Tom's Top Office Blog

Yin and Yang

2012-01-18T14:08:00.000-08:00

I'm only recently appreciating balance. Not only in the golf swing - but in everything. I was always a pretty black and white guy - I looked at balance as wishy-washy. But ... I'm starting to understand the reason for balance: winter/summer, cold/hot, hyper/mellow, left/right, etc.
Let's relate balance to the golf swing. I see the left hand as the control hand - sort of the robot of the golf swing. The right hand is the feel hand - sort of the artist of the golf swing. The left hand needs to be in control to allow the right hand to do his job. When I was a young man, I had a totally right handed golf swing. I hit the ball far and hit a lot of really cool shots ... I was also inconsistent and could shoot any number low or high. Then, as I got older, I began to focus on my left hand. My game became much more in control. But, I went too far focusing on the left hand. In fact, I took my right hand out of my swing. My swing began to lose power and I even began to lose feel. As my game got worse, I focused even more on my left hand ... not pretty.
So, here's what I'm now doing: I'm taking the club back with my left hand and hitting the shot with my right hand. I don't mean totally left on the backswing and totally right on the downswing ... but definitely more left than right on the back and more right than left in the hitting zone.
Bobby Jones once said that he felt he was "freewheeling" as hit went through the ball ... that's a great expression and definitely a right handed feel ... Jones also consciously took the club back with his left hand.
I'm even trying to do this with the putter.

The Golf Swing

2012-01-14T05:34:00.000-08:00

Blogging can be addictive ... I'm pretty obsessive, so look out. We have to talk about the golf swing. At the moment, I'm in Beaufort, SC - been here for a week. Probably played more golf this week than I did last summer. I play quite a bit with my neighbor - an ex-Marine who's really gotten into golf. So this neighbor is always reading about the golf swing and asking me questions. He gets frustrated because much of what he reads contradicts itself - which it does ... and here's why: Golf instruction needs to be understood in the phases or evolution of the golfer's swing. What might be great advice for an expert, can be terrible advice for a beginner. But, you say "aren't fundamentals true for all players?" Yes! But, golf instructors don't agree on what are fundamentals. Let's start at the beginning: most people are poor golfers because of one of two things (or both) 1.) They want to scoop the ball up into the air. 2.) They pick up the club and smash down into the ball. Ironically, they scoop iron shots and smash down with the driver off the tee - they would be much better off scooping tee shots and smashing down on iron shots. The expert player doesn't have these problems - what he's looking for is a more controlled swing. But, the suggested ways to tighten up the expert's swing are usually the worst advice to the average player who needs to free up and develop his swing. Most people need to learn to make MORE of a weight shift and MORE of a turn. They also need to learn to keep their wrists firm on chip shots and learn to rotate their wrists on full shots. Average players also have to learn to swing inside-out. Expert players already make a good weight shift and a good turn and rotate their wrists on full shots and swing inside-out ... they are usually working on toning down those actions so that they are more in control. Thus, golf instruction has to be fitted as to where the golfer is at in terms of his evolution. And you can see why so often "tips" are not beneficial.

Golf Courses

2012-01-13T06:25:00.000-08:00

A recent survey by GOLF WORLD magazine listed the PGA Tour players' top ten courses ... I was pleasently surprised. They picked the older, shorter, classic courses - the courses where you have to hit shots - not just bomb it and make some putts. Number one was Augusta National - maybe obvious, but still a great pick. Number two was Harbour Town - very surprising to me - I love Harbour Town, it's short for a Tour course and has little greens, and you have to work the ball - you can't just slug it. From there it's: Riviera, Pebble Beach, Colonial, Muirfield Village, Shaughnessy, Aronimink, Innisbrook, and Congressional.
That's great sign for the future of golf. Very often Tour players design courses because course owners want to use their famous names - so if these guys value the good courses, hopefully we'll see more quality courses in the future.

The Authentic Self

2011-10-17T07:11:00.000-07:00

This is a topic that I've been wrestling with since I was in high school. We did a role-playing exercise in English Class, and I couldn't figure out how to role-play and not be phony.
It's really tough to be authentic when you're young ... you don't know who you are and you don't have enough power to take the chance of being rejected, and rejected because you are being yourself - you could starve to death.
So, hopefully with maturity, you can become more secure and self-knowledgable ... and thus trust being your self. Being your self means also loving your self - that's not narcsissm ... narcsissm is loving your reflection, not your self. That's why narcsissists are so concerned with what everybody thinks of them - their self-worth is dependant on other's perception of them ... so they become obssessed with how things appear, not as they really are.
I think narcsississm is basically immaturity.
And an immature society is obssessed with appearances ... that's why young and/or shallow people are obssessed with fashion, the latest look, tv, celebrities, etc ... sounds like the city of Los Angeles ...
Also, for immature people, other people are nothing more than things - he's a golfer, she's a waitress, he's an executive, etc ... not that he's who he is and plays golf - no, people are defined by surface roles in society ...
Ever watch terrible tv shows where the charecters are not developed into real people? but are just caricatures of people who are part of a sit-com format with formula jokes, etc ... not watchable ...
Also, when people are young/shallow/immature/narcsisistic ... they turn occasions into spectales instead of just what they were meant to be ... for example, these mothers having over-the-top birthday parties for kids ... it's obviously not about the kid - it's about how it all looks ...
The surest way to bad vibes is phonyness ... we can all smell it ...
To be authentic, trust your gut and don't worry about how people perceive it ... you'll like yourself and the people who get you are the only ones worth caring about anyway ...

Law of Diminishing Returns

2011-07-31T13:16:00.000-07:00

Here's the American Dictionary's definition of the Law of Diminishing Returns: ".The tendency for a continuing application of effort or skill toward a particular project or goal to decline in effectiveness after a certain level of result has been achieved."
Ok ... in my words it means that "you can achieve a certain level with a certain amount of effort." And that after a certain point, it's almost wasted effort.
That's difficult for people to swallow. And, for a lot of reasons. But, that is what real effiency is all about.
Let's talk about this ... it's at the heart of taking control of your life. The basic reality of life is that we have limited time. We need to weigh how much time and effort is worth a goal. It's like determing how much money something is worth. Obviously if you have limitless money you can buy anything you want. If you have limitless time you can try to achieve anything you want.
Did you ever see the movie GROUNDHOG DAY? Bill Murray keeps reliving the same day over and over. After a while, he realizes that he can learn a lot of skills because he has limitless time ... so he learns piano, ice sculpting, languages, etc ... because it's like he has limitless money - he has limitless time.
Well, we don't have that luxury of limitless time. Being a boss is tricky because employees need to maximize their time ... you need to give them enough freedom to use their time wisely, and hope that they won't take advantage of you and misuse their freedom.
I've learned that good employees respond well to freedom - that they flourish with the opportunity to manage their time. Lousy employees take advantage of freedom and misuse their time ... I prefer to let bad employees hang themselves.
This philosphy of mine flies in the face of too many bosses, coaches, cultures, etc.
Micro-management loves to point out the little problems ... they always miss the big picture and the main point. Their nit-picking leads to poor leadership - leaders who are afraid to loosen the reins for fear that any minor problem will be used against them ... so it all becomes management by Cover Your Ass ...
Years ago I had a young Asst. Pro who hit balls 40 hours a week at the range and gave very complicated lessons. I tried to explain to him my theory of the maintenance free golf swing ... people don't have 40 hours a week to work on their golf swing ... he didn't even sort of get what I was talking about ... but ... years later he sent me an email that he teaches the maintenance free golf swing ... wow! stuff like that gives me hope ...
I have to wrap this up ... people need freedom to manage their time ... sounds obvious, but when bosses, family, etc expect perfection ... we don't have enough time to live and to be well-rounded ... the more we live in a specialized, perfectionist society ... the more we'll have serious human personality problems ... business has to realize that those problems are not efficient, that they're crazy insistence on control is actually not cost-effective ... look at the problems that the military is having with suicide ... all of this comes down to a lack of freedom and a lack of understanding the Law of Diminishing Returns ...

Year End Thoughts

2010-12-31T11:59:00.000-08:00

2010 was an odd year. It felt like the country was on the verge of an economic depression ... maybe that's why the year seemed so unfocused, sort of like everyone was living in limbo waiting to see what was going to happen. It was definitely not a bold, clear year.

Speaking of limbo ... how about those Vikings? How come no one is talking about since Childress has left, that the defense is playing with agression and finally blitzing. Obviously, the offense has been more agressive ... but why no talk of the defense? And ... why all of the hatred toward Favre? He was handcuffed by Chilly all year ...or he was hurt ... why does Chilly have a free pass? His ridiculous style of football is why the season was a disaster. The local media boys hate Favre and love to pound on him while he's down ... they were always on Chilly's side ... they love mediocrity ... they should read a little Nietzsche and grow some stones.

Speaking of Nietzsche ... he would have seen this year of limbo as a classic example of modern herd mentality. I just read a moronic review of TRUE GRIT ... it's a great movie, and this reveiwer only saw it from a Marxist point of view ... he was disturbed that it wasn't politically correct ... well, the era that the movie takes place in wasn't politically correct ... what does he expect? This constant need to blame independent personalities (Favre) and love the weakness of mob mentality is shocking. I would have thought that the advent of industrialism and technology would have freed up people enough to break away from the herd ... instead, the herd mentality seems even stronger than ever ... you've got the commune weanies on one side and the Babbitt idiots on the other side ... where are independent individuals?

Let's start to loosen up the reigns and start living like real people ... how's that for a goal for 2011?

Honor

2010-08-28T09:41:00.000-07:00

I just learned of another guy that I went to high school with who committed suicide. You'd be amazed at the number ... and the huge number of really unhappy guys that I grew up with. So, obviously I've been trying to figure what's going on. I think it's a combination of things, but the main factors are Women's Lib and a lack of spirituality. Slow down ... I'm glad that women are freer and stronger - I think that's vital for EVERYBODY ... but, it's come with a price. Men are now in competition with women for jobs, money, status and financial security ... that makes a lot of men feel weak and emasculated. Then, throw in a loss of spirituality - the modern world of materialism (materialism here does not mean yearning for material objects, but rather the Marxist-based philosophical position that only matter exists; that there is no such thing as spirit), and all you're left with is the shallowness and pettiness of the modern "rat race".
If a man's value is only his "success", it can make him a pretty ruthless animal. Once upon a time, men found their value in honor. You know, being a stand up guy ... someone who's word was gold ... and they defended it ... in fact, they had duels over honor.
I read horrible things in the newspaper - men beating women, abusing little girls ... theses are obviously not men of honor.
Now I'm not saying that men have to be saints ... but they should try to be good guys. And there's nothing wrong with being a guy ... in fact, I think we need more of it. I don't mean that that macho deal - that's creepy and phony ... I mean just being a guy. I thought that Mr. Rogers was a creep and a bad role model ... women don't really want their sons to be like Mr. Rogers ... only if they secretly hate men.
The reason that this ridiculous "thug" culture has power is that it has has masculinity ... but, it doesn't have honor ... men need masculinity with honor.

Humans and Sub-humans

2010-07-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

That title probably grabbed your attention. Obviously, it's pretty risky talking about sub-humans ... but, I think you won't be offended and will agree with me ... so read on.
What I mean by sub-humans are people who are more like an animal. Here's what I'm saying: for example, my dog Harvey, doesn't have moral dilemmas - he doesn't worry about right or wrong ... he does what he can get away with. If I left my steak on a low table and left the room ... he'd eat it ... or if not, it'd be because he didn't think he could get away with it ... not that he has respect for private property and that it would violate his moral code. Humans do what is right because they know it is right - sub-humans do what they can get away with.
Now, animals function in packs. Dog's are looking for the pack leader and then obey. Dogs respect power and attack weakness.
Humans want to live in civilization. Civilization is not the law of the jungle ... might does not make right. Civilization is based on respect and decency.
Want to spot a sub-human? They take niceness as weakness.
One thing nice about running a golf course is that I don't have to work with sub-humans. Usually I can spot them during the interview, but if not ... I give them enough rope to hand themselves. I don't manage using fear. If they are only motivated out of fear - if I have to be running around here with a pipe in my hand to keep them in line ... I've hired the wrong people.
What's difficult about a society is that we can't just throw out the sub-humans. But, manners are a useful tool to determine basic civility and respect. But, what if a society devolves? I don't mean evolves, but actually gets worse. What if sub-humans start outnumbering humans? That makes living in a democracy pretty scary. But remember, the USA is NOT a democracy ... it's a republic. Representatives are supposed to do what's right for the health of the republic ... not for the individual whims of their constituents ... people don't seem to understand that ... that's why it's creepy when leaders are obsessed with polls ... they just want to get reelected ... not do what is right.
Remember ... humans do what is right ... sub-humans do what they can get away with.

MUSIC

2010-06-21T21:08:00.000-07:00

How good are summer nights? Sure, I'm an old guy ... but summer nights make me feel like a kid again. I get blasts of that energy, that magic of feeling alive ... not just great memories, but I can actually feel those days.

So here I am, playing my IPod and just soaking it all up. This playlist is filled with songs from grade school through college ... not much heavy duty rock ... mostly corny summer songs. Though I loved hard rock in high school (and still do) it's not right for beautiful summer nights.

Do you watch TREME? It's that HBO show about New Orleans ... Treme is the part of town where all of the musicians live. Now, I don't have any musical talent ... but I can't imagine life without music. Going deaf would be worse than losing your sight ... music is your connection with your soul. Can you imagine losing your emotions? You'd be the walking dead ... how can people live just to exist? Might as well be a plant ... what's the point? Isn't the point of life to LIVE? It seems to me that we're so worried about surviving that we're sacrificing our soul to fit in - to be safe, to be a robot ... just being functional. Don't we need freedom to develop our personality? Isn't personality what it's all about? How great are interesting people? How boring is "stuff"?

Hey I like stuff, but the thrill wears out pretty quickly ... a new car, etc ... loses its magic. But, music never loses its magic. Why's that? Because that's how you get plugged in ... plugged in to the energy of life. Yeah, meditation is cool and silence is needed to hear your inner voice ... but, music is magic ... the magic that ramps up your emotions and spirit. Without caring, life isn't worth living. Nietzsche said that where there's a why, there's a how. Of course. If there's not a why ... how can there be a how? I'm always amazed at when people try to problem solve by focusing on the how and not on the why. You can only be creative when you focus on the why ... then the answer jumps out at you. The how becomes the obvious result ... all you have to do is dot the i's and cross the t's ... that's easy ... maybe boring, but easy. Focusing on the how is like living without music ... the why brings the magic.

Music always answers the why ... why? ... because of how music makes you feel. Ever read Ayn Rand? She's all about being rational. Nothing wrong with being rational ... it's always good to make sense ... but there has to be a reason for making sense ... you have to care ... else, rationality is irrational. That's why Ayn Rand's writings always feel so metallic ... they're too cold ...

My Ipod just started playing a Door's song ... Jim Morrison was too much the poet, the magic man ... he needed to merge with Ayn Rand ... but at least Morrison had a soul.

Random Thoughts

2010-06-14T07:13:00.000-07:00

Went to the Twins game yesterday ... pretty ugly, they really need Hardy and Hudson back in the line-up and on the field ... rumor is that Hardy got hurt in a postgame celebration - you know, one of those moronic deals where everybody starts jumping on each other ... I don't get it - never did ... just never wanted to jump on a pile of guys ...

Love the new ball park - but I keep catching the rainy days ... sure, April was beautiful, but it's been ugly sice May 1 ... but, I'd still rather sit in the rain than be trapped in that Dome ...

What's with Jesse Crain? Unbelievable - has to be the worst player in the Major Leagues ... Crainwreck is too mild to describe his outings ...

Can't believe that the US Open is this week ... summer will be over in a minute - don't waste it ... obviously Westwood has to be a favorite ... guys from Cal such as Phil and Kim should do well ... Tiger? He's from Cal ... he should do well, but I wouldn't bet on him ...

Have you seen that HBO show Treme? It's about New Orleans after Katrina ... about the only thing I can watch on television ...

Was really enjoying a sports scene focused on the Twins - almost puked hearing Childress talk about the Vike's Mini-Camp ... He could definitely screw-up this championship team ...

Do I sound crabby? I am ... this rainy weather drives me crazy ...

LOST Final Episode

2010-05-24T19:58:00.000-07:00

I just read my blog post from March 9 where I predicted that the hero would have to make a noble choice of self-sacrifice ... but not have a tragic ending ... that American tv likes happy endings. So ... being smug ... I was pretty accurate. But, I wasn't satisfied with the ending - not that it had to tie up everything in a neat bow, but the ending seem to make many of the previous episodes irrelevant and pointless - very unsatisfying. In fact, I believe that that was not the original ending, but rather an ending that the tv executives insisted on ... probably people raised on Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. Obviously, most people come home from work tired and worn out, so they just want to watch something light and with a happy ending. But, from the start, LOST appeared to be much different from the typical tv fare and to really tackle some heavy-duty philosophy and psychology ... to wrestle with human motivation and meaning. So to wrap it up with a vague and sappy ending was pretty disappointing. It was about as much fun as watching the Yankees win the World Series.

LOST

2010-03-09T20:10:00.000-08:00

Do you watch the television show LOST? I've seen enough of the episodes to know the general idea, but haven't been a devout follower of the show. Not because I don't enjoy it - I think it's great entainment - I just haven't had the time. I've heard that there are websites devoted to LOST and people are obsessed with trying to figure the symbolism and meaning of the show.
Maybe because I haven't seen all of the episodes, but I think it's a basic good vs. evil plot ... that will ultimately come down to the charecters having to choose between power or love ... or between right or wrong. The island provides what everyone has always wanted: Locke is able to use his legs, Rose's cancer is healed, etc ... but, at what price? It's the old Faustian choice of selling your soul to the devil.
The choices will be micro and macro ... what will probably happen is that the main bad guy wants the island so that with its power he can rule the world. Thus, the other charecters will have to sacrifice their personal gains from the island by choosing to blow up the island, so the bad guy can't rule the world. Jacob and his evil brother have to watch and see what choice the humans will make to decide the fate of the world. Good stuff. All good stories come down to people having to choose between good and evil ... whether we're talking ancient Greek plays, 19th century Russian literature or modern movies ... it all comes down to whether the hero is really a hero ... very often the heroic choice has dire consequences for the hero (Tragedy) ... but modern audiences don't like tragedy and want a happy ending ... LOST will probably try to do both.
I have to admit that I like both endings ... but the hero HAS to make the heroic choice - even if he has to pay for it ... but seeing the hero make an unheroic choice isn't watchable ... too many tv shows have the "hero" make the weanie choice ... what's that all about?

TIGER, TIGER BURNING BRIGHT(?)

2010-02-18T10:15:00.000-08:00

So Mr. Woods is going to give a press conference tomorrow ... hmm ... what's he going to say? Well, I can tell you it's going to be pretty safe and cliche ... this will not be a speech from the heart. He'll read a statement claiming to be sorry that he let people down, that's he's learned his lesson, and will come back as a better person .... all good stuff - I hope it's sincere - but all of it is right out of the playbook.

Will he talk about coming back on the Tour? I think he will. I believe his plan is to make his comeback at Bay Hill - Arnie's place - he'll be sheltered, it's in Orlando ... it's his safest venue to play golf ... then, he'll sit out awhile and play in the Masters. Augusta National will not allow the media and public to harass Woods ... he'll be safe again.

If he can win either of those Events ... he'll be fine - in fact, he'll be a hero. Look at Kobe Bryant - he won an NBA Championship and his rape incident is forgotten and/or forgiven.

What do I think about all of this? Well, I love the Heroic ... I believe that people are made to be Heroic and that we need sports and movies and novels where we identify with heroes overcoming obstacles and winning ... we need those examples for our own lives - so we can muster the courage to overcome our own obstacles. But, Kobe and Tiger shouldn't be given a pass just because they keep winning at a sport ... a real hero has a sense of honor ... they need to restore that they are honorable people. I was listening to ESPN radio this morning, and the radio host was excusing Tiger's Friday press conference because it was ok that Tiger was selfish. See, Ernie Els said that Tiger should have waited until Monday to give his press conference - not on Friday during a PGA Tournament. The radio host missed the point ... it's not that Tiger is being selfish - he's being disrespectful to the tournament and the players ... that's not an honorable thing to do ... isn't his lack of honor and respect why he got in this mess in the first place? Has he really learned anything? It seems to me that he's operating the way he always has ... not my idea of a hero .

INTERNAL MOTIVATION

2010-02-12T10:05:00.000-08:00

If the Vikings weren't going to win the Super Bowl, I was glad that New Orleans won the prize. How great is their coach Sean Payton? New Orleans has good players ... but not close to the Vikings or the Colts ... they won because of their coach. That onside kick to start the second half was a brilliant move ... and ballsy, very ballsy. If they don't recover the kick and the Saints lose the game, the media and "fans" would never let it go. But, they would have lost anyway - that was the only way that they were going to get back into the game.
What's amazing is that most coaches don't have enough feel for the game to even realize the desperate situation and then have the guts to pull the trigger. I've watched baseball playoff games when during the late innings, the team at bat (who is losing) had men on base, one out and a 3-0 count ... and the coach gave him the take sign ... sure enough it's a fat fast ball for strike one ... and now the batter has lost most of his advantage, winds up popping out, and the threat is over, and then they bring in a reliever like Rivera and the game is over ... they HAD to let that guy swing (Morneau) on 3 -0 ... unbelievable and hard to watch. Thank God for Sean Payton. Do any of you remember when Billy Martin used to manage the Twins? They stole home 9 times that season! They were really fun to watch, but Calvin fired Billy after only one season - even though they won their division ... Calvin couldn't handle creative, exciting, intuitive baseball ... he liked it by the numbers ... he'd probably love Childress.
Most coaches don't coach to win as much as they coach to keep their job ... understandable, but not fun to watch.
Golf as a sport/business,game, etc is in that situation. Golf is not growing ... in fact it's shrinking. How come? Well, this isn't rocket science ... people don't want to play. What about money? Isn't that the big issue? Not really ... if people really want to play, they'll find the money ... look at liquor stores - are they folding? No, people are finding the money for booze. So the problem is motivation ... isn't the answer to find what motivates people to play golf? Instead, we have all of these "Grow the Game" initiatives that are mostly ways of throwing money around and hoping something happens. Sort of like what's been happening to our economy ... let's not solve the motivational issues that are at the heart of our nation's economic problems - no, let's throw money at our problems in terms of bailouts and let's hope magic happens.
People - especially scientists - don't want to face that most problems are problems of motivation - and I mean internal motivation. Programs of the carrot and stick, stimulous-response, monetary rewards and threats ... only go so far and last only so long. Companies, teams, and societies break down when its members' internal motivation breaks down ... that is the real issue ... always was and always will be ...

PGA Show in Orlando

2010-02-01T07:17:00.000-08:00

Just got back from the annual PGA Show held at the Orlando Convention Center, It's a big show, but not like it was in the '90's when it was huge. That's when golf was on the upswing ... but too many courses opened and too few people took up the game and/or stayed with it. So the saturation of courses mixed with 9/11, lead to a weaker PGA Show during the last decade ... obviously the current economic situation hasn't helped.

But, I still love the Show. It's great seeing all of the club manufactureres such as Titleist and Callaway, all of the cool clothing lines like Polo, Petter Millar, and Bobby Jones ... and seeing some of the crazy inventions that might be the next hot item. Also, it's just fun seeing other pros and old friends ... it's one of my favorite weeks of the year.

This year, I went to a bunch of PGA classes. Mostly, I went to classes about marketing and management ... but I also went to some teaching classes. By far my favorite was led by Manuel de la Torre. Mr. Torre has to be close to 90 ... but, he's still unbelievably into teaching the golf swing and his class was fascinating. He believes in making a swing. Most modern instruction is all about making body movements and being in particular positions. He believes that positions are a result of making the correct swing - not the other way around. He also asked the class questions of cause and effect - the class was stumped, because they don't really understand the golf swing. Look him up on Wkipedia - he's an amazing guy and I think really gets it.

The reason that Mr. Torre's instruction is so out of step with current instruction, is that he tries to get the student to use his mind. Most modern instruction is about turning someone into a robot ... just the opposite of reaching someone's brain and then letting them make a proper golf swing with their unique body. This is at the heart of what I believe is going on in the world. People are easily controlled by "stimulus/response" (remember Pavlov's dogs?). But, I believe that happiness comes from being independent and free from outside control. Obviously, control people have been mastering the art of control - the Soviets believed in controlling all of the Russian people and then later on the whole world. Don't think this controlling isn't happening in the "free world" ... people use it because it works ... I believe it's evil, but it does work. People who are only practical, believe that whatever works is good ... I think that's pretty scary.

Did you ever watch that TV show from the late '60's called "The Prisoner"? I heard that there's a remake. He was trapped on an island where everything was "perfect" ... but controlled ... the only thing he didn't have was his freedom.

I've loved golf because it is an individual game ... you have the freedom to play it your way. Unfortunately, even golf has become under the spell of robot-making control freaks ...but golf will never totally turn into a Soviet style game ... robots don't have brains or hands ... humans do ... and that's what golf is all about.

ps close to the Georgia/Florida border, I saw a billboard that said "WHO IS JOHN GALT" ... I have hope ...

Favre and Chilly

2009-12-22T13:43:00.000-08:00

Well, it had to happen. You knew that Favre could only take Chilly's system for so long ... I'm surprised he didn't snap a month ago. Football is a game of matchups ... find a weakness and exploit it ... when they adjust to the weakness, attack where they have to cheat to cover up the weakness ... this isn't difficult, but Chilly believes in systems not people ... obviously every team knows that the Vikings will run on first down, and so they prepare for it ... what does Chilly do? Keeps running on first down. Why don't the Vikings play-action pass on first down? Or throw a slant over the middle? or a screen? If they did, it would free up Peterson and he would run wild. The defense struggles when they're on the field all day. If Childress would let Favre call the plays, the Vikings would win the Super Bowl. The way it's going now ... the Vikings will be bounced in the first round of the playoffs.

FALL GOLF

2009-10-14T15:06:00.000-07:00

How bad is this October? Unbelievable ... Fall Golf is usually great ... this is ridiculous. This was a strange weather year - cold, dry, windy Spring ... beautiful Summer - dry except for a week of rain in August ... gorgeous September ... and now this ...

I'm usually a TV guy, but with this weather I've watched a lot of sports and the show MadMen. One of the fun things about watching MadMen, is catching the style of that era ... the classic clothes and cars and cocktails of those years are definitely cool ... but the coolness extended into relationships and those are pretty ugly ... not only interactions between strangers and acquaintances, but the dealings with family and close friends are really cold and impersonal ... no wonder the late '60's backlash happened.

Wouldn't it be great combine the cool taste of the early '60's with the warmth of the late '60's?

Some places do it ... for example, Wrigley Field .... and I like to think we at Deer Run do a pretty good job of mixing classic taste with a fun, warm, relaxed atmosphere.

Let's hope for some Indian Summer ... soon.

FINALLY

2009-09-07T11:44:00.000-07:00

I finally have some time to blog. Fortunately, we've had a busy year ... but that's meant I haven't had time to blog, play golf, etc. Not that my golf game is very good ... I'm losing swing speed every year - not just distance, but also the ability to hit long irons up in the air ... so I've been monkeying around with hybrids - hey, if Tom Watson uses them, it's no disgrace. This winter I plan on swinging a weighted club ... I've never been a big workout guy, but I have to do something, this is getting ridiculous.

What do you think about Favre? I think it's just what the Vikes needed ... I hope that Chilly lets Favre do his thing ... that offense needs to be set free, of course no one likes turn-overs, but that offense should score points and let the defence get some rests ... 3 and out is no way to win games.

I like this new T-Wolves GM ... they finally have a vision and a long term plan to build a good team ... they were just doing patch jobs every year, and then they wondered why they never became a consistent winner. Too many businesses run like that ... they've let Wall Street push them around ... too many stock holders are looking to hit a homerun rather than find a solid investment and ride with it. No wonder guys like Petters and Madoff found so many suckers ... people are looking for unrealistic returns on their investments ... and then the Boards pressure management into setting ridiculous projections and then they start doing anything to make those numbers ... you wonder why companies start making crap? - they're pressured to not make a fair profit on selling quality products ... Boards need to have the stones to tell investors that they have to live in reality ... I used to wonder where common sense went - it went out the window riding on greed. But it never leads to long term success ... but our society believes that we can always bail out our failures with government money ... why they think that Monopoly money can bail out anything is beyond my comprehension ...

This first week of September has been beautiful ... hope it continues until Halloween ... let's play some golf!

2008-11-10T11:52:00.000-08:00

VIKINGS FOOTBALL

How painfull is it to watch the Vikings? Even if they win, I still feel sick. It's because Childress is a "systems" guy - it's all about his system. But the reality is that football is about match-ups, not systems. Players are NOT interchangeable ... look at the NY Jets - look what Farve has done with them. If Farve was on the Vikings, Chilly wouldn't let Farve be Farve - he wouldn't be allowed to audible and do all of the crazy things that Farve does that win games. A good coach, boss, manager, etc ... figures out how to put people in the correct spots and let them do their deal ... bad coaches try to turn people into robots. If you can set Adrian Peterson free, he's unstoppable - but if you use him like he's any other back, he's good, but not unbelievable. The Vikings are a VERY talented football team with a coach who does everything he can to minimize their talent.

Love of Familes or "Humanity"

2008-06-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

Have you been reading the STAR/TRIBUNES feature on sex offenders? They've somehow made the sex offenders out to be victims. What! Those creeps are predators - not victims! And, the articles have little sympathy for the victims of these sex offenders. This is total madness.

Where do these goofy ideas come from? Well ... from people who love "humanity", but actually hate people. They're always involved in causes to "help" , while in the meantime treat people like crap - especially their own families. See ... they pretend that they are involved in "bigger" things. For them, people are not individuals, but rather representatives of some group .... and it's a group that they're always out to "save". They're not into individual rights, but rather group rights. And ironically, the group that they're never interested in is their own family. Talk about having life upside down.

At Deer Run, we are a family - and a family worth defending from predators. To become a member of our family is simple - don't be an a-hole. Some people believe that money - buying a green fee, becoming an investor, etc - is a license to be an a-hole. Money does not make things right - right is right.

The beauty of America is that we have freedom to join the groups we want ... but groups also have the right to accept or get rid of who they want - freedom has to work both ways ... else is it's not freedom.

Why people tolerate a-holes used to baffle me ... I see now that it's usually because they're intimidated or bribed or misguided pacifists. A-holes shouldn't be sought out and attacked - but when they attack, they should be retaliated against. Anything else is uncivilized.

The Three C's

2008-06-04T15:13:00.000-07:00

We believe that we have a pretty unique atmosphere here at Deer Run GC. We have a beautiful course in superb condition - thanks to Barry Provo, the best superindentent in the state. Not only is Barry talented, he's also a great guy ... and his staff is made up of great guys. Angie Williams, our Food & Beverage Manager is also very talented and extremely likable ... and so is her staff. The guys at the desk and the starters and rangers are also great guys - you'd be amazed at how little infighting goes on here. I like to think that a big reason for all of this harmony, is that we believe in the 3 C's:
* Common sense
* Courtesy
* Communication

Were not strangled with rules and meetings and memos ... we don't need them ... we have the three C's.

The Masters

2008-04-10T08:14:00.000-07:00

The Masters Tournament kicks off the golf season - the earlier PGA tournaments are sort of like Major League Baseball's spring training. This is when golf's true stars separate themselves from the rest of the field. You know that sometime on Sunday, the leader board will be a Who's Who of international golf. Obviously I presume that Woods, Mickelson, Singh, Furyk, and Els will be in the hunt ... but don't count out anyone who can putt - such as last year's winner Zach Johnson. Look for Steve Stricker and Aaron Baddeley to be in the hunt.

Golf Course Design

2007-10-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

I just read an article in a magazine about the return of good golf course design. The article said that in the early 20th century, Donald Ross, Alistair McKenzie, etc designed great golf courses. But later on, Robert Trent Jones, Pete Dye, etc designed unplayable golf courses - I couldn't agree more. In fact, read my column on course design - TwinCitiesgolf.com has all of my columns on their web site.

Good golf design allows for different routes to the hole. Different routes allow for strategy and shot making - poor designs only offer one route to the hole ... not very conducive to strategy or shot making.

The ugly courses started popping up around the same time that ugly baseball and football stadiums started appearing. The country lost its taste in architecture (and about everything else) during those years. Bigger was better ... and massive was great ... talk about an immature culture ... it was really pathetic. I'm so glad that golf and baseball and football architecture is reviving the classical styles.

But ... the games themselves have put too much emphasis on "big". The long drive, the home run, the slam dunk, etc. Sports are about using physical talents to perform in a strategical way - not just be an ESPN highlight film. But too many "fans" just want to see the obvious, so the owners manipulate the rules so that the sports lose their strategy and skill players ... so they have a bunch of big steroided-out goofballs performing highlight film tricks instead of playing the game.

Common Sense

2007-10-12T13:59:00.000-07:00

You've probably heard the saying "Common sense isn't so common anymore". I think it's true and I think I know why. To have common sense, you have to see things clearly. If you see things clearly, it's pretty obvious what has to be done. But, if you don't see things clearly ... you're apt to miss the obvious.

Well, people have always tried to manipulate other people. But in the modern world, there are many more manipulators, and the good ones are very good. And, they have technology on their side: television, movies, ads, radio, song lyrics, etc. Evil-clever people try to enslave and use people - brutes and thugs do it with force, clever ones use lies, psychology, and promises to control people.

Signs to watch out for: "I'm doing this for your own good", "There is no I in team", etc.

Without free will, life would be pointless. Decisions give life meaning. Mankind has always fought for freedom and liberty - the power to decide one's life. Otherwise - we're just robots.

People often get mad at God because life isn't perfect. Ok, let's think about it. Imagine that when you played golf, every shot went in the hole - every shot was a hole-in-one ... would that be fun? Would you enjoy playing golf? Would you enjoy living? Life HAS to have uncertain consequenses, and there has to be a bad side - otherwise our decisions are pointless and our lives are meaningless.

God is that voice in your head - God is your conscience. You can listen to your conscience ... or ignore it ... the choice is yours. Evil people try to shut off that voice in your head - they want to play God ... (they know what is "good" for you).

Liberty doesn't just mean license - it comes with responsibility. Golf is the real test of responsibilty ... you hit it there, now you have to play ... it's your decision.

Common sense has been lost because people are making fewer decisions and are confused by all of the mumbo-jumbo being thrown at them.

Merry England

2007-07-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

Do you ever look up things on Wikipedia? Well, look up Merry England ... because that's how we want Deer Run to feel. Merry England was supposed to be England at its best: thatched roof cottages, pubs, country lanes, sheep, corgis, row-boats, Sunday roast dinner, and of course ... golf. I think most people are rushing around for more-more-more ... instead of looking for quality and a quality life-style. Also, the people of Merry England were supposedly jolly ... how cool is jolly? How often do you meet someone who is jolly? Help us try to make Deer Run jolly ... maybe we'll become known as Merry Deer Run.

2007-06-23T10:47:00.000-07:00

I wish somebody would have told me this about the golf swing: Bad shots are not a result of not having a perfect golf swing. People believe that once they achieve the perfect swing, that they will always hit perfect shots. This goal of the perfect swing is not only unrealistic, but also harmful to your golf game. Golfers need to learn a few fundamentals, but then they have to learn to trust their swing. Golf shots need to be played by feel, instinct, and trust. The brain needs to be used for strategy - not to control the swing. When people are trying to think through their golf swing, they overlook strategy and make poor decisions. When the pressure is on, the good player trusts his swing - the poorer player loses trust and tries to think it through. Learn to think your way around the course while you trust your swing.

Pace of Play

2007-06-06T07:50:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed the responses to my last blog about driving a car ... yes, the roads are full of knuckleheads. These same crazy views of driving also infect peoples views of playing golf. The reality is that the golf course is like a one lane highway. We try to get people to play at a speed that produces a 4 hour round - I'd compare it to driving a car about 60-70 mph. Now if people want to play in three hours (like driving 90 mph) the 4 hour pace seems slow and they have to wait. But we don't believe it's fair to make people play faster than a 4 hour pace - but they can't play at a 5 hour pace. People think that because they paid their money that they have the right to play at whatever pace they desire. No ... they paid for a slot on the course ... they don't have the right to screw it up for everybody.

Driving a car

2007-05-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

While driving to work this morning on Hwy #7, I came to a place where two lanes merged into one ... the car behind me on my left, shot ahead to pass me before the lanes merged ... I figured that this driver was really in a hurry and needed to get in front of me to motor on ... but I was wrong, this person was obcessed with passing me but, whe in front of me slowed way down ... the speed limit was 55 and they were going 48 ... what is that about?

Perfectionism

2007-05-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

You know how people always say "Life isn't perfect ...". Well, they're right. And trying to make it perfect only leads to misery. Shooting for perfection and not making it doesn't make things better - it only leads to frustration and a lack of priorities. We have limited time and energy - they should be used on getting what matters right - perfectionists get hung-up on the little things at the expense of the big things. This relates to everything - even the golf swing. Modern golf instruction tries to turn golfers into having the "perfect" swing. They hold up a model of a "perfect" swing and try to make people fit the model. Thus, too much emphasis on meaningless parts of the golf swing. What matters in the golf swing is impact. And the correct use of the hands and wrists makes the correct impact position. But again, the perfectionists are trying to turn people into machines - and machines don't have hands. In fact, this type of instruction wants to take the hands out of the golf swing. These folks emphasize the "big muscles". Ok, let's talk golf and football players - usually quarterbacks are good golfers - they have good hands and smaller muscles. The linemen are usually poor golfers - they have big muscles and bad hands. Common sense has gone out the window.

Babble

2007-05-15T16:11:00.000-07:00

I've been too busy to blog ... I know, I know ... it's a terrible excuse, but true. So I have to babble on a number of topics, to make up for my lack of blogging. First, Phil's win at the Players Championship was very impressive - he actually played under control - Tiger had better watch out ... and the Butch Harmon factor could really liven things up. The Twins are still fine - it's way too early to panic - glad they got rid of Ponzone, he was terrible - what's with Punto? He's killing 'em - the number 2 batter needs to get on base, Punto hits long fly balls ... Mauer should bat #2, Cuddyer #3, Morneau #4, Hunter #5, Kubel #6 ... also, what's with Nathan? he just throws fastballs ...

the weatherman

2007-04-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

Here we go again ... the weatherman predicted a rainy weekend (including Friday) and, surprise-surprise ... it's not raining. This has become a sick joke. Is this some sort of a twisted power trip? Like the tribal shaman that gets his power by predicting trouble so that everyone has to listen to him, the modern weatherman is always forecasting weather problems. But of course, this is done in the name of "safety". "Better to error on the side of caution". Sometimes. But what about common sense? Is rain that dangerous? Does a 20 percent chance of rain warrant a "rain cloud" symbol in the newspaper weather section? We're more and more living in a world of people "looking out for us" - I don't need to be saved from myself - I can make my own decisions - just give me accurate information so I can make a decision.

Bullies

2007-04-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

One of the most disgusting forms of humanity is the bully. You'd like to think that people are on a higher level than animals, but bullies aren't - they are the ultimate "might makes right" folks.
Animals don't have moral dilemmas - they don't worry about right or wrong - it's just kill or be killed. Civilization only exists because some people can see that life doesn't have to be the law of the jungle. Bullies are the animals taking advantage of civilization. Ironically, some people think it isn't civilized to stop bullies - actually it is the opposite - civilized people stop bullies in their tracks - otherwise life becomes "Lord of the Flies". A certain local sportswriter respects bullies. This writer gets his thrills when coaches bully their teams - he thinks that's motivation. Golf is supposed to be a game of gentlemen. The term gentleman sometimes gets a bad wrap - some people think it means a rich snob - I think that it means a good-hearted, respectful, gracious person - money has nothing to do with it. In fact, the snob is definitely not a gentleman - lot's of bullies use silence as a weapon, especially snobs. What are your thoughts?

Let's Blog

2007-04-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at blogging. Though I write a local column, I still have more to say - I'm probably lucky I don't have a radio show - I wouldn't want to join Don Imus.
Thank God for the internet ... people need a venue to speak, the world is becoming so politically correct that anything that challenges the "progressive" view is destroyed. Teachers and professors will fail students with the "wrong" views ... and the media and its sponsers will turn on "outspoken" people with a vengenance.
So, I think you know what I want to do with this blog - I want opinions! They don't have to be well-thought-out or even based on fact .... I want to hear what people know in their gut. Usually our gut has it figured out, then we try to rationalize what we know. Sort of like listening to music - we like the song, then later on we put into words why we like it.
Does it have to be about golf? No. Have to be about sports? No. Just take a swing at any subject.
I'll start it, but it can go anywhere ... and change topics if you want - just take a swing.
So this is about swings - not golf swings, but baseball swings. Years ago, I helped coach one of my son's Little League teams. It was the first year after Coach Pitch, so the kids had to bat against someone trying to get them out. Well, they didn't want to screw up - they just wanted to walk. So I had to make them swing. In fact, if they walked, I pulled them out of the game. The first few games they were swinging at everything and striking out - the parents went crazy. But we kept at it, and by the middle of the season, the kids could hit. So we won the second half of the season and played the winner of the first half for the championship. The first half winners never learned how to hit - they always hoped to get a walk, and it worked for them for a while, but they never got aggressive and/or learned how to hit. Obviously, we killed them in that final game - but what was really sad is that they never really played baseball. Life is about swinging the bat.

Tom's Top Office Blog

2007-03-29T08:55:00.001-07:00

2007 is here!