Tag: golf
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Man Versus Machine
Man Verus Machine – A Classic Tale The concept that pro golfer Rory McIlroy, making real time adjustments to conditions, can out compute a machine designed to hit perfect shots every time is a classic one. In 1996 Russian chess champion Garry Kasporov beat IBM’s best computer 4-2. I suppose you can track this legend of…
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Grip change
As a high school golf coach sometimes you have to help your students make major changes to their golf game in order for them to improve. Young, gifted, long-hitting golfers typically have a lot natural talent but have habitual bad technique. Maybe they are so flexible and have such amazing hand-eye coordination from baseball that…
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3 Qualities of Successful People
I have a lifelong obsession with golf. It started in 2nd grade when my parents scraped together enough money for a starter set and a series of playing lessons at a local par 3 course. Even though neither of them were serious players– I guess they thought I’d enjoy it. And I did. A lot.…
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Hit the 7 Iron
One of the things that golf has taught me about life is that you can turn a bad day into a solid day by being disciplined. In competitive golf, discipline and composure are the equalizers. When you are playing against someone who is either better than you or the same level as you, you are…
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The Sucker Pin
One of the hardest skills to teach a competitive golfer is what I call The Sucker Pin Principle. A sucker pin is a pin placement that is inviting you to take a dangerous or unnecessary risk. This takes advantage of an aggressive player. The sucker pin principle rewards the patient golfer while punishing the aggressive.…
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They Can’t All be Winners
Golf has taught me a lot of life lessons. Probably most importantly is this one: Since you’ll never be perfect, success or failure is defined by how you respond in less-than-ideal circumstances. I’ve always been a recovery golfer. Even when I was playing my best golf– my playing partners always complimented me more on my…
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Your intentions don’t mean squat
It’s taken me a while to recognize this truism. People don’t care what my intentions are, they only care about my actions. My intentions don’t mean squat. What matters is what I actually do. Sometimes I get this right. And sometimes I get this wrong. OK, most of the time I get this wrong. What…
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My 3 Caddy Rules for Ministry
I’m a golfer. I’ve played the game off and on most of my life. More importantly, I love being around golfers. There is a joke among golfers that there are just three rules to a caddy’s job. “Just show up, keep up, and shut up.” That’s really how I feel about our burgeoning youth ministry.…
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Can Tiger Come Back?
It’s Saturday at the U.S. Open. Tiger, along with half of the field, have drawn the worst possible lot. Half of the field has played the first two rounds in near ideal weather while the other half has played with sloppy weather. So, here we are. The leader is 12 shots ahead of the world’s…
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Two Rounds of Golf in 6 Days?
That hardly seems possible. Having not played much over the previous 3 years the thought of playing twice in a week is a complete novelty. The truth is I really love golf. If I ever won the lottery I’d buy a golf course and live right in the middle of it. When I retire (just…