Greetings Golfers,

Do you like to be micro-managed? Me neither. So I try not to micro-manage. It’s really disrespectful and it isn’t necessary unless people are incompetent. So being micro-managed is like being told you’re incompetent. Some micro-managers would deny this, they’ll say they’re just being careful … but we all know the difference.

And I’m not just talking employees. This can be family members or friends just reacting to how you do things. It can also be about being a customer. This can get tricky, because customers are more of a wide-ranging group than employees, friends, and family.

As a customer, I like to be treated with respect. I hope it’s assumed that I have common sense and decent manners and personal standards. Years ago, I played a public golf course that had a pole with rules on it. The pole had so many rules on it that they actually added another pole for more rules.

Of course people and businesses need to make things clear. But, there should be a basic level of expectation that shouldn’t need to be said. Such as: no stealing, no fighting, driving carts into ponds, etc.

You can tell a lot about a place by how many rules they have and about how many rules they post. Obviously a place with a ton of rules and especially low-level rules, either caters to a bunch of knuckleheads or believes their customers are knuckleheads. Probably not a culture of respect.

This can be tricky. Too high of expectations, especially unwritten ones, can cause a stiff atmosphere. Or, too low of expectations, especially written ones, can cause a disrespectful atmosphere.

My policy is to set a C level of expectations with almost nothing written or posted. For our staff I expect B level. Don’t laugh, but I expect A level of myself. I think those levels of expectation are fair. Of course, some people think C level is too high … well, C level is probably what is needed for civilization. And, I’m not going to disrespect our customers by changing the atmosphere with signs to deal with the occasional knucklehead.

Unfortunately, most managers don’t have the freedom that I do. Too many businesses micro-manage their employees and customers. They think that’s running a “tight ship”. Actually, it’s how to run a prison.

The price of a good culture is accepting the fact that a few knuckleheads will sneak in. The best way to deal with them is expulsion, not more rules.

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,

Just gave an older guy a quick golf lesson. He was tired of slicing his driver.

Why did it slice? Well, the clubface was open at impact. A driver has a pretty flat face, so it has more sidespin than irons. Irons have a lot of loft which minimizes sidespin. That is why so many people slice their driver and not their irons.

Was I able to help him? Yeah … I had him close the face at impact. What does that mean? That means rolling over the golf club with your hands and wrists during your swing. Here’s how it feels: Swing a driver waist high like a baseball bat. Your wrists naturally roll the club over. The same thing should happen with a golf club. Should. But doesn’t because most people don’t swing the golf club.

Why not? Probably because the ball is on the ground. That makes most people try to scoop it up in the air with their wrists – especially with an iron. That scooping action opens the face and causes high slices. Or they beat down on it like killing a snake. It feels pretty strong … but isn’t very effective. The snake-killing action usually keeps the face open … also leading to a slice.

So … most people try to square up the club face with their shoulders. I see this type of swing all the time. This shoulder swing causes a lot of problems. Not only is it really tough to square up the clubface … but it actually stops proper body action. When the shoulders start the downswing, the rest of the body stops moving. Just try it and see. When the shoulders start first, the hips and legs and feet stop moving. This is not a good thing.

A good golf swing puts the body in the correct position to hit the ball with the hands. The correct position is that the hands start to hit the ball from a waist-high position to a waist-high follow through. Not from the shoulders at the ball.

Practice swinging a club waist-high to waist-high. Then hit balls with that waist-high swing. Feel your hands actually hit the ball and then extend out at the target.

The whole point of the full swing is to windup and then get you back into that same waist-high position on the downswing.

Golf is the art of hitting with your hands … from a waist high position. Get rid of your shoulder swing and get rid of your slice.

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 my morning off. So … what did I do with my freedom? Watched the Golf Channel’s “Live at the US Open”. And, I can’t wait to watch the full coverage over the weekend.

My plan was to write about Pebble Beach. However, it became obvious that what I was really excited about was that golf was being PLAYED at Pebble Beach. It was more like I was excited that a good friend of mine was going to a really cool place.

Golf is a really good friend of mine.

There were years when I was so busy working at Deer Run GC that I seldom played golf. I felt like I’d lost a close friend. I had. Golf was always there – a loyal friend. Even when I wasn’t there.

Our staff has been talking about the importance of loyalty. If our staff doesn’t feel that we have each other’s backs … we have constant problems. All healthy relationships require loyalty.

People are always trying to figure out the special allure of golf. It’s more than a game. It’s a loyal friend. That doesn’t mean it’s a pushover. It doesn’t reward bad behavior – just like your other good friends … but, it doesn’t write you off – you can redeem yourself. That’s your decision.

You know that line “Golf is the game for a lifetime”? It’s more than that … it’s a friend for a lifetime. I’d call that a loyal friend.

I’m glad that my friend is having a special time at Pebble Beach this week.

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,

Last night I was looking out my office window and all was well with the world. It was a beautiful evening and Men’s League was running swimmingly.

While lost in the glow of savoring such goodness, I began to recollect on similar beautiful Men’s League evenings. Boom! I was knocked out my La-la-land with a memory from about 15-20 years ago.

The following is a true story … though we never talk about it … and no one here as ever brought it up. Here goes:

On a beautiful Thursday Men’s League night, the police called me and said that there was a sniper holed-up in a house across the street. He had fought with his wife and locked her out of the house and barricaded himself in an upstairs bedroom. He also had a rifle pointing out of his window towards Deer Run Golf Club.

So, I got in a cart and drove to #9 green (right across from the sniper house). And, trying to keep things light, told the guys to not finish putting and to slowly go to the clubhouse. Then, I drove to the guys in the middle of #9 fairway and asked if they’d seen the SWAT team across the street. Of course, they started laughing – hardy-har-har – so I laughed and then said I was serious and that they should go back to #8, and then to the clubhouse. As I got to #9 tee box, I felt fairly safe and then just worked my way through every group until I got everyone off the golf course.

It was pretty eerie watching the police helicopter circling the sniper’s house. About an hour later he gave himself up without incident.

Remember when Mall of America had a sniper and people called it Camp Sniper? That wasn’t exactly what I wanted for DRGC. Golf is hard enough without worrying about sniper fire.

So, we declined talking to the media – the local tv stations were swarming – and we just basically put a lid on the whole deal. And … it just went away. In fact, I bet that the people who were there and are now reading this might not even remember that odd evening. Odd isn’t accurate … Twilight Zone is more like it.

One last item. Afterward, when the Sherriff was in my office giving me the whole story … he left me with an interesting tidbit … the rifle was pointed at my office.

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 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