizing weaknesses. I know this sounds obvious … but most organizations are guilty of making things too complicated.

And individuals are also guilty of doing this. It can come from a lack of prioritizing … or just not doing the top priorities because they’re harder than the lower ones.

You know that term “nitpicking”? … how perfect is that word … you can just feel it. Nitpickers are the people who complain after their team won the Super Bowl because the team threw too often on first down.

We get that stuff at the golf course: people get picky about a dandelion or a misspelling or a missed phone call, etc. They get nasty and smug and act like if they find a low level problem, well then, the big things must be screwed-up. Actually, it’s the opposite. We focus on the big issues and hopefully have enough time for the little things.

Reminds me of that saying “You can have it all”. Really. How does that work. We have limited time in life … we have to prioritize. Remember the movie “Groundhog Day”? Bill Murray had endless time to develop a bunch of cool skills. Yeah, I wish. But, reality is that everything has a price. If the nitpickers want a flawless anything … imagine how much it would cost!

Here’s a better saying “Under-promise and over-deliver”. But, do you think people are going to vote for that politician? Or hire that CEO? Or that Head Coach?

It all comes back to strategy. Which has to be based in reality. The Vikings had a terrible offensive line. Yet, had talented receivers. So … straight-ahead smash-mouth football makes sense? Really?

Think about this in terms of your golf game. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Do you need 14 clubs? Get rid of the ones that are inconsistent.

It’s all about playing to your strengths … and minimizing your weaknesses.

How’s that for a New Year’s resolution?

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351
www.deerrungolf.com
www.facebook.com/DeerRunGolf
www.twitter.com/DeerRunGolfClub