Greetings Golfers,

Do you like to be micro-managed? Me neither. So I try not to micro-manage. It’s really disrespectful and it isn’t necessary unless people are incompetent. So being micro-managed is like being told you’re incompetent. Some micro-managers would deny this, they’ll say they’re just being careful … but we all know the difference.

And I’m not just talking employees. This can be family members or friends just reacting to how you do things. It can also be about being a customer. This can get tricky, because customers are more of a wide-ranging group than employees, friends, and family.

As a customer, I like to be treated with respect. I hope it’s assumed that I have common sense and decent manners and personal standards. Years ago, I played a public golf course that had a pole with rules on it. The pole had so many rules on it that they actually added another pole for more rules.

Of course people and businesses need to make things clear. But, there should be a basic level of expectation that shouldn’t need to be said. Such as: no stealing, no fighting, driving carts into ponds, etc.

You can tell a lot about a place by how many rules they have and about how many rules they post. Obviously a place with a ton of rules and especially low-level rules, either caters to a bunch of knuckleheads or believes their customers are knuckleheads. Probably not a culture of respect.

This can be tricky. Too high of expectations, especially unwritten ones, can cause a stiff atmosphere. Or, too low of expectations, especially written ones, can cause a disrespectful atmosphere.

My policy is to set a C level of expectations with almost nothing written or posted. For our staff I expect B level. Don’t laugh, but I expect A level of myself. I think those levels of expectation are fair. Of course, some people think C level is too high … well, C level is probably what is needed for civilization. And, I’m not going to disrespect our customers by changing the atmosphere with signs to deal with the occasional knucklehead.

Unfortunately, most managers don’t have the freedom that I do. Too many businesses micro-manage their employees and customers. They think that’s running a “tight ship”. Actually, it’s how to run a prison.

The price of a good culture is accepting the fact that a few knuckleheads will sneak in. The best way to deal with them is expulsion, not more rules.

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,

Just gave an older guy a quick golf lesson. He was tired of slicing his driver.

Why did it slice? Well, the clubface was open at impact. A driver has a pretty flat face, so it has more sidespin than irons. Irons have a lot of loft which minimizes sidespin. That is why so many people slice their driver and not their irons.

Was I able to help him? Yeah … I had him close the face at impact. What does that mean? That means rolling over the golf club with your hands and wrists during your swing. Here’s how it feels: Swing a driver waist high like a baseball bat. Your wrists naturally roll the club over. The same thing should happen with a golf club. Should. But doesn’t because most people don’t swing the golf club.

Why not? Probably because the ball is on the ground. That makes most people try to scoop it up in the air with their wrists – especially with an iron. That scooping action opens the face and causes high slices. Or they beat down on it like killing a snake. It feels pretty strong … but isn’t very effective. The snake-killing action usually keeps the face open … also leading to a slice.

So … most people try to square up the club face with their shoulders. I see this type of swing all the time. This shoulder swing causes a lot of problems. Not only is it really tough to square up the clubface … but it actually stops proper body action. When the shoulders start the downswing, the rest of the body stops moving. Just try it and see. When the shoulders start first, the hips and legs and feet stop moving. This is not a good thing.

A good golf swing puts the body in the correct position to hit the ball with the hands. The correct position is that the hands start to hit the ball from a waist-high position to a waist-high follow through. Not from the shoulders at the ball.

Practice swinging a club waist-high to waist-high. Then hit balls with that waist-high swing. Feel your hands actually hit the ball and then extend out at the target.

The whole point of the full swing is to windup and then get you back into that same waist-high position on the downswing.

Golf is the art of hitting with your hands … from a waist high position. Get rid of your shoulder swing and get rid of your slice.

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,

Yesterday was my morning off. So … what did I do with my freedom? Watched the Golf Channel’s “Live at the US Open”. And, I can’t wait to watch the full coverage over the weekend.

My plan was to write about Pebble Beach. However, it became obvious that what I was really excited about was that golf was being PLAYED at Pebble Beach. It was more like I was excited that a good friend of mine was going to a really cool place.

Golf is a really good friend of mine.

There were years when I was so busy working at Deer Run GC that I seldom played golf. I felt like I’d lost a close friend. I had. Golf was always there – a loyal friend. Even when I wasn’t there.

Our staff has been talking about the importance of loyalty. If our staff doesn’t feel that we have each other’s backs … we have constant problems. All healthy relationships require loyalty.

People are always trying to figure out the special allure of golf. It’s more than a game. It’s a loyal friend. That doesn’t mean it’s a pushover. It doesn’t reward bad behavior – just like your other good friends … but, it doesn’t write you off – you can redeem yourself. That’s your decision.

You know that line “Golf is the game for a lifetime”? It’s more than that … it’s a friend for a lifetime. I’d call that a loyal friend.

I’m glad that my friend is having a special time at Pebble Beach this week.

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,

Last night I was looking out my office window and all was well with the world. It was a beautiful evening and Men’s League was running swimmingly.

While lost in the glow of savoring such goodness, I began to recollect on similar beautiful Men’s League evenings. Boom! I was knocked out my La-la-land with a memory from about 15-20 years ago.

The following is a true story … though we never talk about it … and no one here as ever brought it up. Here goes:

On a beautiful Thursday Men’s League night, the police called me and said that there was a sniper holed-up in a house across the street. He had fought with his wife and locked her out of the house and barricaded himself in an upstairs bedroom. He also had a rifle pointing out of his window towards Deer Run Golf Club.

So, I got in a cart and drove to #9 green (right across from the sniper house). And, trying to keep things light, told the guys to not finish putting and to slowly go to the clubhouse. Then, I drove to the guys in the middle of #9 fairway and asked if they’d seen the SWAT team across the street. Of course, they started laughing – hardy-har-har – so I laughed and then said I was serious and that they should go back to #8, and then to the clubhouse. As I got to #9 tee box, I felt fairly safe and then just worked my way through every group until I got everyone off the golf course.

It was pretty eerie watching the police helicopter circling the sniper’s house. About an hour later he gave himself up without incident.

Remember when Mall of America had a sniper and people called it Camp Sniper? That wasn’t exactly what I wanted for DRGC. Golf is hard enough without worrying about sniper fire.

So, we declined talking to the media – the local tv stations were swarming – and we just basically put a lid on the whole deal. And … it just went away. In fact, I bet that the people who were there and are now reading this might not even remember that odd evening. Odd isn’t accurate … Twilight Zone is more like it.

One last item. Afterward, when the Sherriff was in my office giving me the whole story … he left me with an interesting tidbit … the rifle was pointed at my office.

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