Over the past couple of years I have noticed a trend in the game that I’m not sure about.  Your Pro On the Road has noticed more and more players turning on their favorite music while playing on the course.  It’s usually playing from their smart phone which is in a drink holder on the cart.  And it’s usually loud enough for all in the group to hear.   Is this good for the game?  Does it give you a little rhythm?  Does it disturb other players?

The answer varies from four ball to four ball.  Section 1 of the USGA Rules of Golf is entitled: Etiquette.  The 4th section under Etiquette is called “Consideration for Other Players”.  The paragraph reads “Players should always show consideration for other players on the course and should not disturb their play by moving, talking, or making unnecessary noise.  Players should ensure that any electronic devise taken on to the course does not distract other players”.

I’ have officiated a few Club events where one cart has music playing and the other cart is not dancing to the music.  What to do?  If the golfing “DJ” doesn’t pick up on your objection, simply ask them to turn off the music.  That has traditionally done the trick.  However, if “DJ” continues his blaring “Jumping Jack Flash”, ask an official of the tournament to address the situation and shall be handled.

I’m not sure that music on the course is the worst thing, but it certainly should not be a distraction to other players.  However, if everyone is cool to the jam, its another way to enjoy this great game.  FYI, Your Pro On the Road would request Willie Nelson for the back 9.

So What did we learn from the Masters this year?

1.  Sergio Garcia probable won’t win a major.  I hope he does but I’m not sure he will allow himself to mentally

2.  The formula for invitees works.  Its so cool to have a former Champion like Ben Crenshaw play with a well deserving 14 year old Champion from Asia play together.

3.  The Rules are the Rules.  Rules Committee members didn’t write the rules but they interpret and enforce them.  The slow play rule enforced on Guan Tianlang was within the rules.  The situation with Tiger Woods was within the Committee’s right to waive the Disqualification penalty according to Rule 33-7.  All other discussion is just speculation.

4.  Weather is a major part of golf and great golfers are prepared for any condition.  The rain was downplayed on the telecast yesterday but it was pouring on the back nine for the leaders near the end.  They didn’t flinch but had to adapt to the conditions at hand.  That ability demonstrates why they are making a living at the game and we are not.

5.  The Masters continues to provide great drama despite incredible hype unlike most sporting events.  Generations have marked their calendar for Masters Sunday and watched together.  Special meals are prepared for the viewing.  Everyone tells the story about the year they got to go and who won.  People that don’t play golf or normally watch golf, sit down and pay attention for hours taking in the drama as it slowly unfolds.

What we learned this year is that Adam Scott is a great Champion and Angel Cabrera is a class act.  We also learned (or remembered)  that The Masters is the greatest event in Golf.     Your Pro On the Road is humbled.

Happy Masters Week!  Your Pro on the Road was at the Valero Texas Open last week.  My take away was this:  The PGA Tour is not just what you see on TV on Sunday afternoon.  Here is a sample of what you don’t see:

1.  It takes months of preparation for a facility to get ready for a PGA event.  Those corporate tents and grandstands are not permanent – they have to be built on site then torn down after each event.  TV Towers, cranes, etc.  are all built before and disassembled after the tournament.  The golf course condition is for the PGA only.  The fairways, greens and rough take months of conditioning (mainly with overseeded Rye Grass in Texas) to make a course look that lush green, thick rough and lightning fast greens.  All preparations are a build up to this 4 day period of time and then POOF it’s gone.  On to the next site.

2.  It takes thousands of volunteers to run a PGA Tour event.   In the parking lot, shuttle bus, Pro Am registration, “Quiet Please” sign guys, range attendants, corporate sponsor tent ambassadors, Clubhouse attendants, you name it, there is a volunteer for it.  There is a volunteer to oversee the volunteers!   I’m not sure they  are all necessary but they are always there.

3.  The players are totally pampered.  For instance, at the driving range they don’t hit “stripers” like the masses.  No No.  The players are offered a practice version of the ball they actually play – whatever brand that might be.  Nike, Callaway, Titleist, Srixon, Bridgestone.  All new balls.  And yes, if you play a Titleist V1X you won’t have to hit a V1 because you have a choice.  It’s a freakin Range Ball Buffet! And if you’re really special like Matt Kuchar, you have your own box shipped in especially for you.  Way to go Kuch!

4.  The players play when they are told.  No matter who you are.  I was on the driving range before Round 1 at 6 AM.  At 6:30 Am here comes the players who teed off beginning at 7:20 AM.  Yes it was dark.  Yes it was 45 degrees with a North wind blowing about 25 MPH.   Absolutely miserable and yet there were  Major Champions Justin Leonard, Padraig Harrington, David Duval and the rest of the morning wave hitting balls in preparation for their round.  No complaining, just working.

5.  The players are REALLY good.  The shots they hit are not normal.  Yes, they hit plenty of average to poor shots but they can always recover from them with great chipping and putting.  And as for the great shots, they all hit it a long way, exactly where they want it, on the trajectory they want it on.  They thing I noticed was they are always trying to make the best shot they can make.  They don’t appear to worry what might happen, they try to execute and have the confidence to deal with the consequences.  And it’s a lot harder than it looks on TV!  Just ask the volunteers.

Your Pro On the Road witnessed a Hole in One this week.  Playing with a regular four ball from Austin at the beautiful Hills of Lakeway,  C Ashley aced the Par 3 #2 Hole.  It was a perfect shot, he actually called it.  The wind was oddly out of the North that day which meant it was at our back on this 162 yard hole.  Chuck was first to play and said before he took his stance, “probably need to land this one just short – don’t want to go in the back bunker.”  And then he stepped up and made it.  Way to Go Chuck!

According to US Hole In One, an outfit that insures hole in one prizes for tournaments, the odds of an amateur golfer making a hole in one from 150 yards is 12,500 to 1.  Chuck must have played a lot of golf because he has made 3.

For the record, Your Pro on the Road has made 3 as well.

We are lucky in Texas.  Golfers especially.  The PGA Tour, the best of the best, the elite, visits our great State several times throughout the year.  The Shell Houston Open (March 25-31), The Valero Texas Open (San Antonio April 1-7), The HP Byron Nelson (Dallas May 13-19) and The Crowne Plaza Invitational (Fort Worth May 20-26) are all tour stops that you can attend.  And if you like golf, you should.

Here are 5 reasons to attend a PGA Tour event:

1.  The Pros are so good you can’t believe the shots they hit until you see them in person.

2.  The Pros are generally normal size guys (6′ average on tour) that do extraordinary things with a golf club in their hand

3.  The courses are so much harder than they look on TV the spectator gets a real appreciation for the players talent

4.  The routine the Pros use to get ready to play is nothing like yours – but it should be.

5.  The people watching is great at a tour event.  It’s like a circus complete with Blazered Rules Officials, short skirted females, and several beer joints throughout the course.  What a great deal!

Make a Point to attend a PGA Tour event this year.  You’ll have a great day and your golf game will improve, promise.

Thanks for reading,

Your Pro On the Road.

It is snowing today at the Accenture Match Play in Tucson.  Yes, snowing.  Play was suspended mid day before any of the #1 Seeds could get their matches underway.  The tour doesn’t have to deal with weather delays too often.  By design, the Tour has learned to follow the good weather.  Nice job.  But how do they deal with the occasional rough weather?  How do they know when to suspend play?

The answer is not too terribly different than how your local PGA Pro a the golf course deals with the issue.  First, there is not one Tournament Official or PGA Professional who wants to suspend play due to weather.  It is a major pain when “traffic” stops.  Why is it a pain?  Several reasons.  First, safety is an issue rounding up players who are on the course.  The course is generally covering 200 acres and people are spread out all over the place.  Second, it’s dangerous when people start driving around in a hurry trying to get to the Clubhouse.  They can’t see, they drive off the cart path, they forget anyone else is out there doing the same thing.  Third,  Players assume the Official automatically becomes a weatherman.  “Hey Pro, how much longer?  What’s it going to do, Pro?”   The Pro has no more idea than you do so take a seat, get some cards, and be ready to go when he says its time.  Lastly, half the players, at a local level,  end of leaving after a delay of more than 2 hours or believe that the event should be cancelled because they have plans for later in the day/evening.   All of this is just a big headache for the officials or Pros and its no one’s fault.

So how do they decide when to stop play and when to resume play?  There are 3 general guidelines:  1.  Are the players/officials/spectators in danger.  Lightning is a killer so when there is lightning in the area the officials will clear the course.  2.  Are the greens holding water?  Standing water on the green will halt play every time because of the damage it can cause tot he turf.  3.  Ice on the greens.  Again, if the grass blades are frozen and are stepped on it will cause permanent damage to the turf.  Play will be resumed when there is no longer a threat of lighting, the greens are not holding water, and the greens are not frozen.

The Rules Official have a job to do and the job involves making decisions based on all the factors mentioned above.  It’s way better for everyone when the weather is nice.  Do you have an interesting weather related golf story to share?  We would like to hear it.

Thanks for reading from Your Pro On The Road.

Coming back from the Minneapolis Golf Show.  I was reminded of how nice the people in Minnesota are to talk to.  We saw over 10,000 people and spoke to at least 2000.  Almost all of them smiled, were courteous and appreciated us coming all the way from Texas to be at the show.  This is not the norm but we can learn a lesson.

Being nice is always a good policy.  We in the golf business and hospitality industry should make this priority one.  We need to do a better job of training our front line employees to embrace the customer.  It should be mandatory we greet the customer first and look them in the eye when we do.  This practice should include telling the customer what they “can” do and not what they “can’t” do.  This type of training in manners and etiquette is one way to ensure the growth of our game.  This type of behavior cannot be taught with a checklist.  It is far more subjective than that and thus harder to do.  It takes effort everyday but it will pay dividends everyday, too.

Recently the STPGA Annual meeting had a breakout session dedicated to attracting and keeping women in the game.  I would like to know the outcome of that session.  My experience has been this:  Be nice, courteous, enthusiastic and pay attention to the women in the golf shop and they will respond.  Don’t do these things and, unlike men, they will disappear never to be seen again.  This observation is not new or specific to the golf/hospitality industry.  It is, in fact, universal and applies to every relationship be it personal or business.

Let me know your thoughts or share some experience you have had recently that either supports or denies this philosophy.

Thanks from YOUR PRO ON THE ROAD.

Golf school that is.  At least all the teachers were there.  Today I attended the Southern Texas PGA Annual meeting today at Horseshoe Bay Resort outside Austin.  The annual meeting is a yearly ritual that takes place post PGA Merchandise Show and pre March Madness for all members of the Southern Texas PGA, ie your local Club Pro.  The event exists of an awards dinner, continuing education seminars, and an actual business meeting.  It usually draws a good crowd of Section Professionals because its a slow time at the courses and they can earn valuable continuing education points required by the PGA.  This years event was no exception.

PGA Professional Glenn Lee of Escondido was awarded Club Professional of the Year for his outstanding service to the Section as it’s President for the past 2 Years. It was somewhat of a homecoming for Glenn as the meeting was help at his former place of employment.  Educational seminars included “breakouts” covering topics such as “Getting Involved with the Section”,  “Ways to Grow The Game”  and “How to Bring Group Golf to Your Facility.   The annual meeting highlight was the election of new officers and At Large Board members.  The STPGA Board is a small body of PGA Pros who volunteer their time to tend to Section policies such as tournament administration, junior golf initiatives, employment issues, and fundraising.  Then came the good part.

First, Former Texas Tech football Head Coach Spyke Dykes addressed the crowd of Golf Professionals.  Coach Dykes is from the Horsehoe Bay area where he mainly plays golf whenever he can.  The Pros always try to hear from some local flare and a “view from the outside.”  Coach Dykes was mas entertaining telling stories of old football players, coaches and golfers.  I could listen to him all day.  Salt of the earth kinda guy.  Then there was a panel of golf instructors who are mainly from the Southern Section and all from Texas.  The eight instructors were Paul Marchand, Bill Moretti, Mark Steinbauer, Kevin Kirk, Jim Murphy, Randy Smith, Jim Hardy and Bryan Gathright.  All on the same stage!  All from out area!  They shared stories about certain tour players they had worked with, the impact of optics, the effectiveness of video , putting styles, among  other topics.  The consensus was that no matter what technology was used, no matter how big/strong someone is, the best way to get better is to practice.   Clearly a good understanding of the fundamentals combined with hard work is the key to success in any endeavor.  It’s just reassuring to hear it from the the best teachers in the area, all eight of them!

Thanks for reading from, Your Pro on the Road!

Starting day 2 of the Denver Golf Show.  We are representing the State of Texas and Texas Bound For Golf.  We have been doing these shows for 3 years now.  Some things change, some stay the same.  One thing about representing Texas is that every passer by at the show has something to say about “Texas”.  Usually it’s just that comment, they say “Texas?” like “What the heck are you doing here?” or “Is there golf in Texas?”

At a consumer show it doesn’t matter what reaction you get, it just matters that you get noticed.  And Texas gets noticed.  And for the record, we do have golf in Texas.  Quantity and Quality.  805 Courses to be exact.  Let me know which is your favorite.

Off to the show.

This is a new blog. My purpose is to share insights, thought, ideas and accomplishments in and around the golf and travel industries. I hope it becomes a forum the share ideas that promote the growth of the game of golf.  My perspective is from that of a 20 year PGA Member who has operated clubs, resorts, daily fees, taught thousands of lessons and run over 2000 golf tournaments.  And I’m still learning!

Currently I am an entrepreneur and own a company called Golf Hospitality  Associates.  GHA operates a cooperative marketing effort and Concierge Service for golf facilities and hotels in the State of Texas.  We market Texas as a golf destination and fulfill that marketing by customizing golf trip for inbound travelers.  So far we have had an economic impact of close to $1.5 million.  Thanks for reading.