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16 Jun 2011 admin

Golf Strategy as it Pertains to Business and Vice Versa

Introduction It has been my observation that many golfers who stumble their way around the golf course in a haphazard manner could improve simply by applying principles of business strategy to their game. In like manner, business leaders who stumble through daily business happenings could likewise improve their “business game” by observing and applying proper strategic golf practices. To this end, I will discuss four basic concepts with you: Strengths/weaknesses, long-term planning, short-term planning, and the streetlight concept. I hope you will find this enjoyable and thought-provoking. Strengths and Weaknesses Prior to playing a round of golf, it is important to understand your game and its inherent strengths and weaknesses. Each of us has certain parts of our total game that stand out. And, we should capitalize on this whenever the situation presents itself. In like manner, we each have areas that we do not like or handle very well. These should be avoided as much as possible. If we play a round of golf that generally follows the pattern of maximizing our strengths and minimizing our weak areas, we will in all probability have a better day. But, on those exceptionally poor days, we generally find that we fall into the trap of playing into our weaknesses. This can be the result of losing composure, the golf course layout, or more likely a combination of the two. As with golf, businesses also exhibit strengths and weaknesses in relation to the market, competition, and the environment in which they operate. It is vital to analyze these characteristics of the businesses and that of the competition. How many times do we see a firm dive into a new business, only to watch them fail for no apparent reason? I suggest to you that had they better understood strengths and weaknesses, perhaps they could avoid mis-matches. As in golf, playing to your weaknesses or a competitor’s strength can have a disastrous outcome. Long-Term Planning The concept of long-term planning as it applies to golf entails developing a strategy for the entire round. A tournament situation might include strategy for several rounds on consecutive days. The purpose of long-term planning is to review each hole and analyze a strategy for where to be aggressive and conservative, what clubs will be needed, effects of weather changes on the play of the course, etc. In other words, given the known and unknowns, how should I approach this course and its mix of holes, taking into account my strengths and weaknesses and that of the golf course? In business we conduct the same type of planning. Our goal with long-term planning is to develop a strategy that takes into account the business, its environment and climate, and strengths and weaknesses of both the business and that of the competition. While the long-term plan for a round of golf covers 18 holes, the plan of businesses will generally cover a period of five to ten years. However, some companies (notably the Japanese) have attempted to develop very long-term plans covering decades of time. Short-Term Planning Short-term planning is often termed “annual” planning by strategists. In the realm of golf, it involves strategies for each hole, shot by shot. Therefore, one would have 18 short-term plans that add up to the achievement of one long-term plan. Each hole strategy must comply with the overall plan and take into account your strengths and weaknesses, and the strengths and weaknesses of the golf hole. Every hole has an aggressive route and a conservative route. It is the golf architect’s job to show you the hole but not necessarily make it crystal clear to you. It is your task to decipher the layout and determine your best course of action, given your personal strengths and weaknesses. In similar fashion we develop short-term (annual) business plans that achieve the goals necessary to carry us to the achievement of the long-term plan. It is our road map. And too often, I see companies spend a great deal of time developing the map, only to throw it out the window as we start down the highway. The thought is that we can find the place we are headed for with some instinct (the Daniel Boone symptom). The same type of derailment takes place on the golf course. You know you should hit a 3-wood on the tee and lay up to a safe landing area, but your buddies hit a driver into the trees and so out comes the driver. Misery surely loves company. And, it is no surer true than on the golf course and in the towers of commerce. Streetlight Concept The concept of the streetlight says that during a round of golf, there are situations that call for caution, aggressiveness, and conservatism, much like the stoplight with its yellow, green, and red lighting system for traffic flow. In golf, we refer to a situation that favors our strengths a green light situation – go for it! In the case of a situation that lures one of our weaknesses, we call this a red light. Play very conservatively and avoid a pending disaster. Yellow-light situations are those that hold elements of both your strengths and weaknesses. You should use some caution, but don’t be too conservative (a little risk / a little reward). A yellow-light situation can also present an opportunity, late in the round, to be aggressive providing you have the confidence to pull off the shot. If you do, it generally means shaving a stroke off an otherwise routine approach. Businesses often hold similar situations. And, the streetlight concept can be beneficial, if you understand your strengths and weaknesses. We should be very aggressive in green-light situations that clearly favor us or in which we hold an advantage. In like manner, red-light situations that clearly do not favor us, or more likely favor a competitor, should not take up too much of our time or resources. Yellow-light situations should be looked upon as potentially rewarding opportunities, but might not work out the way we plan. It is a calculated risk-situation and may or may not fit into our plans at this time. If it does, then go for it. If not, pass it by. Other opportunities will present themselves in the future. Closing Remarks In closing, let me thank you for allowing me to share these thoughts with you. I hope you find some wisdom in this approach that helps both your golf game and your business game. As a final comment, let me leave you with this thought. Golf has been described as a microcosm of life itself. If that is so, then perhaps by applying these strategic approaches and seeing the value in them we can take that approach with other aspects of our being, and in total improve the quality of our lives. Maybe the Scots had more in mind than simply replacing war practice with golf. Perhaps even the Scots did not fully understand the experience that golf would bring to our lives.

16 Jun 2011 admin

The Golf Club Manager and the Club Superintendent

By: John C. Fech University of Nebraska-Lincoln Introduction A lot of knowledge, time, and effort are necessary to keep the golfscape functional and aesthetically pleasing. As a golf club manager, you must ensure that your superintendent has a well-organized yet flexible maintenance schedule and reports to you weekly in this regard. The Value of Scheduling As with most tasks at hand, it’s best not to rely completely on your own memory for the details of what, when, and where. Notes from previous years to supplement your recollections should be the foundation of assembling a quality schedule. Information gathered from weekly meetings with staff can supplement, providing detailed information, recollections, and history. Involving golf maintenance crew members is not only an informational step; it gives recently hired workers a sense of understanding and connectedness. Without the opportunity to provide observations to the superintendent, new hires often feel disenchanted, taking on an “I’m a dime-a-dozen strong-back dude to them” attitude. Essential Practices Weekly meetings with your greens superintendent are essential. Many of his procedures are predictable and regular, as routine as changing the oil in your car. They are not only important in their own right; various cultural practices have a major influence on the number and severity of pest problems. For example, core aeration is a common practice that leads to improved drainage of the playing surface, and subsequently, reduced infestations of crown and root diseases such as summer patch and anthracnose. Common practices can prevent pests in the ornamental landscape as well as the recreational surfaces. Pruning is a practice that removes diseased or damaged wood from shrubs and trees. Tissue of this type is quite susceptible to pests such as cankers and borers. Regular inspection of ornamental plants and usage of proper pruning techniques is crucial to their success in the golfscape. The most common essential practices for turf include monitoring and managing thatch, topdressing, verticutting, core aeration and slicing. An important (but sometimes avoided because it’s time consuming) operation is the irrigation audit, a procedure designed to make sure that the distribution uniformity is as efficient as it can be. (Sidebar – Weed scientists tell us that there are between 10,000 and 40,000 weed seeds per every cubic foot of soil. So, since the pest is so prevalent, so likely to occur, preventing them through preemergence herbicide applications is routine. Also, it’s easily justified. Most pests are treated for on an “as needed” basis, but annual grassy weeds and white grubs are the exception. The other pests are best managed through Integrated Pest Management (IPM), a model that utilizes all available methods to keep pests at acceptable levels. IPM strategies include cultivation, seed selection, disease resistance, insect resistance, proper irrigation, balanced fertilization, separation of turf and ornamentals, equipment calibration and proper timing of all inputs.) Inspection Should Be Scheduled Too Certain pests – insects, diseases, weeds – call for inspection on a regular basis to make sure that they can be nipped in the bud in the case that they do arise or start developing. A pest calendar is one of the best ways to plan for the future. Because horticultural pests have a way of repeating themselves, the three-step protocol of looking backwards to gather information, considering current weather trends and planning pest control with a calendar is a sound approach for the current year’s potential problems. A pest calendar will be helpful when scheduling pest control applications, both from an equipment and labor standpoint. If the calendar shows a large number of expected pests in a certain time frame, more workers can be scheduled and materials purchased to accomplish the work. In turfgrass, silvery thread moss, chinch bugs, sod webworms, pythium blight, armyworms, spittlebugs, yellow and purple nutsedge, goosegrass, crabgrass, white grubs, bacterial wilt, stem rust, billbugs, basal rot anthracnose, algae, and mole crickets are common pests to monitor while scale, aphids, apple scab, cedar apple rust, borers, pine sawfly, pine moths, powdery mildew and decay should be regularly noted on ornamentals. Closing A good greens superintendent is well-trained and versed regarding any of these potential problems. The golf club manager, although not trained specifically in this area, should always seek to learn from and become more aware of all turf maintenance and procedures that can affect play at his facility.

16 Jun 2011 admin

Customized Putting

To stay ahead of what golf insiders tell me is the newest putting trend on the PGA Tour, it may be time to prepare your students to play a round of golf with two different putters and two different strokes. Special Edition “Insider Instruction” By John Andrisani There’s a new putting trend coming in golf, and since it truly is revolutionary, it promises to help the largest percentage of the 30 million golfers who play golf in America and whose handicaps remain high owing to poor putting skills. This new system for teaching putting will also come to the rescue of Golf Magazine’s 3.5 million subscribers, who I’m told putt just as poorly as they did when I was senior instruction editor, and surveys back then showed that 60 percent of our subscribers three-putted an average of five times per round. And, from what I have heard through my contacts, true golf insiders who follow closely the teaching scene and what the top tour pros are up to, students who visit golf schools across the country and pay too much attention to the power game and too little attention to their real nemesis – putting, the department of the game that has more to do with scoring than any other – will show improvement, too, as a result of this paradigm shift in putting instruction. What’s more, players who have failed to break into the single-figure handicap bracket, and also those who cannot seem to improve just enough to go from a one or two handicap down to scratch, will also turn in lower scores and accomplish their dream goals thanks to this new putting trend involving equipment and technique. In thinking about the state of the information age, computers, and the golfer’s limited leisure time due to the economy, I continue to stress the importance for all of us to learn to crystallize our instructional messages down to fewer words. Taking this cure, let me get to the point about the dramatic shift coming in putting instruction and what I recommend to start teaching your students. 1. It is now thought by many that the same putter cannot be used to hit short putts and long putts without manipulating the stroke, and that these stroke adjustments almost always lead to trouble. You might think of encouraging students to carry two putters: An upright model, for putts fifteen feet or less, and a putter featuring a flatter lie for putts over fifteen feet. 2. Many realize that the same type putting stroke should not be used for all putts, and this holds true whether that one stroke is the upright, straight back-straight through method deemed the best by Dave Pelz, or the flatter, inside-square-inside method that short game guru Stan Utley promotes. The player needs to employ one stroke for short putts and one stroke for long putts. Short Putt Technique. The upright lie will encourage the player to swing the putter along a straight back-straight through square-to-square path, which is something Tom Watson did better than anyone during his heyday when he seemed to knock in every pressure putt inside fifteen feet and was winning lots of major championships. Tom only started getting in trouble when he began experimenting with employing the same flatter stroke he used on long putts on short putts. John Daly and Phil Mickelson tended, naturally, to swing the putter on a flatter inside-inside path on short putts, but both superstars found out that this type stroke tends to impart such over-spin on the putt that from short distance the ball will tend to spin out, even when it hits the back sides of the cup. Daly won the British Open after switching to a more upright putting stroke on short putts. Phil started winning majors, too, after changing strokes. What’s more, you’ll be surprised to hear that “Lefty” is the player setting the two-putter trend. The press has kept this quiet, but the insiders I stay in touch with have assured me that Phil has played numerous rounds with two putters in his bag, and has improved dramatically when using the upright putter on short putts, and the “flat stick” and flat path stroke on long putts. Encourage your students to stand closer to the ball than normal on short putts, with their eyes directly over the ball, and to control the square-to-square along-the-target-line stroke with the big muscles in their arms and shoulders. Because standing tall at address raises the player’s center of gravity, and in response also the position of the hands, the tendency is to elevate the putter at the end of the backstroke and hit up on the ball slightly in swinging through impact, with the latter increasing the effective loft of the putter. For best result, then, recommend the player play with a putter featuring only 1-2 degrees of loft built into the clubface. Long Putt Technique. When teaching students the address position for putts over fifteen feet, particularly really long ones, encourage the player to stand farther from the ball, with the hands lower and the eyes a couple of inches inside the target line, as Ben Crenshaw always did when sinking long “bombs” on Augusta’s tricky greens enroute to two Masters championships. A putter with a flatter lie will help promote the desired open-to-shut putting stroke that you can best picture by imagining a door opening, as the putter-face should ideally do on the backstroke, then closing slowly but steadily on the through stroke, with the face of the putter returning to a square yet slightly hooded position at impact; square to the ball and square to the hole, in a similar way that the door starts closing and finishes in a position that’s square to the wall. This type of open-to-closed stroke encourages the ball to hit the ground sooner after being struck, rather than “skidding” or going airborne just after the putter-face strikes the ball, and makes for a purer roll with good distance control, provided the student-golfer uses a putter with four to six degrees of loft, as the added loft in the putter will counter the effective loft of the putter being reduced dramatically at impact due to the nature of the stroke. In working out things in the putting department with your student, encourage him to experiment with various loft putters in the aforementioned range, just as any good teacher does when recommending a driver that is fitted to the player’s new swing and changes in trajectory of shots hit with the “big stick.”