Golf’s Evolution
Golf's Evolution
Greetings Golfers,
I’m writing this late Wednesday night … after the first day of the PGA Show in Orlando.
The place is packed. I’ve never seen it so busy … and with so many people. Golf is not fading away.
What stands-out? That’s easy … how casual it is. We used to wear ties and sport coats and leather dress shoes … the shoe-shine guys were overwhelmed … now they’d starve.
But not casual in sloppy, disrespectful way. People are still well-dressed and respectful … and maybe even friendlier than in the old days.
Golf has been evolving by relating to different segments of society. The trick has been how to change … and progress … but not lose what is good.
The other day while waiting in the Savannah airport to pick-up family flying in from Minnesota … I bought the latest Harvard Business Review magazine. The lead story caught my eye - “Rethinking Nonstop Transformation.” The subheading said it well, “Real progress comes from steady adaptation, not endless upheaval.”
Yes!!!
I couldn’t agree more!
That concept is vital. But … we think that everything constantly needs improvement. Really? How about Rory McIlroy’s golf swing? Or what Tiger went through? How about Jordan Spieth?
Or … remember when Coca-Cola blew-up regular Coke and tried to make it taste like Pepsi? And almost sunk the company and had to save themselves by returning as “Classic Coke”?
It’s that old saying of not “throwing the baby out with the bath water.”
You have to know when to start focusing your energy on what you’ve developed … and making sure that it get stronger. Always changing doesn’t let things really settle in and get strong.
It’s easy to be a revolutionary. It’s hard to make things better … and to know when to fine-tune.
I think that golf is in a good place. I think it’s evolving and fine-tuning. It doesn’t need to be in a revolutionary phase. And it’s not.
Do you remember Shawn Phillips? He explains it pretty well in this old song.
Cheers!
Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com