Momentum

MOMENTUM

Greetings Golfers,

The other night, I was at a restaurant waiting for some friends. I was early, so I had a chance to watch the “action” … it was just like watching a sporting event … seriously.

This was a very nice place, so people weren’t very relaxed. They were trying hard. I never heard any laughter - that says a lot.

I was trying to figure-out why the people were with each other. The body language and eye contact was fascinating. And each table seemed to have a shift in momentum where people either got into it … or turned off … something said or done always turned the tide.

Sort of like watching the Timberwolves the other night. They were leading in the 3rd quarter … and then OKC missed a lay-up but got a weird rebound and then made the shot to go up by 4.

I then told my wife that the game was over. The vibe shifted dramatically on that play … you could feel it … the crowd could feel it. The momentum had definitely changed. Should the Wolves’ coach have called time-out? Probably. And I think he should have made a joke. Instead, you could see the Wolves go into panic mode. Is it easy for an arm-chair coach like me to say that? Of course. It’s different on the floor.

Knowing when to call time-out … or what calls to challenge is not obvious. Too often you can win the battle but lose the war … especially if you flip the momentum when it’s yours.

A million years ago, when I was in high school … our baseball team was playing the first round of the playoffs. We were seeded #1 and playing the last seed. They weren’t bad talent-wise … but something was really wrong with their culture … no one seemed to care.

Well, we were up 6-0 in the 5th inning (7 inning games) … and they weren’t even trying. Well, yours-truly was on third … and our head coach was coaching third. He kept yelling at me to take a longer lead. So … the pitcher made the worst balk you’ve ever seen … laughable … I didn’t even try to get back and was half-heartedly tagged out. Instead of the ump awarding me home … I was called out. My coach went crazy! He ordered me to stay on the bag (third base) … while he went on a full-blown rampage. Standing on third … I had a straight view of our bench on first … and their bench on third. With the sun setting behind our bench … I watched our guys get depressed watching this scene. And … I watched their guys all of a sudden wake-up. Of course the ump didn’t change his mind and I went back to our bench. The vibe had changed.

The next inning … everything went their way. I don’t think they hit anything solid … but every hit fell in … it was like we were cursed.

We lost, and our season was over.

It can happen in business too. Over the years, I’ve felt weird things happen that tipped me off to threats and changes in momentum. They had to be addressed immediately. I needed to call time-out.

Also … dumb things have happened that I’ve let go because they weren’t worth wrecking our momentum … we were on a roll … we were

winning. Making a big deal out of it would probably have led to an unnecessary shift in momentum.

There’s an old saying “Let sleeping dogs lie” that is very true. However, you can’t mistake those sleeping dogs for wolves that ready to pounce.

Is this a science? No. This is a feel. But a necessary feel for a leader or a coach.

Can the Wolves win this series? Maybe … but they need to manage the momentum shifts like Scottie Scheffler did last week in the PGA Championship.

Cheers!

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com