Greetings Golfers,

A year ago I wrote about how driving back from the PGA Show reminded me of traffic on a golf course. On a freeway, you can pass… a golf course has only one lane.

At the Show this year, Callaway had a huge tank on display. Harvey Silverman – a golf consultant – suggested that our Rangers use those tanks at Deer Run.

Pace of Play definitely needs to be talked about. Some people feel that paying a green fee entitles them to play at whatever pace they want to play.  No… they paid for a slot on the course … if they want to pay for 10 slots (10 tee-times), they can play at a very slow pace. Otherwise it isn’t fair to the people behind them.

Down in South Carolina, I like to play at goofy little Par-3 golf course with hound dogs hanging around the driveway. That’s not my only option. The Pros and owners down here have been very generous and let me play their courses non-gratis. I hope that I don’t over-use my privileges, but that’s not why I play the Par-3. I just get a kick out of it. It’s like restaurants – I like a whole variety, and up in Charleston there are some phenomenal restaurants. But I also love the Waffle House – seriously.

So, back to the issue of pace of play. The woman who owns the Par-3 was telling me about her problems with Pace of Play. She told one of her slow players that they should play a hole in 13 minutes. Well, later on that day, that same player was holding things up on the course – the player thought she meant 13 minutes a shot!

So you wonder why Pace of Play is an issue. Think about 13 minutes a shot. People like that probably need those tanks.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

Good morning from the PGA Golf Show in Orlando.

Not everyone in the golf industry shares my love of the annual PGA Show in Orlando. Why they don’t love seeing what’s new in golf equipment, clothing, etc is beyond me.

And, seeing other golf pros and other golf people is really the best part of the show. Are people here talking/arguing about what’s best for golf, and the future of golf? Of course. Does it get heated? Usually.

The two main sides are the purists and the changers. I believe there’s room for both sides. Recreational golf can have courses for purists … and have courses that are more Disney-esque. Why not?

Where it becomes an issue pertains to tournament golf. And I believe tournament golf should be pure. The PGA Tour would be much more interesting if they had to play the same ball.

Does that mean the recreational player would have to play the same ball as the Tour players? No. Would that ruin the game? Hardly.

The issue is that the big equipment manufacturers are worried that they wouldn’t sell equipment if the public player couldn’t play the same equipment as the Tour player.

OK… keep the jumbo drivers, etc… Just standardize the ball for Tournament golf.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

Have you ever heard of Count Yogi? He was a golfer – a trick shot artist, and a very good player. I bought his book in the 70’s and didn’t know what to think of it – I still don’t.

Just finished watching a video where the Count makes about a 5 foot putt using crazy putters, a stick, a spatula, a cane, etc … it goes on and on as he putts between his legs, while kneeling, etc. Check it out on YouTube. This isn’t a recent video – it was filmed in 1960.

The Count claimed to have 55 holes-in-one, to have averaged 67 for 203 rounds in 1940 playing either right handed or left handed, many course records with scores in the 50’s, and other incredible feats of golf prowess.

What I do know, is that his name was Harry Hilary Xavier Frankenberg. He was half-American Indian, and the PGA Tour bylaws in those years had a Caucasian-only clause … maybe that’s why he’s not a household name. Here’s his secret to golf: “I keep the swing simple and think of only being relaxed, graceful, and smooth.”

See why I don’t know what to think?

No matter how crazy all of this seems – and whether it’s true or not – I did watch him sink all of those putts … and I have seen video of his beautiful golf swing. Those of you familiar with my rants, know how much I dislike the modern, robotic approach to golf. The Count seems to be a real life version of the golf guru.

I want to believe in Count Yogi – I just hope he’s not golf’s version of Santa Claus.

Cheers,

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

GOOD BYE METRODOME by Tom Abts

This February the Metrodome will be torn down. It opened in April of 1982 – so it had a run of over 30 years. That’s pretty amazing considering that it was a pretty brutal facility.

I know – it was home to a lot of great Minnesota sports memories … especially the 1987 World Series. I honestly never thought I would see a Minnesota team win a world championship. The pain of being a fan of the Twins, Vikings, and North Stars through ’60’s and ’70’s had hardened my heart.

And “The Dome” is the only facility to host the MLB All Star Game, the World Series, the Super Bowl, and the Final Four. That’s pretty incredible.

But, it came at quite a price. The Minnesota Gophers’ football team left the U of M campus to play downtown. I believe that not only did the dome hasten the demise of Gopher Football, but it also really negatively affected the campus atmosphere of the university. Everybody’s talking about the resurgence of the U of M … yeah … and they have football back on campus – maybe a correlation there?

Not only was Gopher football affected, but Vikings’ football really changed. The Vikings had the best tailgating in the NFL at Met Stadium in Bloomington. And people talk about the dome home field advantage… the Vikings never lost outside at “The Met.” Was it cold? Yeah – I sometimes wore a sleeping bag. But it was great – really great.

And the Twins. Summer nights at the old Met watching Major League Baseball … the days of Carew, Oliva, Killebrew, Mantle, Yaz, Kaline … don’t let me go on – I won’t stop. Sure, the Twins won two World Series at the “Homer Dome,” but when the Twins weren’t winning, the fans weren’t coming. The last three years the Twins have been horrific, but they still fill Target Field.

Architecture is important. Look at the incredible ancient cities of Europe adorned with magnificent buildings. Even cities in the States like Charleston and Savannah are beautiful because of the gorgeous architecture of long ago. Some of our cities in the American West are about as attractive as the Metrodome. I don’t say that to be cruel – it’s just a short-sighted philosophy in action. Good things are built to last. The Metrodome was built to be torn down.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

How are you coming with your New Year’s Resolutions?

Don’t get defensive … I’m not trying to run your life. But, most of us do need to work on a few things.

Actually, I have a pretty long list … but I’ve learned not to take on too much (I’m pretty good at rationalizing). So, here’s one that’s staying on my final list: “Just think positive thoughts while playing golf.”

I can hear you laughing. Sounds pretty trite and ridiculous. Though I love to play golf, I can get really frustrated, and get pretty negative. Does that negative attitude help my game? Not so much. How about my enjoyment of the game – does the negative attitude help that? Again – not so much. Then what’s the point? Why be negative?

Well … it is hard to justify. In fact talking about it is kind of embarrassing. What happens, is that it feels like God or the gods of golf have turned on me – that they want me to suffer. Then I get mad and want to fight back. Who? Fight whom? Maybe if I squeeze the club really hard and swing really fast … yeah – that’s real helpful.

Every year we watch “Christmas Vacation” … not “White Christmas” or “It’s a Wonderful Life”, but “Christmas Vacation”. Do you remember the scene where Chevy Chase is unsuccessfully plugging in his Christmas lights and goes crazy? He starts to kick and punch the yard ornament reindeer and Santa – he snaps – the gods have turned against him. Sometimes golf makes me feel like that … ok – a lot of the time.

That was last year. Oh, I might get that tinge of frustration … but I’m going to shift gears into being Mr. Positive.

Can’t wait.

Happy New Year,

Tom

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

Greetings Golfers,

People need heroes. We need to be inspired. Life gets tough and the example of a hero can be really helpful.

But what is a hero? I think we’ve gotten confused with thinking that celebrities are heroes. Maybe a hero becomes a celebrity, but being a celebrity doesn’t make someone a hero.

A hero does something heroic. A celebrity does something to become famous. Kim Kardashian – celebrity. A good samaritan who pulls a drowning kid out of frigid water – hero.

In 1962 Dan Boorstein wrote a book “The Image: or Whatever Happened to the American Dream”. In the book he said “ Images now replace ideals.”

The goalie for the Wild – Josh Harding – is a hero. Not because he’s a professional hockey player, but because he has MS and is fighting to keep his job. His spirit – not his talent is what makes him a hero.

Celebrities are the latest fad. Heroes endure. There’s nothing wrong with getting a kick out of celebrities… but a society is in trouble if celebrities take the place of heroes.

Celebrities are usually the recipient of God-given gifts… the hero is the one who overcomes the odds to do the right thing.

Heroes are admired for bravery, nobility, honor, and character. Celebrities are admired for beauty and talent.

There’s room for both… I just don’t want to see celebrities become our idols instead of heroes.

Cheers,

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

Greetings Golfers,

For those of us of a certain age, we all remember where we were when President Kennedy was killed. Fifty years ago tomorrow, I was in 3rd grade when the awful news came over the classroom loudspeaker. That night my Cub Scout Pack Meeting was cancelled – the whole country went into shock – everything stopped.

I know this is a golf newsletter … but I have been known to get off topic. How’s this for a save: “Golf Digest” magazine rated JFK the best golfer of all American Presidents. Even though he had a bad back, he supposedly had a sweet swing.

Most of the Presidents of the 1900’s played golf – usually not well – Woodrow Wilson and Dwight Eisenhower were the most avid. In fact, Ike’s love of golf and Arnold Palmer’s magnetism combined to bring golf to the masses in the 1950’s.

Then after Eisenhower, Kennedy was elected President in 1960 to lead America into a new, youthful, dynamic era. But on November 23, 1963 that hope was ended. Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson took the reigns.

History is still confused about the ensuing years: Viet Nam, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, the Civil Rights Movement, LBJ’s Great Society, the Moon Landing, Chappaquiddick, Richard Nixon, Watergate. The ten years after President Kennedy’s assassination were chaotic and ended with Watergate.

I read somewhere that 80% of the American public believes that we don’t know the truth behind the JFK assassination.

We may never know the truth. But I do know that America changed 50 years ago tomorrow. Though we changed and still haven’t completely healed, we are a strong, resilient nation. I knew that then and know that now – that hasn’t changed.

Respectfully,

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