Greetings Golfers,

There’s an old Greek proverb that says, “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they will never sit in.”

Well, I’m getting to be an old man, so I take these sayings seriously. We all get it … “Leave the world a better place than you found it.”

I’m sure you notice this behavior with the people you play golf with. Do they “Leave the golf course better than they found it?” Do they repair their own ball marks and even a few extra? Do they replace divots? Do they rake bunkers? Do they drive their cart where they shouldn’t?

Of course beginning golfers get a pass on a lot of this stuff. Sort of like how kids should get a pass on comparable stuff in daily living.

However, experienced golfers know better. They can’t claim innocence. Not really.

Golf really is a test of character. Not just in the obvious ways of how people keep score. But, in the more subtle ways of how they treat their playing partners and the golf course.

Golf isn’t all about score.

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,

What do people mean by the saying “Less is More”?

According to PHRASE FINDER, it means: “The notion that simplicity and clarity leads to good design”.

Obviously it’s referring to architecture, but I think it relates to everything. Simplicity and clarity sure beats complication and confusion.

We host a lot of golf events. My mantra to the organizers is always “Less is More”. That usually isn’t what people want to hear. They get sucked into other people telling them they should do “this really fun thing”. Usually, it’s not really fun … and if they listen to a lot of people and keep adding “fun things” … it becomes annoying instead of fun.

We need to prioritize. We have limited time on this planet. We innately know how much time things should take. Life shouldn’t be rushed through … but time shouldn’t be wasted either. Time is precious. We all know that instinctively.

I advise golf events to focus on 4 things:

• simple format
• nice pace of play
• friendly atmosphere
• good food

Too often, adding “More” … leads to:

• complicated format
• slow pace of play
• uptight atmosphere
• no one sticks around for the dinner

As usual, Abraham Lincoln said it well: “If I’d had more time, I would have written a shorter letter”.

Simple doesn’t mean simple minded. It usually means clarity. That takes work.

Adding too much to things … is usually lazy and not focused. Lazy because of not doing the work of clarity which leads to simplicity.

Henry David Thoreau: “Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify. Simplify.”

Cheers,

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

LessDeer 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,

The great Ben Hogan said: “ The bridge between address and the start of the swing is the waggle. Don’t groove your waggle. It takes INSTINCT to plan and play a golf shot, and your preparations for each shot must be instinctive.”

That’s coming from the guy who is often thought of as golf’s first “machine like” player.

Though Hogan worked unbelievably hard on developing his golf swing … and was very scientific in the process … he played golf with instinct and intuition.

According to PSYCHOLOGY TODAY: “Until about a hundred years ago science wasn’t even aware of the role of our unconscious, but studies now show that only 20% of the brain’s gray matter is dedicated to conscious thoughts, while 80% is dedicated to non conscious thoughts.”

We need both reason and instinct to make the best possible decisions.

Of course it’s good to have information to play your shot such as yardage and wind and turf firmness … but you also have to figure in that “gut feeling”. You’re not just a robot winding-up to hit shots to exact yardages.

So, Hogan talks about the “waggle”. How many of you waggle? How many of your golf partners waggle? The waggle has become a lost art.

Many years ago in college while watching the Phoenix Open with a girlfriend … she thought that Tom Watson was just getting rid of some nervous energy when he waggled. I tried to explain that he was actually trying to feel the shot with his waggle.

When I went to the Ryder Cup a few years ago, I couldn’t believe how rigid and stiff the players looked before they hit their shots. Straight back posture with no body movement and no waggling of the club. Very machine like.

What if baseball batters stood like statues in the batters box? Or if tennis players stood like statues before they served?

A few minutes ago I read that Dustin Johnson needs surgery on his left knee. Hmmmm. Maybe like Tiger Woods? How many knee surgeries did Tiger have?

The goal of playing golf like a robot is misguided. Start to play using your gut instinct. And, work on your waggle. I’d even recommend using your body as part of your waggle and to initiate your golf swing like Sam Snead used to do.

Snead played great golf into his 80s. And basically played everyday of his life – surgery free!

Hogan knew what he was talking about.

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