Greetings Golfers,

Last week the StarTribune asked their readers to share their thoughts about speeding. Here’s how they summarized the responses:

“Leadfoots who go 5 to 10 mph over the limit didn’t rankle many drivers. But over and over, readers lambasted the race-car driver wannabes who weave in and out of lanes, the distracted drivers glued to their phones and – their biggest peeve – left lane hogs who play traffic vigilante and don’t move over to let faster-moving drivers pass.”

I’m not surprised – I feel the same way.

And, it’s the same scene on the golf course – though we only have one lane.

As I’ve said before, we feel that playing in 4 hours is like driving at 60mph. No one has the right to go 80mph and run over people … and no one has the right to play at 40mph and back-up the whole golf course.

However, we have people who believe because they paid a green fee that they have the right to play at whatever speed they want to – they don’t understand that they paid for a slot on the golf course. If they want to rent the whole golf course they can play at whatever pace they want … but it will be a really expensive round of golf.

You all know about “road rage” on the freeways … well, we get “road rage” on the golf course. Last weekend a golfer decided to make a phone call while playing. After the round he admitted that he stopped playing for 5 minutes while he was on the phone. I presumed he quit playing and had his playing partners continue without him. Wrong. His foursome stopped playing and waited while he was on the phone. It got worse from there. The guys behind them hit into them … and so the phone group grabbed their shots. Two wrongs don’t make a right … or is this three wrongs? So words were exchanged and a guy in the phone group claimed that he was threatened with a gun and called the police.

No one was threatened with a gun. Some people love drama. It was a waste of police time and an embarrassment to Deer Run – 3 police cars in the parking lot. Ridiculous.

I just don’t get it. A 4 hour pace of play is reasonable. Making your playing partners wait 5 minutes while you talk on the phone is unreasonable. Calling the police for an imaginary threat is unreasonable. Are people really this selfish and self-absorbed? I’m not surprised at the rude drivers I see on the road. But, I expect more from golfers.

Cheers,

Tom Abts

GM and Head Golf Professional

tabts@deerrungolf.com

Greetings Golfers,

“Courage and the love of golf are two qualities highly-prized in this north country”. That’s a line from an Associated Press article about Ben Hogan’s Open victory at Carnoustie in 1953.

“Where the women are strong and the men are good looking”. As you know, that’s Garrison Keillor’s famous line about our own north country known as Lake Wobegon.

How are these two phrases related? Stay with me as I try to put this together.

This week the Open Championship is being held at Carnoustie. The conditions are said to be extra difficult because of the lack of rain. When Hogan won in 1953 it was dry, too, but also cold – Hogan wore 2 sweaters and long underwear – he was still fragile from his near-death car accident. The Scots are stern people who admired Hogan for his discipline and tenacity.

Last week was the inaugural US Women’s Senior Open. A Brit – Laura Davies – won by 10 shots. But what really struck me is that 4 Minnesota women finished in the top 23 players. Think about that! Not Florida – not Arizona – not Texas – not California – not South Carolina … Minnesota! Do Minnesotans share that Scottish love of “courage and golf”? Well, we’re both definitely “north country”. Maybe our resilience, developed through living in cold winters, makes us temperamentally suited for golf. And maybe that resilience makes us good golfers into our senior years. How else to explain that 4 Minnesota women are among the top 23 senior women golfers in the world?

Courage and the love of golf … it makes us just get better with age!

Cheers,

Tom Abts

GM and Head Golf Professional

tabts@deerrungolf.com

Greetings Golfers,

Service gets a bad name. Sometimes people think working in a service industry is akin to being a slave.

Serving doesn’t have to mean jumping at the beck and call of someone snapping their fingers. Service is best when it is people doing their best for others. Think of phrases such as “Serve Your Country” or “Service to Your Community” – those are noble concepts.

The key is that they’re voluntary. It’s needs to be a choice that is valued – not something that is demanded. Voluntary service is rewarding. Employment in the service industry is voluntary, though the jobs may have mandatory requirements. It is not a master-slave relationship. When I see people snap their fingers to wait staff or anyone, I cringe at their basic lack of respect.

I’m trying to say that the world of service is a two-way street between server and servee.

Service is also at the heart of leadership. Here’s a cool quote “If Service is Beneath You – Leadership is Beyond You”. A good leader is of service to staff and customers, and of service to healthy ethics and values.

One of my favorite books is “The Power of Servant Leadership” by Robert Greenleaf. Mr. Greenleaf was a Director at AT&T for many years and a lecturer at MIT. Those are great credentials … yet they don’t necessarily mean that he gets it. But, he does get it. I highly recommend reading it.

And I highly recommend thinking about service and what it means. It’s one of the keys to a meaningful life and a healthy society.

Cheers,

Tom Abts

GM and Head Golf Professional

tabts@deerrungolf.com

Greetings Golfers,

(I sent this out last year … but probably needs to be sent out every year. Enjoy!)

In the early 90’s … Deer Run was cursed with slow play. So, we came up with Fast Play Friday, which put us on the map and changed our culture. We became know as a course that you could play in around 4 hours every day of the week.

The challenge is to maintain that pace when the golf course is continually full from sunrise to sunset. Yesterday, we did just that. We were stuffed all day and it never got over the 4 hour mark for a round of golf.

I don’t say that to be smug or self-congratulatory … I say that to emphasize that it is a result of a culture that has developed and been continued for 20 years.

However, not everyone is acquainted with the nuances of playing golf at a reasonable pace.

So, hopefully without sounding tiresome, here are some tips to keep your round moving at a nice pace:

*    Play from the right set of tees.

*    If walking, don’t travel as a member of a pack all going to each others’ ball – go to your own ball.

*    If riding in a cart, go to the first ball and drop off the first player with a few clubs … then the other player goes to their ball.

*    Begin reading the green and lining up your putt as you walk to the green.

*    Get off the green after you putt … and write down the scores at the next tee box.

*    Keep your putter in your hand when you get to the cart and put it in your bag at the next tee box when you take out your club to use on the next hole’s tee box. Same thing with your driver – don’t put it in your bag until you’ve driven to your next shot.

*    Be considerate about lost balls. If it’s obviously way in the jungle, don’t waste your time. And don’t ask your playing partners to waste their time looking for your lost ball – they should be going to their next shot.

*    Don’t hunt for golf balls when playing golf.

*    Save your funny stories for waiting situations such as second shots on par 5s.

*    Don’t use a long set-up routine … it doesn’t help your game and is just annoying.

I hope those help. Golf should be fun and relaxing – not a race track. But, slow play is not fun and relaxing – it’s frustrating for your playing partners and the people behind you.

A 4 hour round is not “fast”. It’s equivalent to driving 60 mph on the freeway.

Cheers,

Tom Abts

GM and Head Golf Professional

tabts@deerrungolf.com