Last week’s President’s cup is further proof of the Tiger and the Dip theory. Here are 3 other observations that will help you in building teams.

1. Everyone needs a Wingman. Phil Mickelson proved to be the ultimate wingman. Like Iceman to Maverick, Phil’s partnerships with rookies, Anthony Kim and Sean O’ Hair were close to perfect. Phil’s talent and experience helped the young guns to stay in the present. It was also apparent that he was able to transfer confidence when his team needed it most. Successful teams from every arena have an experienced veteran that brings out the best in his teammates.

2. Create a “have fun and win atmosphere”. Fred Couples’  decision to bring in Michael Jordan as “assistant-assistant” captain seemed odd to many. I believe it was a stroke of brilliance.  Anytime a team can draw from an advisor (s) with a thought process of success there will be benefit. A person like Jordan helps create the atmosphere of a winning team. If the atmosphere is right a team will achieve peak perform.

3. Unity. Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods gel better than Danny Ocean and Rusty, than JB and KG, than Tango and Cash, than Milo and Otis, than..well, you get the idea. My main point here is that two or more teammates who work that well together will inspire a whole team. Their unity was energizing and helped set the example for the whole team. A team acting as one is always powerful.

photo credit: woodleywonderworks

photo credit: Fidelio García

Last week was the annual playing of the Gillespie Invitational. This was an anniversary of sorts for me since it marked my return to competitive golf a year ago. This year I struck the ball pretty well but putted terribly. Both days, I found myself very uncomfortable with the flat stick.

After a five minute conversation with my coach a few days later, I relearned a fundamental truth to consistent good putting. Focus on hitting good putts. Simple! I know! But I had been puting the emphasis on making putts for par or birdie etc… instead of on the execution of good putts.

This week I read the following post from Randell Mell’s chat with Morris Pickens. He is the sport psych to Stewart Cink, Zach Johnson, and Lucas Glover. I believe it will help you to grasp this putting axiom as much as it did me. (The day after my tournament I shot 64. Man, did this tweak of thought process make a huge difference.)

..A lot of people, every putt is for a result. The closer you get to the hole, the more you get score conscious. This putt is for a birdie, or to get up and down, or to get the lead. We try to take the putting “for” something out of it. Whether it’s a five footer for eagle or a five footer for double bogey, it’s still the same putt. That way you can make them all the same. It becomes a physical putt, not an emotional putt. The more you can make putting a physical act rather than an emotional act, the more you can make them all the same…

I have also included the link if you’d like to read the full article. Randall Mell post

I have also found we love to put emphasis on the results in life too. We are taught that each action we take is for something.

Closing a sale… Acing a test… Nailing an interview…

Why do we make these actions so emotional? We know what to do, we have trained, studied, learned, and mastered many of the things that we become anxious about. It is just a matter of physical acts which produce desired outcomes. Be free. Loosen the chains of restraint. No longer will the proximity of reaching our goals cause the pressure of execution to mount. We already know the outcome because we’ve prepared. The putts go in, we close the sale, we pass the test, we get the girl. Why? Because we’ve already won.

photo credit: thewhitestdogalive

Unlike any activity I have participated in, Golf, can engineer an emotional roller-coaster second to none. Seemingly stable people worldwide turn into to the HULK from David Banner and back again. Moods in a round of golf can swing up and down faster than the Kingda Ka and many times for justifiable reasons. Bad bounces, poor decisions, duffs, tops, and three-putts are all grounds for a volcanic eruption of the Novaruptan order. Dr. Jekyll meet Mr. Hyde. I will not dare mention the Sh**ks (can’t bring myself to type it), which has been known to turn Norman Rockwell into Hannibal Lecter.

The thing is, anger is an emotion. Emotions give you an advantage if applied properly. If focused. How many times have you watched Tiger or any great athlete get mad after poor execution, then increase the level of their play. Every champion has done this in some arena. You have too. The anger doesn’t consume you, it heightens your abilities to bounce back. So next time use the emotions to excel. Here are 2 keys I’ve observed from watching great competitors translate rage into peak performance in golf and life.

1. Vent so you don’t explode. Release the rage and get it out of your system. My Grandfather used to cook the best roast with a pressure cooker. He would set the valve to release steam as the pressure would build so that the pot would not explode. The great thing is the valve let enough steam out to avoid catastrophe but not so much as to lose the effectiveness of the heat. Give yourself some release so the pressure doesn’t build to awakening the Tasmanian Devil within .  Note: there are ways to do this without profanity, damaging the course, or your equipment.

2. Channel the fury into focus. Use the intensity of your emotions to better concentrate on your next shot. Notice Tiger’s eyes the hole after he gets angry. It is almost Jedi-like the way he can focus and execute what he needs to do to bounce back better than had he not messed up in the first place. This ability is in each of us. Channel the energy into hitting your next shot instead of  letting the energy combust like white phosphorus in the veins.

Enjoy this final thought, courtesy of a Top 100 teacher  Charlie King, instructing you on proper throwing techniques for when all else fails. Feel free to leave your own techniques in the comments section.

Golf’s US Open was a tiring tournament to watch on television this year. The starting and stopping was like watching matches on center court Wimbledon (prior to this year). I wonder if they can install a retractible roof at Turnberry for the Open Championships?

Nevertheless, it was a great USGA championship. One that gave birth to a new champion, Lucas Glover, and resurrection to a former one, David Duval. Hopefully.

I remember the first time I met Lucas Glover. I was playing in an AJGA tournament in Greensboro NC. Let me rephrase that, I was playing in my only AJGA event. Their tournaments are usually reserved for good junior golfers, but I digress. A tall, lanky, and red-headed 14 year old Lucas, meandered around the putting green with a deliberate and confident gate while sporting a FULL Goatee. That’s right, he was 14. I, on the other hand was 16, and trying to grow enough peach fuzz to justify buying a Gillette, and he looked like a 25 year old major league pitcher. We never played any rounds together, but I distinctly remember him on the range hitting drivers. Every one he struck resonated with tour caliber sound, like the ball being fired out of a cannon. My tee shots unfortunately, always sounded like a scoop of ice cream hitting the pavement. Foreshadowing? Probably. Be that as it were, Lucas is a great champion and a nice guy. I look forward to seeing him add more titles to his trophy case.

Egos don’t win golf tournaments or garner success in life.

On the eighteenth hole Lucas stepped up to the tee with a 2-shot lead. Lucas watched Duval miss his birdie putt and promptly pulled 6-iron out of his bag, on a hole where most players hit driver, and striped one in the fairway. This play allowed him to avoid trouble and a score worse than bogey. Don’t try to win with a 3 when all you need for victory is a 5. That goes for major championships or local club championships.

A mentor of mine says “You can’t feed your family and your ego at the same time.” Lucas demonstrated this remarkably by deciding to hit 6 iron even when he had been driving the ball beautifully all week and had 2 strokes to give with one to play.

The same goes true for success in any endeavor. Most truly successful people are confident but humble. Not the egotistical and malicious sharks portrayed by Hollywood and the media. They became successful by contributing something of value to the community and people around them. The price of sacrificing personal gain or glory for some time period is usually paid, as well is the risk of looking foolish if they fail. But long-term true success can only happen when the siren of ego is silenced.

photo credit: Dov Harrington

Happy father’s day to all dads. The influence you have over us lasts a lifetime. The older I get the more I appreciate my dad. Recently, I submitted the following essay to the Golf Channel’s Father’s Day contest. It did not win, but reminded me how many lessons I learned from my dad while we spent hours at the golf course.  I have included the short essay below and would love to hear about  lessons you remember learning from you dad on the course or off.

Photo credit: Rowen Atkinson

Last week an acquaintance of mine (we share the same golf coach) did the unimaginable. He shot 57. Yes, that is for 18 holes. Now, I have never heard of anyone shooting 57. Not saying it has never been done, but fourteen under par. Really?! Amazing.

If you are like me, my first question is how? Here is more on this great accomplishment in sports by our coach Robert Linville at Precision Golf School. Goodes shoots 57

His answer. “I have no clue.” That is exactly how you perform at your best. When people get “in the zone,” they are not thinking. They are Reacting! Regardless of the arena you are performing in, be it the operating room, boardroom, classroom, stage, course, court, or field, peak performance is achieved by simply responding to what you have already spent hours training yourself to do. In Dr. Michael Lardon’s book, Finding Your Zone, he talks about these principles and how to apply them.

Can you remember a time when you were in the zone? When your outcome equaled your desired expectations? Do you remember how it felt? What triggers put you there? I think answering those questions are key to getting yourself into the zone, keeping yourself there, and reentering the zone once you’ve fallen out (this is the move of a champion).

We all have had times like these when we have ascended to a performance beyond our good, to our great. We write it off as a fluke or luck. When in fact, we have experienced our full potential and the level we can rise to become.

Please share your ZONE experiences. Reliving them will help you repeat them in the future.

Yesterday was an amazing day in sports, particularly for golfers. Specifically you. Why? Is it because Tiger mounted another comeback, birdieing the final two holes

of the Memorial Tournament and changing our lives? No, but because Roger Federer won the French Open, teaching us a vital ingredient to win in life and how to lower our scores. I know what you are thinking.

Please, let me explain. Federer won his 14th Grand Slam tennis title. With this conquest, he ties Pete Sampras’s record for the most victories of all time. He also won the final leg of a career grand slam which only five other men have accomplished. All of these are great feats that none of us (save Tiger who also has 14 major titles) can even comprehend. However, the lesson in this achievement is the fact that since 2004, Roger has reached 20 straight Grand Slam semi-finals and 19 Finals. The success principle lies in consistently giving himself a chance to win.

In golf, lowering your score is all about giving yourself a chance at Par, or Bogey, or Birdie, or whatever level you play to. Consider this, a bogey golfer that gives himself a putt for par on all 18 holes will not be a bogey golfer much longer. If you want to break your career best, don’t focus on the number of strokes, focus on giving yourself the opportunity to make birdie.

This perspective allows us to look at what we need to improve to accomplish this. Do we need to drive it in play more or work on our putting and chipping more (these are the most common culprits)? Work on those things and you will give yourself more chances to break through.

Its funny, living a successful life is much the same recipe. Whether its your career, relationships, or dreams, putting yourself in position to triumph on a consistent basis is where we win. Too many people get wrapped up in the event, The French Open final for example. They are looking to succeed instead of being successful.

“Aim small, miss small” is one of my favorite movie quotes from the film The Patriot. It is certainly a key principle for success on the golf course and in life. I’d take it one step further and propose “Aim Small. Win Big.”

Most people play a par 5 just trying to hit it as far as they can until they land on the green. A green 500 yards away is too BIG of a target. Chances are, one or more of your shots will leave you in a position of weakness to make par or birdie (your goal). Its ironic that most people also    take that approach to their life. Just going through with some end goal 60 years from now sipping smoothies on a tropical island. Too Big! Pick a specific target off the Tee, Lay up to your best yardage into the green, and leave yourself an approach to the green from a position of strength. You will more times than not give yourself a chance at birdie and at worst make par. Either way you accomplish your goal and the journey is more fun and the process more beneficial for reaching future goals. Take the same approach in your journey towards having a successful life, AIM SMALL! and WIN BIG!

Many people underestimate the power of 2 strokes. It is now officially 2009. Many folks make new year’s resolutions. I don’t like new year’s resolutions, we need to make New Year’s Commitments!

I think a good goal would be for us to improve our scoring ave by .50 strokes per quarter. You say, “David, that is only 2 strokes improved over the whole year. That doesn’t sound like a much.”

au contraire!

Here are two examples of what 2 strokes could do.

• Shane Bertch had a PGA tour scoring average last year of 70.75
• Vijay Singh had a PGA tour scoring average of 69.58

Difference of 1.17

• Vijay strolled to a seasons earnings of $6,601,094, #1 on the money list and the FedEx Cup.
• Shane finished up with earnings of $841,248, #126 on the money list and loss of PGA tour card. Not to mention over $5 million less in earnings.

On the 2008 Nationwide tour, the difference between making the top 25 and securing next year’s employment on golf’s grandest stage, The PGA Tour, was a measly 0.17 strokes.

Now, I understand we may not be competing for Millions or Dream Jobs, but what about our Club Championships or the $5 Nassau with our friends? 2 strokes could be the difference between lunch on us or lunch on them.

This is not only about golf. Whether it is the classroom, boardroom, relationships, or sports, sometimes focusing on getting just a little bit better makes all the difference between excellence and mediocracy.

Have a prosperous 2009 and I appreciate you joining me here from the fringe.

]]> http://viewfromthefringe.com/2009/01/01/the-power-of-two-strokes/feed/ 1 http://viewfromthefringe.com/2008/10/28/team-golf-and-the-tygf-pro-am/ http://viewfromthefringe.com/2008/10/28/team-golf-and-the-tygf-pro-am/#comments Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:08:26 +0000 david horne http://fromthefringe.wordpress.com/?p=152

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Last Friday I had fun playing in a pro-am with my college coach, Robert. He has been a mentor, boss, and now a friend over the years. He has served golfers for over two decades now as one of the best golf instructors in the country. The pro-am benefited the Triad Youth Golf Foundation. In its eighth year, TYGF, has helped spread the game of golf to youth in the area.

[youtube=httv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v25swuKEnQU]

Golf is one of the few sports that incorporates character and competition. I believe it is a game that provides an environment for youth to develop the principles of integrity, perseverance, and a strong work ethic that are often proportionate to success in life. Thanks to Chris, Mike, and Jonathan for all the hard work investing in the Traid’s juniors.

The event was held at Bryan Park Champions Golf Course, located in Browns Summit, NC, and was recently awarded to host the USGA’s 2010 Amateur Public Links Championship. This Rees Jones Design, is consistently ranked as a top public course in the country, boasting some of NC’s best designed holes.

Golf is largely an individual sport, but pro-ams offer team oriented competition.  Our team consisted of one pro, Robert, and three amateurs; Elton, Kathleen, and me. The format was one best ball gross and one best ball net (with handicap). Our team had a cumulative handicap of 7, thus having a slim-to-none chance at winning and a great chance for fun. We did finish fourth thanks to Kathleen putting together a four hole birdie streak.

One of the best ways to enjoy competition and play team golf  is in pro-ams like these. Typically for about $100, one can play good golf courses (a lot of times- courses not open to the public or non-members), meet some new folks, and get the competitive juices flowing in true team golf. It is also a great opportunity to play along side a professional, and learn course management skills valuable to your development as a player.  Golf is largely an individual sport, but pro-ams offer a team oriented approach.

Ask your local club pro or teacher about any pro-ams you might be able to get into.

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The course was set up perfectly. The rough was about 2-2.5″ of thick Bermuda grass which is playable but penal. The fairways were plush and competitors played the ball down (as it lies) through the green. Now this brings us to the greens. Well, some would say they were quick. Others might even say slippery. I even heard one player call them fast.

I’d say quick… like how quick Michael Phelps takes a shower.

I’d say slippery… like how slippery sliding down black ice is with Clark Griswald’s sled.

I’d say fast… like how fast you head to the baño after eating a Rochester garbage plate.

Bogies:

Hence there were a lot of bogeys. In the 36 holes of the tournament I carded four bogies, two double bogies, and two triple bogies which also included 4 three-putts.Ouch! Others didn’t even fair that well. There was one stretch of holes that I scored double bogey, bogey, triple bogey, par, bogey… but not to whine.

Birdies:

Finally with six holes to play, my mind kicked in gear. If there is one lesson I re-learned, it is that:

On my 13th hole, the 520-yard par 5 fourth hole (I started on the back nine), I hit a good drive into the wind down the left side of the fairway which left me 230-yards to a back hole location. This is normally not an issue, but I was semi-blocked by the trees guarding the left side of the fairway which left me a high draw shot shape to the green. Out of bounds, just right of the green, did not leave me a high percentage shot. My goal was to make birdie and get the momentum swinging back in the right direction. I decided to lay up with a 7-iron (I know, wimpy, right?), and swallow my ego. This left me a perfect sand wedge into the hole and set up a 10′ putt. Drano! I got one back!

I pared the 14th and smoked a drive splitting the fairway on the 15th, pitched to about 12′ and made another birdie.

The 16th hole was a 272-yard par four with a pond protecting the front-right part of the green. I hit a high fade driver off the tee to the front of the green about 50′ from the hole. Like I alluded to before, the greens were on the speedy side, so a lag putt below the hole was critical. I two-putted for another birdie.

The 17th hole is a short par five. I chose to hit 3-wood off of the tee and stay short of the pond, which loomed about 270 yards from the tee. This set up an 8-iron approach to about 8.’ I read my putt, visualized the line, and stroked the ball in the hole for an eagle three. Sweet!

Eighteen was an easy par 4 of only about 320 yards. In my attempt to hit the greens I double-crossed it and pulled the ball into the trees just left of the fairway. As I approached my ball, a little steamed from the miscue, I was faced again with a choice. I could try a miraculous shot around the trees, while keeping it under the limbs or punch it to the left side of the green and have a tough pitch to get up-and-down for par. I chose the latter, which left me a side-hill pitch to the green that sloped up to the hole and then downhill past the pin. I hit the best shot I could, but it ran about 10′ past the hole. I did manage to knock that one in for a par.

Five under par on my last six holes! All because I made good decisions. Too many golfers throw countless shots away due to poor choices on the golf course. That usually leads to impatience, which in turn, produces big numbers. Decide your goal for each shot and make the decisions that will most likely achieve the desired result and watch your scores come down.

Ducks:

That finish secured my first Seafood Invitational Duck, which are awarded  as trophies to the winners of each flight.

I know you want to see my duck. Here is a picture:

I ran across this post from The Armchair Golfer. I encourage you to read it.

It is a great piece on Kenny Perry and his road to making the now victorious 2008 USA Ryder Cup team. The best part of his post is communicating one of life’s greatest success principles for achieving goals, ”Know what you want.” Kenny poured all he had into achieving ONE goal this year.

What good is ambition without direction?

What good is persistence without a vision for your future?

Kenny Perry has proven the power of knowing what he wanted. It did not matter what others thought he should do, or ought to do, or even could do. He had a game plan to achieve his goal and it did not include popular opinion or tradition. He dedicated his time and resources to the sole purpose of making that team. Napolean Hill called it a Definite Major Purpose,  and stated that it was the “starting point of all achievement.”

How many times have passion, creativity, and hard work drowned in the ocean of vague dreams. Not one of us needs to fall short of our greatest desires or goals. Kenny didn’t. Neither do we, despite any circumstances or criticism we face. Finally, to achieve his dream, Kenny stepped out on faith, knowing that his guided actions would produce the desired results. ”Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” Gal 6:9

Yesterday was a good day.

I had a business appointment in Chapel Hill NC booked for early evening on Wednesday so I decided to head down early and accept an invitation to play 9 holes at Chapel Hill CC with a friend of mine from Morehead City.  His name is Ryan and he plays for the UNC golf team. Ryan, several years my junior, was the kid who tagged along with us, “big kids,” at Morehead CC back in the day. Everywhere we went- he would follow. It didn’t matter if it was on the range, putting green, or hitting the links- he was always there. It did not matter how much he was picked on for being the grommet, Ryan wanted to be just like us. Come to the think of it, he was just like I was as I shadowed the high school golf team when I was 12-13 years old aspiring to be Boom-Boom(Fred Couples or DL3(Davis Love). Well Ryan did grow up, became one the top junior golfers in the state, and was recruited and signed as a Tarheel.

We teed off together on the first hole for the first time in over 10 years. Since then Ryan  has grown to 6′ 4″(at least a foot taller than last time we had played). Me? oh, I am still the same 5’8″ that I have been since 15. We had a blast catching up on the present, reminiscing the past, and talking about the future. He shot a smooth 3 under par. The old kid got him this time though, as I carded a round of 4 under par.

I know what you might be thinking. You had so much fun because you shot 4 under and hit 2 drives over 315 yards-true, but that is not why. Here are 3 things that I promise will lead to fun on the course every time no matter if you shoot 62 or 162.

• Decide you are going to have fun and enjoy the experience. Everyday we are able to walk tee-to-green and enjoy God’s creation is a leg up on most of the world

• Pick good company. In most cases you can choose at least one person to play with. Don’t play with people that make the round miserable. Have fun building friendships and memories with your playing partners. Laugh often. Talk about each others dreams and goals. Sometimes picking good company is playing a one-some.

• Complement good shots and it will come back to you. Everyone loves receiving a “good shot”(chances are they are not being recognized at work or home). A great man once told me, “encouragement is oxygen to the soul.” Whatever you sow on the course you will reap. Ryan and I never missed an opportunity to verbally reward each others shots and isn’t it funny that we kept striving to hit them(you always have fun when you give it your best).

I have never had a bad day on or off the course keeping these things in mind. I believe you won’t either.

Please tell me about one of your great days on the course.