Judgment Pages
JUDGMENT PAGES
Greetings Golfers,
Here are two dictionaries’ definitions of judgment:
“The ability to make considered decisions”.
“The process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing”.
So … judgment involves thinking.
However, I’m seeing too many decisions made not by thinking and judgment … but by data.
Major League Baseball has become like something out of a science-fiction movie run by robots. Jim Kaat - the former Twin and Hall of Fame pitcher - has been beating this drum. Here’s a quote from Kaat about Rory winning the Masters:
“What a riveting day for golf fans or patrons. Maybe for fans of all sports. Redemption for Rory. We were told about the statistical stuff that said nobody has won the Masters if they did this or that. Even CBS, whose coverage (IMO) of the Masters is the gold standard in covering sporting events, has begun to cave in to mentioning statistics from the past. But … Hip Hip Hooray for Rory. He showed us that a sporting event that shows us heart, soul, flaws, greatness and guts thrills us. The humanity of an athlete. Take your analytics and past statistics and stick-it where the sun doesn’t shine. Just give me what Dick Enberg and John Madden passed on to me - the Who and What and the How and Why … Thank you, Rory!”
We’re letting data make our decisions instead of using our judgment. Data should be a tool … not the boss.
We’re too hung-up on “perfect models”. Instead of taking personal control and responsibility.
For example … the other day, a high school team was practicing at the range. I tried to get them to hit golf shots … sort of like a pitcher throwing off speed stuff or curveballs. They weren’t interested … they just wanted to work on their “wind-up”. Well … the pitcher's wind-up is just a motion to throw a pitch. Your golf swing is just a motion to hit a shot.
Same with a baseball batter. The swing is just a way to hit the ball. Learn to hit the ball to opposite fields … and liners and grounders, etc. Not just make a swing. Here’s a quote from Kaat on that:
“Hitters that work on their swing (Raffy Devers) need to work on swinging where the ball is pitched. Pete Rose played pepper every day. That’s how you learn to make contact”.
Same with golf. Work on your contact. Little push shots are great for that.
I see this as all connected … looking for a magic way to do things for you … rather than to take responsibility. “The data made the decision - I didn’t”. I made a perfect golf swing … it’s not my fault where the ball went. I made a perfect wind-up … it’s not my fault that the hitter hit a home run.
No … you weren’t pitching … you should have thrown a different pitch … not worrying about your wind-up. You should’ve punched a low shot instead of making a perfect swing. You should have been aware of the health of your staff instead of just making your decision based only on stats.
People need to play the game … of life … and start using judgment instead of relying on statistics and models.
Yesterday … the third Thursday in a row that the weatherman said it would rain all day. Well … it was another beautiful day. So we had a bunch of people who cancelled and missed out on a great day of golf because they were relying on the weatherman instead of using their own judgment.
Of course, information and statistics and models should be used in a making decisions. But … judgment is more than that. It’s your gut and intuition and just a general feel of life. Why we want to cut that off and become robotic is hard for me to understand. Is it that scary to make a wrong decision? Is everything CYA?
One of our greatest gifts of being human is that we have judgment. We shouldn’t discard it. We should prize it and have the courage to take responsibility when we make a mistake. Running from responsibility isn’t freedom … in fact it leads to a slave mentality.
Hope to see you next Thursday - rain or shine!
Cheers,
Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com