Greetings Golfers,

Almost 30 years ago, when Deer Run GC was a baby, I used to give free golf clinics to get people to come out here. We were a funny little place (though charming) out in the country.

Those clinics quickly grew huge (free) … and so I directed those people into our newly formed leagues, giving us a base to build on.

However, these were not the most sophisticated players, and the pace of play was slow. Very slow. One evening I went out to Ranger the Mens League and there were 4 groups on hole #6 … and the pace of play was a fun 3 1/2 hours … for 9 holes! Seriously.

Weekend play was typically 6 hours.

So, a change in culture was needed. Thus was born FastPlayFriday.

The rules were simple: you had to play the front nine in 1:55 or go home. We had Rangers every 3 holes who were keeping me informed via walkie-talkies. If we had a slow group who wouldn’t respond to rangering, I would meet them on #9 tee box and give them the option of going to hole #10 or going home.

The responses were seldom good. Fortunately, I was young and could duck pretty quickly … no one ever landed a punch. Though they tried. When the word got out that we actually enforced fast play … slow players avoided us and fast players loved us.

Now, a four hour pace is not fast – not really. Actually, it should be normal. I equate it to driving 60mph on the freeway. Golf holes are a one-lane freeway. No one has the right to go 40mph and back it up. And no one has the right to go 80mph and run over people. A 60mph pace is just right.

Though we started Fast Play Friday way back in 1997 … it changed the culture and we’ve been 4 hours every day of the week ever since then.

However, last week we had a foursome who played the first 3 holes in one hour … a nice 6 hour pace. By the time they were in the fairway on #4, there were already 3 foursomes waiting on #4 tee. So, I went out and explained the situation to them, and asked them to catch up to the group in front of them (who was already on #6).

They were agreeable and promised to catch up.

Well, they never got closer than 2 holes behind and finished the front nine in 2:20 … obviously, a 4:40 pace. Not acceptable. Not fair to everyone behind them in this unnecessary traffic jam.

When I talked to them again on #11 tee box, they got hostile. They believed they had a “right” to play at their own pace. I explained that they paid for a slot on the golf course … not the whole golf course. If they wanted to play at whatever pace they wanted, they could rent the course for the day – but it would be a very expensive round of golf.

So, I went back to the Clubhouse and got enough cash to refund their round … which I offered to do on #12 tee box. Then they went crazy.

However, they also sped up. Finally. Not to do the right thing … but to make me look bad. Now their goal was to play as fast as possible and then claim at the end of the round that they weren’t slow.

So, they finished in 4:20 and couldn’t wait to jump all over me. Of course they lied about how fast (or slow) they played the front nine … now they were motivated – motivated to be the victims in this ridiculous situation.

Obviously, if they hadn’t been talked to … they would have played in at least 5 hours. The only reason they made it in 4:20 was they were racing after hole #12 to make me look like a jerk.

They weren’t motivated earlier about unfairly backing up the course … they paid their green fees and felt entitled to play at any pace … even if they wrecked the round for everybody behind them.

Then of course they tried to bait me … attacked me personally to get me going. I have to keep it professional. It can’t be about me – no matter what they say. I have to do what’s best for DRGC. And that means standing up for the golf course – not letting people abuse it … and yet not get sucked into their petty and personal attacks.

So, 30 years later … the fun never stops. But actually, this kind of stuff is pretty rare. Most people get it, and realize that they are sharing the course … that they didn’t rent it all day only for themselves.

And, I haven’t had anyone take a swing at me in years!

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,

Golf is infinitely worthy of discussion. We could talk golf swing forever – the concepts, the nuances, the technical aspects, etc. Or course design – links style, parkland, risk-reward, target golf, etc.

Today, I’d like to talk about the Rules of Golf. One of the things that most attracts me to golf is its purity … its simplicity of concept. Though its nuances are infinite and one of its fascinations … its inherently simple concept is the heart of the game and why it’s so fascinating.

Golf is basically the art of hitting a ball with a stick from a specific area to a hole in the ground. You can’t kick it or throw it … you have to advance it with a golf club.

To give this game a little more definition … you start play from a tee box … and the hole (which is your goal), is on a putting surface. There are many routes to your destination … and many ways to advance the ball. In between the tee box and the green are dangers which are best to be avoided. To steer clear of the danger involves strategy and skill.

And, the same golf course changes everyday depending on the weather. This is a game rooted in reality. It is not played under a dome.

Because it is not a convoluted game and its premise is simple … it’s rules should be simple too.

We’ve already discussed the point of the game – to hit the ball from the tee box, and then again on the golf course, until the ball is in the hole. And it can only be advanced by swinging a golf club.

What other rules are needed? Well, if the ball is lost or unplayable … we need a rule.

What else? Or … why? In an attempt to make golf more fair … more rules ruin the inherent beauty and fairness of the game. Potential bad lies are just as available to everyone … it’s just bad luck to land in one.

Isn’t the point of the game to deal with whatever situation you put yourself into?

That question would lead to a great discussion. And discussing golf is almost as fun as playing it.

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,

History was made last week in Minnesota golf.  Our own Lori Money was the first woman to play in our state PGA Senior Championship.

I know, I know…she doesn’t look like a senior.  And she doesn’t play golf like a senior.  However, the years don’t lie and she made history.

Obviously, we’re very proud of her.  She’s a great player and a great person…we’re proud that she represents Deer Run Golf Club.

A lot of people think that PGA Golf pros just play golf everyday.  I can’t tell you how many random salesmen call me, and try to warm me up by asking “how was your round today”.  After a long pause of me looking around the room trying to figure out who they’re talking to…I realize it’s not a conference call…and that they mean me.

Most of us are running a business.  We got into the golf business because we love the game.  But, it’s long hours – most courses are open from at least sun-up to sun-down…7 days a week.  And, most of us know that the real work is behind-the-scenes.

Well, Lori does it all.  She’s here all the time and involved in everything…out-front and behind-the-scenes.

She loves to play golf and is an excellent player.  And she deserves to play more golf.

Obviously this has been a crazy year. She’s really stepped-up and made DRGC run well throughout all of the challenges.

Hopefully, next year will go back to normal.  If so, the plan is to give her more time to play golf – at Deer Run and in tournaments.

Then, she’ll make even more history.

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,

“If a puddle of water is made sufficiently muddy, most people will think it’s deep” – Nietzsche.

I like things to be clear. I hate misunderstandings. And I think that’s normal … do you like to be confused?

However, I constantly see and read things that don’t make sense. And, it smells like a con.

Now, I’m not just talking about the golf swing … I’m talking about EVERYTHING. The golf swing is a good example of what I’m talking about. Too often I read or hear ideas about the golf swing that are too complicated. Simple doesn’t mean simple-minded.

The secret to making ideas clear and simple is to prioritize. There needs to be hierarchies…it can’t be level…if it’s all equal and the same…there’s no emphasis.

There needs to be a point.

Years ago I wrote a blog about a guy I went to college with nicknamed “Long Story”. He talked all the time and his stories never ended … because there was never a point … just random, boring information.

The other day a relative and I were having a pretty heavy talk about what’s going on in the world. This relative is bright and loves to believe that answers have to be complicated … the more complicated the more it’s true.

This relative’s reasoning was complicated because everything had the same value … nothing was prioritized. At the end of our discussion, I was accused of being “reductive” … I replied that I took it as a compliment.

“Reduction” in cooking is basically boiling down the sauce. I like to “boil down” things to get to the point.

About 20 years ago, I went to a restaurant in Excelsior to confirm a reservation for a dinner meeting … I just knew that it had been screwed-up (it was). While talking to the new manager – who was babbling and didn’t make any sense … it was obvious that we were the only people in this restaurant – on the lake on a beautiful Summer day.  So I asked him if he had any plans about how to get the place rolling … from behind his groovy glasses and Gucci suit … he informed me that he’d been working on the wine list for the last week.

Hmmmm. You’ll be shocked to know that the restaurant folded a year later and now is an office building. It was one of the best locations on Lake Minnetonka. Well, that wine list chore was pretty complicated … (and important).

Here’s another example of the inability to prioritize.  We have people at the golf course who have such heightened awareness that they notice everything that isn’t perfect.  They notice a dandelion on our 130 acres of land or a paint smear on a range ball.  Unfortunately, their ability to prioritize is not as highly developed.  They take for granted the beautifully maintained 130 aces of land, the clean golf carts, the nice driving range, the slick check-in procedures, etc.

I just described a “nit-picker”. Is that what concerns them? … “nits”???

Our time is limited on this planet. Let’s focus on what matters. Let’s develop priorities.

But maybe the nit-pickers and the people who overly complicate things have the same goal. Maybe they’re the only ones who “get it”. Maybe they like to “muddy the water” to prove how deep they are and that we can’t understand what they “know”.

Well, I don’t buy it.  I want clear and simple and not perfect.  Guess I’m just simple-minded (or as they would say “reductive’).

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