Greetings Golfer,

Ken Venturi died a week ago at age 82. Venturi was the voice of CBS Golf for 35 years – he retired 11 years ago.

Venturi was very much an old-school guy. He was good buddies with Frank Sinatra, and he was mentored by Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan. Known as a man of his word and a great guy to his family and friends, Venturi had an amazing life.

But his life wasn’t always easy – he was a tough, resilient fellow. He grew up in San Francisco and was an incredible amateur golfer. As an amateur in 1956, he lost the Masters on the last hole. As a professional, he won the US Open in 1964, and almost died of heat stroke during the last round. Because of carpal tunnel syndrome, his hands deteriorated to a point that he couldn’t play competitive golf.

So, Venturi became a golf announcer – not easy for a guy with a speech impediment. But again, Venturi powered through and became one of the best – if not the best – golf announcers/analysts of all time.

Probably his closest rival as a golf announcer/analyst is also a great golfer from the San Francisco area – Johnny Miller. Miller was also a star amateur player and a US Open champion. Miller didn’t have carpal tunnel – but his hands went crazy with the putting yips… so he turned to the announcer’s booth.

I loved listening to Venturi… and love listening to Miller. They are very different cats – but both know the game – and are honest and sincere. Miller is more of an antagonist and not beloved by the players the way that Venturi was. But Miller is a treasure – I hope he has many more miles.

Still … I miss Ken Venturi. RIP.

Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Greetings Golfer,

Tiger Woods. Obviously the man can play golf. No one disputes that. But he is involved in a lot of disputes.

People get pretty wound up about Tiger. The other day, a guy posted on YouTube a recap of Tiger’s shot that went into the water during the last round of the Players Championship. The poster believed that Tiger took an improper drop. The comment section went crazy! Not angry at Woods – but angry at the YouTube poster.

Most of the angry comments were not even rational – just ugly name calling. I have a hard time understanding that kind of hero worship. I respect loyalty – but this is different. This is blindly defending a person they’ve probably never even met, and then reacting by foaming at the mouth – maybe they need rabies shots.

Earlier in the Players Championship, while playing in a twosome with Sergio, Tiger pulled out his club while Sergio was in the middle of his swing – the crowd roared and Sergio hit a poor shot. After the round, Sergio complained about Tiger’s action, and Tiger replied that the Marshal had told him that Sergio had already hit his shot. The other day, two Marshals denied telling Tiger that Sergio had hit his shot. And the next day, two other Marshals announced that they did tell Tiger that Sergio had hit his shot. What do you think really happened?

Let’s go back to Tiger’s drop on Sunday. The YouTube poster believes that Tiger’s shot immediately went over the water and that Tiger shouldn’t have dropped so far up the fairway. Tiger’s playing opponent – Casey Wittenberg – agreed with Tiger’s drop, so the Rules Officials didn’t need to get involved – all you need is the agreement of your playing opponent. So… what if Sergio had been Tiger’s playing opponent on Sunday when Tiger hit that ball in the water?  How much of a “dispute” do you think that would have turned into?

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Greetings Golfer,

It’s been a wobbly start to the golf season. Usually the first week of April is the Masters, ice out on the lakes, and the start of the MN golf season.

This year, the first/second week of May is the Players Championship, ice out/fishing opener, Mother’s Day, and the start of the MN golf season.

Pretty different start.

But now we’re rocking – wobbly no more. In fact, to celebrate the new season, we are hosting FunPlayFriday on May 17.

We have been bombarded with requests for the FPF schedule for 2013. Though such a schedule does not exist, we hope to host a FPF every month.

Our mantra for the last five years was “Fun at the Run”. Our new mantra is “Welcome to the Real Magic Kingdom”. Thus the theme for next week’s FunPlayFriday. Does this new theme mean that the fun is gone from Deer Run? Hardly. We will always have fun at the Run. But DRGC is even more than fun. DRGC has always respected the roots of this game of Scottish shepherds – the ancient, magical, mystical experience that is golf.

Maybe we started a little late this year, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be a great year at “The Real Magic Kingdom”.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Greetings Golfer,

The latest issue of GOLF WORLD is all about slow play. It’s mostly focused on the PGA Tour, but also on how Tour slow play affects recreational golf.

What’s hilarious, is that the article cites a 1965 GOLF DIGEST cover story headlined “Crisis in American Golf”, that’s all about slow play. Think about it – that was almost 50 years ago – not a lot of progress has been made on the Tour or with recreational golf. That’s because both controlling organizations – the PGA Tour and the PGA of America – don’t want to make anyone mad. That’s a pretty wimpy attitude. They’d rather make a lot of people angry than have to deal with a confrontational situation.

So, the Masters got “tough” and penalized a 14-year-old amateur from China for slow play… on the 17th hole! Really? Go after the big-name guys who are slow – there’s a ton of ‘em.

And golf courses need to enforce pace of play. Obviously this involves common sense – a quality not so common. For years, my Ranger meetings were all about the 3 C’s – Courtesy, Communication, and Common Sense. That pretty much handles every situation for a Ranger. But, I once had a Ranger who used to plant himself on the 17th hole… he never thought that hole 17 is a little late in the round to ranger people?

Why was he on #17? Because he didn’t like confrontations. Most of us don’t. But, some of us have a responsibility to keep play moving at a reasonable rate – the PGA Tour and PGA Club Pros have that responsibility.

If slow play wasn’t tolerated on Tour or on golf courses, GOLF WORLD could have articles about fast play. How about an article about the 3 C’s – Courtesy, Communication, and Common Sense?

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com