CONFIDENCE IS A CHOICE
28 Jan 2016

CONFIDENCE IS A CHOICE

By: Gregg Steinberg, WGCA contributing writer While confidence is an essential ingredient for successful golf, it is as fickle as an eight-year-old boy in a candy store. One moment he wants to try the sweet Gummy Bears and the next he will gobble up the sour chews. Birdies can give you a sweet air of invincibility while a series of bogeys can make you sour on your golf ability. As he stood on the 13th tee on Sunday, Fabian Gomez had reached 20 under par at the Sony Open. He knew he had the championship within his grasp. Then he proceeded to bogey both the 13th and 14th holes. Fabian could have lost his confidence and fallen into a downward spiral of negativity. But instead, he rebounded and finished with an amazing birdie putt on the 72nd hole to finish at 20 under par and into a playoff, which he won over Brandt Snedeker. Once you begin to lose your confidence, it is difficult to gain that sweet feeling back again. When this happens, it seems as if the game has become your enemy. All you think about is the trouble rather than focusing on the desired result. Like Fabian Gomez, to play at your best under pressure, you must be able to keep your confidence, regardless of how easily the bogeys seem to be appearing on your card. You can keep your confidence with the following key strategies: 1)         Believe that confidence is your choice. Regardless of how badly you are playing and scoring, confidence is always your choice. You can continually make a statement such as “I choose to be confident” to beat away those negative thoughts. 2)         Keep a confidence journal.  Every time you had a great round, write down how you were feeling and thinking. Keep this journal in your golf bag and look at it throughout the round to get a great jolt of confidence 3)         Have a golden nugget.  A golden nugget is a visualization of a great shot. Perhaps it was that 5-iron that you nutted last week to three inches.  Before the round, visualize this shot over and over again so that when you hit a few shots, you will remember this golden moment and it will boost your confidence. Centuries ago, the renowned philosopher Rene Descartes wrote that we have the capacity to think whatever we choose. That human truth is the same today. You always have the choice to have a great attitude or terrible one. If you make the right choice, the chances are much greater that you will become the player you always wanted to be. (Bio: Dr. Gregg Steinberg is a professor of sports psychology at Austin Peay State University. He has been ranked by Golf Digest as one of the world’s greatest sports psychologists and has worked with many PGA Tour players, including Brandt Snedeker, Brian Gay and many more. He is the head sports psychologist for the International Golf Psychology Association. To help your mental game, visit www.masteringgolfpsychology.com to see some free videos and articles.)
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A STILL SHOT
26 Jan 2016

A STILL SHOT

By: Dave Hill WGCA contributing writer A photograph is a still shot in our minds, a suspension of time, a memory that gives and helps of live. This article will be short. I recently lost someone close, a pillar of stability in our family. It is in these times as humans we reflect about life. None of us know our destiny. Our past offers options; we can learn from, dwell on and/or cherish our history. It is the present, however, most worthy of embracing. There is presently a 70-year ongoing Harvard study about happiness. Seven decades earlier, researchers asked a large group of young boys from an impoverished Boston neighborhood what they believe would help lead them to a happy and fulfilling life. Not surprisingly, they all answered, in some form or another, bar none: To be rich/successful and/or famous. We’d likely hear the same answers from our youth today. Four generations of researchers later, the study has revealed a conclusive finding amongst the many kids within who are now in their eighties, only one finding in spite of the plethora of careers and socio-economic standing of the study’s participants. As it turns out, some had very successful careers and others remained impoverished. Some became wealthy, and even one became president of the United States. Again, in spite of where one stood in their respective life 70 years forward, the only characteristic in common attributing to each individual’s fulfillment regarding a happy life was the personal relationships they fostered with others throughout their lives. Some were in the past and based upon fond memories. Earlier, I mentioned cherishing the past. The research participants didn’t cherish the past at all. They cherish the present to provide the best memories. I lost a family member, I lost a friend, I lost one of my brethren (he, too, was a golf professional) and I lost a golfing partner. The memories are fond. We are lucky we work in a profession that most call a hobby or a lifestyle. Some are young getting started, others are in the midst of their careers, while others are seasoned veterans. Whether young, old, or somewhere in between, the next time you are out teaching or playing the game, remember there are two relationships you are nurturing: one with an individual and one with the game. There is only one thing more satisfying than seeing the look of exuberance of a student or a playing partner hitting the perfect shot. It is the knowledge of you knowing they have taken a snapshot of the ball in a still-frame as it reaches its apex as it inevitably toward its intended target. You know this because this is the essence of the game you have lived many times. Everything feels right as the ball leaves the club and your eyes focus in on the hurtling sphere, and the present moment becomes etched in your memory forever. Cherish the shot and enjoy the happiness the photograph provides forever.
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ONE IMPORTANT TRAIT
26 Jan 2016

ONE IMPORTANT TRAIT

Having studied very successful golf instructors for many years, I have discovered one important trait that they all have in common that you do not see with the average golf teacher. This one thing goes right to the heart of how human beings learn physical motion. For the sake of space and your boredom, I won’t go deep into motor skill learning. The simplest way to understand how we learn motion is to think of how you learned to eat, drive or brush your teeth. Motor skill learning in its most basic form is repetitive motion that is learned and captured in the nerves that connect the brain to the muscles.  Having spent most of the last twenty years helping golf professionals learn to improve their teaching skills, the one thing I have noticed more than any other shortcoming is the lack of understanding how the dynamic of motor skill learning works. So, what is this one trait? Besides the obvious, which is the ability to communicate well, the one trait is the understanding that human beings learn from feel. Successful instructors not only verbally explain the motion, but they actually interact with the student by helping them physically make the motion. New or inexperienced instructors spend the majority or even all of their instruction time verbally teaching the student. While all of us that teach the game have the desire to help people play better golf, we need to understand better how humans learn. Therefore, it is not a lack of caring or effort on the part of teacher. It is simply a lack of education. Either through experience, education or even trial and error, successful instructors understand what the famous instructor Gary Wiren said forty years ago: “A golfer needs to clearly feel and understand what he or she is trying to do.  Even more simply put, golf is a game of feel. “ Our main purpose as golf instructors trying to help our students improve is to teach what the motion should feel like. The only truly effective way to do that is to physically move them or the club while attached to them. Teach feel. Some of us can watch and imitate. A very, very small percentage can read it and then translate the written word into motion. But the vast majority of us need to be taught how the correct motion feels. Watching instructors attempting to help their students, I see them way too frequently attempt to talk their students into a better motion, commanding verbally, “Don’t do this or don’t do that.” Back to our basic motor skill learning. As we make a movement, the human brain is wired to learn motion so as to repeat that motion eventually on a subconscious level. Think of having to learn to use your fork and spoon from the beginning every time you ate a meal. That would make for some long dinners. Try this simple motion.  Take your hand from a positon of resting it on a table and use your index finger to touch the tip of your nose. This simple motion has six million possible motion variances; that’s correct, six million. Therefore, one aspect of simple survival for us is our ability to learn motion. Next time you are giving a lesson, ask yourself, “How much am I talking and not showing?” Understandably, some are apprehensive to physically help their students. That is completely understandable. But an important step of improving your instruction is to get over that fear and just do it. They can’t release the energy of the club head through impact? They have never felt their hands stay solid through impact on a chip or putt? Help them swing the club slowly through impact, teaching them to feel the correct movement. Trust me, the reward and response you get from your students from teaching feel will surprise you.
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18 Jan 2016

If you were a golf course manager, how would you respond to the following scenarios?

  1. During a busy day early in the season, several groups legitimately complain about the slow pace of play on the course. Do you… a. Apologize for the slow play but explain that your Players Assistants were doing the best they could to keep play moving? b. Explain to the golfers that it was a busy day and slow play is to be expected particularly early in the season? c. Tell them that you understand that play was unusually slow today and offer them a discount voucher for their  inconvenience and ask them to please come out and try the course again? d. Tell them that you are not surprised as you saw many bad players out on the course today? Answer: Although A, B and D may all be very true, none of those answers will bring any satisfaction to the golfers and CUSTOMER SATISFACTION is the number one priority. Discounting golf is certainly not the answer to everything – but the course is obviously having a good day (causing slow play) and you want to cultivate as many happy customers as possible.

  2. Your club policy is that employees must request days off two weeks in advance for scheduling purposes. A usually very reliable part-time staff member comes to you and informs you that he needs the next three days off because of a wonderful opportunity that just came his way. You are already short staffed because of others who had requested off a couple of weeks ago. You… a. Reiterate the policy and explain that you can’t give him the days off. b. Let him know that you’ll be glad to cover for him even though you’re short-handed and to have a great trip. c. Let him know that he can have the time off as long as he can find someone to cover his shifts. d. Moan and complain about how difficult it will be to cover for him so that he feels bad about the late notice – but cover for him anyway. Answer: Reliable part time staff is hard to come by and are an essential component of any smooth running golf course. By allowing him to feel good about his opportunity, he will be much more productive when he returns, bringing with him a positive attitude and good morale. Answer C would seem to be a reasonable solution but it will very possibly cause extra stress and hard feelings between the staff members who can’t, won’t, or eventually do cover his shifts. Staff will be much more willing to cover if asked by the Director or Head Pro – thinking they will be banking some good will for later use.

  3. A golfer comes into the shop after having a confrontation with another group and ultimately your Player Assistant. He is very upset with the way he was spoken to by the PA and demands that something be done. He is a regular customer and influential in the community. Your PA has already made you aware that this individual was hitting into the group ahead of him on more than one occasion. When the PA approached him he became loud and abusive. You should… a. Apologize for the confrontation because “the customer is always right” and allow him to leave feeling good and limiting any negative publicity. b. Respond in a strong tone making sure he understands that hitting into other groups will not be tolerated and that your PA acted appropriately. c. Tell the customer that you will speak to your PA about the way he spoke to him and assure the customer that it will never happen again. d. Explain that you have already heard what happened from the PA’s point of view but would like to hear his side too. Discuss how the situation can be avoided in the future without demeaning the actions or authority of your PA. Answer: The trick is to neutralize the situation, take steps to prevent it from reoccurring, and to protect the integrity of your staff. Making a stand and lecturing on the customer’s wrong- doing may feel good and deserving, but will probably come back to haunt you at some point. It is very important that your staff understands that there is a right and wrong way to communicate with customers but that you will support them when they are forced into a difficult situation during the course of doing their job. Correct answer – D.

  4. Membership is down and a small group claiming to represent a contingency of 16 members comes to you because they have been offered a better deal to join a neighboring club. Do you… a. Tell them you will match the other club’s offer if the group will rejoin your club? b. Meet with the group to discuss a mutually beneficial resolution? c. Point out to the group the benefits of remaining at your club and impress upon them how much you value them as members? d. Advertise special pricing and incentives to all members to attract additional members while limiting the departure of current members? Answer: Members can be tough to come by, and at times, even tougher to keep happy. “The grass is always greener” philosophy does present challenges when trying to get members to rejoin year after year. Meeting with the group to discuss a possible resolution AND impressing upon them how much you value their memberships are both necessary steps. Often times the members just want to know that they are valued and are heard when it comes to golf course and membership issues. Matching the other club’s offer will most certainly be found out by your other members and will create a terrible situation. If the numbers continue to drop, advertising special pricing and incentives may become necessary – however, getting pulled into a price war with neighboring clubs will usually only benefit the golfers and hurt any and all of the clubs involved. Unfortunately, sometimes drastic measures must be put in place to get through difficult times. Correct answer – C.

  5. A group of eight have reserved two prime tee times on a Sunday morning. Four players show up and announce that the second foursome decided to cancel. You… a. Politely let the gentlemen know that they had reserved two tee times and that they will have to pay the greens fees for the time that will go unused. b. Politely let the gentlemen know that this is a prime time for the course and in the future you would appreciate their calling ahead to cancel the time. c. Don’t say anything and accept that this is part of the business. d. Make a note of the reservation for future reference and let the staff know that if a multiple reservation is made in that name again that the individual will have to leave a credit card number to secure the times and that it will be charged greens fees for any no shows. Answer: This is a common occurrence at golf courses that take advance reservations. Answer B is probably the best way to handle the situation at the time, but it would also be prudent to implement a policy to take a credit card number at the time of the reservation and let the person know that it is course procedure to charge a green fee for no-shows in prime hours of operation. The policy should be written down and all pro shop employees should know the policy. If you have to enforce the procedure, be sure to keep a record of the charge, day and time the  reservation was made and the name of the person. That way, you can have it available for a customer who disputes the charge or the credit card company disputing the charge.

  6. You are the Director of Golf Operations and a Certified Golf Instructor presents you with a plan to teach golf at your facility and bring students. When you present this to the golf pro, he resists and tells you he does not want any outside instructors teaching at his golf course. You… a. Tell the pro that it is not his decision and you are allowing the new teacher access, like it or not. b. Remind the pro that the goal of the course is to bring in business and that the instructor’s plan does not compete with the pro and that it will bring in new business to the facility. c. Discuss with the pro the benefits of having an individual that will bring in new business and assure him that there is room for both to grow and prosper. d. Demand that the pro come up with a plan that will add the same revenue promised by the certified golf instructor’s proposal. Answer: It would be easy to just tell the pro that you make the decisions not him, but that would probably create hard feelings and cause more harm than good. It is always better to be up front and try to get people to see the bigger picture. Golf is a competitive business and convincing him in the long run that the more opportunities to improve the bottom line is good for everyone. C would be the best approach.

  7. A guest of a member of your golf club is having dinner in the main dinning room of the clubhouse. One of your wait staff informs the club manager that this person is receiving multiple calls on his cell phone and is annoying their members. Club policy clearly states that cell phones are not allowed in the main dinning room. Therefore, you respond in the following manner: a. Confront the member and reiterate the policy. b. Confiscate the cell phone from the guest and say it is against club policy but the phone can be picked up at your office after dinner. c. Do nothing. d. Tell the waiter to explain the policy. e. Show the member the written policy on a small business card you had developed for that purpose. Answer: E

  8. The starter on the first tee of your golf club calls you stating that Dr. Smith, a suspended member for nonpayment of dues, has just teed off with three guests. Dr. Smith has been a respected member of the community and a club member for seven years. How would you, the club manager, handle the situation? a. Tactfully escort Dr. Smith and his guests off the golf course. b Allow him and his guests to finish the round and ask Dr. Smith to see you in your office after the round. c. Have the ranger hand him a note reminding him of the situation and ask him to see you after play. d. Allow him to finish the round with his guests and telephone him the following day. Answer: B

  9. For your pro shop you need to decide what retail prices to set on apparel and equipment. To help determine, you need to find the gross margin percentage (GMP) in figuring these prices. The equation for GM is displayed: GMP = (Sale of goods—Cost of goods) / Sale of goods. Therefore, which one of the following is not included in calculating the GMP? a. Rent b. Cost of apparel and equipment c. Shipping cost of apparel and equipment d. Retail price Answer: The best answer is “A.” The cost of rent to house your equipment and apparel is definitely not part of the GMP equation. Hence, rent would be considered an indirect cost. Any cost directly related to equipment and apparel such as shipping and the wholesale price is part of cost of goods. And, to complete the calculation, the retail price (which is the sale of goods) is the other number required for the GMP.

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CHANGE
18 Jan 2016

CHANGE

Everyone has heard phrase about how the world is changing and you have to adapt to the change.  For some of us, this might be natural, while for others, it’s extremely hard.  Change is everywhere:  from the way people communicate, the way people learn, the way information is exchanged and the way information is taught. For about six years, I have been working with a young man who is a now a freshman in college.  The way he likes to communicate is via text messaging.  To me, this is somewhat strange.  I would call and he would not answer; shortly after he would text me. It took me a bit to figure out that texting was the best way to communicate with him.  He would text a novel, but face to face it was hard to get two words out of him. Texting is the way young people communicate. Think about the options available for college.  There are the traditional, daytime classes that are now being overtaken by night, weekend, or online classes.  People like online learning because itprovides the freedom to work or take care of a family.  The higher educational system has realized that in order to capture market growth, they have had to alter what they offer. As golf teaching professionals, how are we changing to adapt to our students and their needs?  Websites and social media might be the medium through which your current or future students want to communicate with you.  They want to text videos of their swings and have you communicate back via text.  Some people only like to email.  They want to email their swing video to you then have you respond via email back. To maintain or grow your success as a teacher, you have to modify your approach.  Think about the way you have done things in the past and the how your student demographics are changing.  Figure out where the gaps are between your style and their learning and communicating methods, then close those gaps.  It might be scary at first, but once you embrace the change, you will be happy you did.
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