Greetings Golfers,

This week I asked by a golf magazine to explain how to have 4 hour rounds. The article began by saying that young people don’t have the time to play golf. Then the author gave reasons why a 4 hour round is too much to expect. My argument will be placed into the middle of the article.

First off, I disagree with the premise that young people don’t have the time to play golf. People have the time to do what they love. I don’t think it’s about not having the time, but rather about not playing an annoying slow round of golf. That’s what they don’t have the time for.

Secondly, a 4 four round is not fast. As I tell our Rangers, it’s equivalent to driving 60 mph on a highway – that’s not fast. And if the course is full, no one has the right to drive 80mph and run over people … and no one has the right to drive 40mph and back it up. Remember, a golf course is a one lane highway.

The author also had a link to a recent GolfSpy magazine article about the 4 hour round. They seemed to think it was complicated and took a lot of training. The comment section was full of complicated suggestions. They miss the point. A 4 hour round isn’t difficult for any level of golfer. A 2 hour round would be difficult and would need a lot of training. It would be like driving 160mph on the Autobahn in Germany. But driving 60 mph on a highway is within anyone’s capabilities. Same with a 4 hour round of golf.

I don’t want to play golf feeling rushed – who does? But, a 4 hour round is a leisurely pace.

I don’t blame young people for supposedly not having the time to play golf. But as I said, it’s not about not being able to find the time … it’s about not having a bad time. A slow round of golf is a bad time.

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,

Who is Brooks Koepka? Obviously he’s a great player … but who is he? The media has basically ignored him – even after winning 4 of the last 8 Majors. What’s the deal?

I was never a Koepka fan. Just seemed like a dull guy with a semi-boring (though great) golf game.

However, I’m a sucker for the underdog … and in a weird way, Koepka is an underdog. Tiger Woods is and was the media favorite. The media and the public also love Phil. And Rory. And Ricky Fowler and Jordan Spieth. Dustin Johnson is portrayed as a knucklehead … but he sure isn’t an underdog.

From the little that I know about Brooks … he seems to be a good guy. The argument that he’s been ignored because he’s only winning Majors and not a bunch of other tournaments, doesn’t make sense. If anything, that should make him even more special.

I rooted for him all 4 days during last week’s PGA. Those last few holes really made me nervous. Thank God it was Dustin Johnson who made it only a one shot lead … DJ is definitely not a finisher.

Again, who is Brooks Koepka? Well, he’s a 29 year old guy from Florida. He was a 3-time All American at Florida State and then played on the European Tour before the PGA TOUR. He hits the ball crazy far and crazy straight. He’s good with his wedge … and is an excellent putter. Doesn’t have a weakness. Works out like a freak and is in great shape. Lost a bunch of weight, yet stayed super strong. But his real strength is his attitude. He thrives on being underrated – uses it as inspiration. And is exceptionally focused – especially in Majors.

Brooks Koepka has the attitude of an underdog AND a champion. How can you not like that? I still don’t know much about him … but that’s enough for me – for now.

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 is about expectations … not the book “Great Expectations” by Dickens. I’m not a big fiction reader, but I liked Dickens … especially “A Christmas Carol”. Talk about expectations … Scrooge really changed his life when those ghosts showed him his future.

That’s what I’m talking about … how expectations change actions.

Last week, on the Old School Golf site, I entered a discussion about slow play. Some people thought that expecting golfers to play in 4 hours was unfair – especially for not very good players. I responded that 4 hours was a reasonable pace and that we expect it from our players.

As the arguments for 5 hour rounds got more heated and more ridiculous … I pointed out that our Ladies League plays 18 holes in 4 hours and 9 holes in 2 hours. And that many of the ladies were fairly new players and not exactly experts. The arguers couldn’t believe it, and wanted to know about our elaborate training system. When I said that we don’t need to train for pace of play … they couldn’t believe it.

So I explained that the secret was to have expectations and to then let the players use their own common sense to figure out how to play in the expected time frame.

They still didn’t believe me … even though it was happening on the golf course while I was posting my responses.

I believe in people. And I believe that people are capable of living up to realistic expectations. In fact, I think it is really insulting to believe that people can’t handle reasonable expectations.

When we hire staff at Deer Run … I explain that we don’t have a lot of rules … just expectations of good behavior and common sense. If I have to have rules such as “No Stealing” “No Fighting”, etc … I’ve hired the wrong people.

Though customers are not employees, I still have expectations of civility. Which is a good thing. For everyone. We’re not a nightclub. We want people to have fun and to be relaxed. But narcissists wreck it for everyone. You know the types – they cut in front of the line … talk too loud … demand special food not on the menu … play too slow … spit sunflower seeds on the course … drive into neighbor’s yards, etc. They don’t care about anyone else. And they have a “right” to do whatever they want. They must not have their own inner voice of personal expectations or maybe no one ever had decent expectations of them. That’s a disservice to them. They probably aren’t aware of how much people dislike being around them.

Well, Scrooge needed the ghosts to make him aware of how much people disliked him. We don’t have ghosts, but we do have expectations. Not “Great Expectations” just reasonable expectations. To keep it fun for everyone.

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,

One of the prettiest sights in golf is a good grip. And, unfortunately, it’s a rare occurrence.

If you ever give golf lessons to beginners, you’ll see one of two swings. The first one is the caveman swing. The club is gripped in the palms, squeezed in a death grip, then lifted straight up in the air and then pounded down on the ball as if it’s a deadly snake.

Or, the goal being to get the ball airborne … they close the club face on the back swing while their weight shifts to their front foot so that they can use their wrists to scoop the ball up in the air as they shift their weight to their back foot.

Both are not good ways to use a golf club ( you notice that I didn’t say “swing”).

Ironically, if they used the snake killing method for iron shots … and the scooping method for drivers off a tee … they would be sort of ok. But, they do the opposite. Thus the snake killer breaks the tee and pops-up the ball … and the scooper hits the ball on the way up so that it’s topped and is a wicked grounder.

Both actions are usually performed with the grip of the club in the palms of the hands. The same way that you would grip the rope in a tug-of-war.

The club needs to be held in the fingers … of both hands.

And, the grip should be most felt between the thumb and forefinger of both hands. That’s the start of a good swing. It will feel weak and out of control at first. But, it needs to be learned in order to swing and not hit or scoop.

Here’s a good analogy. When I was a young boy, my stern Scottish grandfather took me to a steak house. I held my knife and fork like a caveman in the palms of my hands and my elbows stuck straight out. He insisted that I hold the silverware in my fingers and tuck in my elbows. I thought I was going to starve. It felt weak and terrible. I was not happy. But, he was right (as always).

I had to go through the same process with a golf club in my hands. Practice gripping the club in your fingers. I used to do it while watching tv – gave me the excuse that I was doing something useful.

Keep at it. Pretty shots will become more common. Pretty shots begin with a pretty grip.

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,

You know that saying “April showers bring May flowers”? Well, I think for Minnesota it should be “May showers bring June flowers”. We’re about a month north of most of the country. But, a little rain shouldn’t stop your golf plans. Last weekend, the report was for rain and snow … it missed us and we were fine. But because of this phobia inspired by an over active media to heighten the threat of storms, people waste valuable beautiful Minnesota days.

So, every year I send the following:

Did you ever see the episode of CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM when Larry accused the weatherman of manipulating the weather reports so he can have the golf course all to himself?

Did you also know that episode was based on fact and that all weathermen manipulate their weather reports to keep people off the golf courses?

Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit … but not much.

Bad weather makes news. Bad weather keeps everyone tuned in. I get that weathermen have a responsibility and safety concerns. However, if it’s not life-threatening such as a tornado …make your tee times dependent on your schedule – not the weather reports. And, if it’s too nasty of weather – just cancel. Or, try it out and if it’s not fun, come inside for a raincheck, refund, etc.

We’re not trying to take advantage of you trying to play golf in bad weather. I’ve heard of golf courses that won’t give rain checks if you play one hole – that’s not us. We’re not like that. We’ll do whatever is fair. And, we’ll error on the side of getting you on the golf course. That’s what we do. We want people to play golf. We don’t do all of this work just so people can drive by and say “What a beautiful golf course.”

You’re under no risk making a reservation to play golf. And you’re under no risk trying to play if it looks like rain.

Try it – you’ll like 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,

Yesterday was the opening day of Men’s League. As usual, guys were telling golf stories up in my office.

One guy was talking about while having the best round of his life, one of the guys in his group was secretly hoping for him to blow it. We’ve all felt the vibes of our playing partners, whether rooting for us or against us.

They asked me if I’ve ever had that happen in a Pro-Am tournament. Very insightful question. During the 90’s, I used to play in a big Pro-Am … it was held at 2 courses and really a lot of fun. The format was an A player, B, and a C player team game. But one year, my A player didn’t care about the team game, he just wanted to beat me. So, while waiting to hit our second shots on a par 4, I asked him what club he was going to use – he said a 6 iron. I was a little ahead of him, so I decided to hit a 7 iron. I hit it a mile over the green. He then said “Sorry, I used a 9 iron and had it upside down. I thought it was a 6 iron”. Right. This was a 2 handicap player and this was his home course. (My brother Dan still laughs about it).

But a much goofier story happened the next year in this same Pro-Am. I got what I thought was a great team. The A player had been the low-amateur a couple of times, the B player was better than his handicap, and the C player had the max handicap of 36. Here we go! Well, on the first green, while the C player was lining-up his putt, our A player encouraged him by saying “Make it Russ”. So, Russ turned around and told the A player “F-you! Never tell me what to do”. It got worse from there. Our A player usually shot around 70 … shot 90. And our buddy Russ, shot over 200. Seriously.

So the next day at the other course, I didn’t think Russ would show-up. He did. On #1 tee, he whiffed, then topped his next attempt into the water. Another 200+ round with Russ yelling at us every step of the way.

The next year after the first round, I walk in the porch and see a nice young Pro from Sioux Falls with his head in his hands. I asked how his round was. He said he played with a guy who shot over 200 and was the meanest man he’d ever met. I asked “Was his name Russ?” … he said “How’d you know?”

Really glad that Russ isn’t in our Men’s League!

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,

“And the pursuit of Happiness”.

We all know the phrase from the Declaration of Independence (yes – happiness is capitalized).

The pursuit. The pursuit of money, power, fame, the perfect golf swing, the perfect martini … or the pursuit of the great, white whale.

What am I babbling about? Well, Tiger Woods is a pursuer.

After he’d torn-up the PGA TOUR as a young man, he left his coach Butch Harmon in pursuit of the perfect golf swing. Winning wasn’t enough – even winning Majors.

Was his pursuit of the perfect swing the reason why he didn’t win a Major after the age of 32? (I’m not going to go into his other “pursuits”).

I believe his comeback reflects his new pursuit of being a controlled shotmaker. Last week at the Masters, he was #1 in Greens in Regulation. The former  Tiger tried to overpower the golf course and back it up with making every putt he looked at.

However, at August National, the new Tiger was in control of his shots … and his strategy was that of an old pro … wisdom has come to Mr. Woods.

Back to the pursuit of happiness. Tiger finally looks happy. His demeanor on the course has completely changed. And his interviews aren’t robotic and hostile anymore.

If you didn’t love the happening on #18 green on Sunday you aren’t human. His reaction, his kids, his mom, the fans … the whole scene was spine-tingling/goose-bumping/tear-jerking.

We all love the triumph of the human spirit. Maybe that’s at the root of the “pursuit of Happiness”.

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 weekend, those of us who live in Minnesota won’t have to choose between playing golf or watching the Masters.

If we have to have snow in April, might as well be during the Masters.

Bobby Jones once said about the Masters, “We want bogeys easy if frankly sought, pars readily obtainable by standard good play, and birdies – except on par 5s – dearly bought”.

And, we all know the saying that the Masters “begins on the back nine on Sunday” … because the lead can change quickly.

So which is it? Safe and steady … or risky and aggressive?

Well, the devil is in the details. The golf course is much more difficult than it seems. Conventional wisdom is that the winner needs to be able to hit it high and far, and move it from right to left, and putt great. But, it’s more than that – much more. It’s mostly a position/strategy golf course. Power is great … but no one is going to overpower Augusta National.

Of course good putting is vital. But the putting is dependent on position. You can hit a lot of greens during the Masters and still not score. You have to be in the correct position on the green or off the green. The key is to drive the ball into the right spots to give you a chance to hit your iron shot to the right spot on the green.

The Masters is all about strategy and the ability to control the ball to use that strategy. That’s what the term “master” means. This is not a tournament for one-dimensional players. Or knuckleheads.

The first six holes seem to fly under the radar. They’re not sexy like the back nine … but they are very important. If you don’t survive those holes – playing them in even par is a victory – you won’t have a chance to show your stuff on the back nine on Sunday.

John F. Kennedy once described Washington, D.C. as “A community of Southern efficiency and Northern charm.” Well, the Masters is the opposite … it’s the perfect blend of Southern charm and Northern efficiency.

Enjoy!

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’m writing this from Mobile, Alabama. Took a detour home to visit an old college buddy. We didn’t play golf, but could have … the weather’s been beautiful. I know … hasn’t been beautiful back home in Minnesota.

We were hoping to have an early start. Over the last 30 years, our normal opening date has been April 4. Last year was by far our latest opener. Obviously, we were hoping the scales would balance and we could open in March. I’d be thrilled for April 4.

No matter how much we want to open the golf course, we never force it. Barry does an amazing job, it’s always in pristine condition … we can’t risk that by opening too early.

The main concern every year is the health of the greens. Bent grass is more sensitive than the grass in your yard. Especially grass cut that short. And, your lawn doesn’t have to be perfect. Our greens do.

What are perfect greens? Firm enough to provide a smooth putting surface, yet soft enough to hold a well struck iron shot. You don’t want a sponge. Sure it could hold shots – even miss-hit shots – but how much fun is it to putt on a sponge?

We want the ball to putt well. That means that the putt rolls out. I think we all have a sense for how far a putt should roll. Greens that are too slow are annoying because the putt never rolls out – it stops too soon. And the other extreme is also annoying – it just keeps on rolling.

To get the greens firm and to roll out at the proper speed is a science … but especially a work of art. Barry has accomplished this at Deer Run GC. Now we need the help of Mother Nature.

I played a few rounds as a walk-up single before I left. Each group left the flagstick in the hole for all putts. It was weird at first … but sort of nice not having to worry about tending the pin. I’m worried about players misusing the new rule by taking it in and out while putting. Talk about annoying – it could be mind-boggling if abused. Maybe we could have a local rule that once it’s taken out, that it stays out until everyone putts out. Would like to hear your thoughts.

Well, I should back in the Clubhouse next week. Drop by if you know any secrets to warm up the weather. Maybe that old saying about March will be true: “In like a lion, out like a lamb”. We deserve 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,

Uniformity and diversity. Don’t worry, I’m not ready to take on that subject as to regarding our society. That gets into the old battle between culture and civilization, etc. This is just about golf.

As you probably know, Top Golf has recently opened in Brooklyn Center. And, I’ve heard from reliable sources, that the Brooklyn Center operation is setting records.

Is Top Golf good for golf? Is it even golf? I haven’t been to a Top Golf … it sounds like a huge cocktail lounge that has golf hitting areas. What’s wrong with that? Will it host the U.S. Open? Of course not. Top Golf does not affect the purity of pure golf.

Uniformity. Golf needs enough uniformity to be understood as a game. The USGA has done a pretty good job of doing that with their rules and handicap system. That uniformity allows people to play golf against each other, or in leagues, or in local, state or national championships. I think that’s a good thing.

Diversity. Golf does not have to always be played according to the USGA rules and handicap system. When I play my weekly game Down South, we play a Stableford, and we adjust our handicap every week to how we played the week before. And, we have own set of “local rules”. We aren’t playing in the U.S. Open (though two of the guys have played in U.S. Opens). We’re just some old guys having some fun while playing mediocre golf for a few bucks.

Golf instruction needs enough uniformity so that golfers learn the fundamentals. But, golf instruction needs enough diversity so that it allows for different body types and capabilities.

I believe that most golf courses are too uniform. They try to be everything to everyone. Not a good formula for success. We all know the restaurants that have everything on the menu: Steaks, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, Seafood, French, BBQ, etc … you know it’s all bad. We need golf courses to be diverse in the sense of not all being the same. A golf course should know its unique market – just like a good restaurant knows who it is.

Is Top Golf, golf? Sure. Is a cotton-candy stand at the State Fair food? Sure. Would I want to eat all of my meals at the cotton-candy stand? About as much as I would want to play all of my golf at Top Golf.

We need a balance of uniformity and diversity.

Cheers,

Tom Abts

GM and Head Golf Professional

tabts@deerrungolf.com