Spending More Time in the Sand Than David Hasselhoff

The FedEx Cup is history for 2009. And as much as I hate to admit it, it was good theater.

Philly gave us the drama!

As you may or may not know, I am not a big Phil fan, but it was pretty cool to watch a guy who has had so much personal grief this year play so well, with so much confidence, and win the tournament. He seemed like a different person than the guy from the rest of this year.

And Tiger deserved to win the whole shootin’ match. He had the best season of everyone, in spite of no majors.

The fellas with their hardware

It is still hard for me to get this “playoff” type format, though. I like team sports, where the playoff leads to one victor at the end. The old cliche is “Win your last game of the season.” Assuming you make the playoffs, in most sports, that means you win the whole enchilada.

In golf, and NASCAR, and other individual sports where the powers that be try to cram a playoff in “for the fans” (read that as, For the money), I guess you can take 2nd and still win it all. It just ain’t right.

I have a solution to the whole playoff mess in golf. Stop it. Now. Don’t do it next year.

Would the Tour Championship have been any less compelling if it was a stand alone tournament? Phil still would have come from nowhere, Tiger still would have been trying to hang on. No consolation prizes of $10 million to the guy who took second, just a great tournament. I’m sure the Heath Slocums of the world would love a shot at $10 million (who wouldn’t?), but the playoff points didn’t make this tournament more fun to watch. It was the golf, stupid!

Besides, we could get rid of every announcer repetitively pushing the number of FedEx points each player has, where they would finish in the FedEx standings “if the tournament ended right now” (in the second round with 100 players still on the course. It could happen – sure it could!). And get rid of the little green numbers. Show me how they’re doing in this tournament, today and overall. Simple.

It won’t happen. It’s too much fan-centric and not money-centric.

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Spent the weekend with my son, Alex, at the Joe Cheves Junior Invitational Golf Tournament in Morganton, NC. Where, you say? Well, so did I. It’s about 40 miles from Asheville right on I-40. The mountains are not that far away, as you can see from the picture below:

Mountains in the back, Mimosa Hills in the front!

A few comments about the tournament. First off, very well run! Carter Cheves runs it and does a fantastic job. He even got dressed up in a sport coat and tie on Saturday morning and announced each player with their accomplishments. Alex got the shout out for finishing second at the Dogwood State Tournament in August, as well as for playing at Athens Drive and at Raleigh Country Club, the last course for Donald Ross. Really neat.

Second, the pins were unbelievable! I mean, I’ve been at the US Open, and I watch a lot of pro golf, and I’ve never seen pin placements like I saw there. One par 5 had the pin tucked in a little hernia the green had deep right, on a downslope, behind a bunker. Alex hit his second shot 10 feet from the green and, honestly, had no chance of getting it anywhere near the pin. None! He had to make a good chip to be 20 feet away and struggled to 2 putt for par. Amazing. They had to do it otherwise these guys and ladies, the best players in Virginia and the Carolinas for the most part, would have destroyed the course. As it was, there were only 5 boys under par for the two days. That’s unheard of for most junior tournaments at this level. Then, to prove how ridiculous some of these guys are, local Apex senior and future UNC-Greensboro golfer Andy Knox shot 63 the final round to win by six. These guys are good!

If you like watching good golf, do yourself a favor:  go to a local junior tournament and follow around a few of the players. They will amaze you with their talent.

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I have traditionally thought the elitist clubs that ban cellphones on their courses were too stuck-up for their own good.

I hadn’t seen cellphones as a huge issue when I’ve played, after all. As a doctor, I’m biased, because it is often very difficult to go to a course without a cellie if you have to stay in touch with your office. I don’t see a lot of doctors just chatting on their phones, disturbing their partners and others. They use it only when they need to, discreetly, avoiding disturbing the other golfers.

But today, I saw on-course cellphone etiquette at it’s worst.

I was playing behind a group of 3 guys, all in carts, with a caddy no less (too much money to know what to do with). I started on 1 when they were on the green of the par 5, so I gave them plenty of room. I played the hole leisurely since I didn’t want to bump into them. As I walked up to the 1st green, I saw one cart on the 2nd fairway but, to my surprise, the second cart and it’s one occupant were parked next to the second tee. And he was on his cellphone.

I chipped up, putted out, practice putted and chipped for over 5 minutes (I checked my watch). No one was behind me, so I had time to do all this. Meanwhile, Mr. Motorola continued yapping on his cellphone, smoking a cigarette, and drinking a beer. His partners had by now played their second shots to the green and were parked by the green looking back at the tee toward their errant partner. I think they saw me, because after about 10 more minutes, they sent the caddy back in their cart to collect the Talker. He had never glanced in my direction (I put my bag down 10 yards behind his cart alongside the tee box and was just standing there, waiting for him to finish his conversation. Maybe I should have coughed or harrumphed or something, but I was curious how long he would remain oblivious).

This just tells me that this guy’s world revolves around him, and no one else. Exclusively! I mean, we all are self-centered to some extent, but he took it to a new level. It was fairly sad to watch someone so involved in himself that he had no clue that he was keeping his friends waiting, his employee caddy waiting, and a stranger waiting – all of which are considered poor form on a golf course or in life in general.

Put it this way – if my son acted even remotely like that, he wouldn’t get to play golf for a long, long time. And he knows better, and has since he first started playing at 8 years old.

Where was this guy’s father?

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Love the latest post by Ryan Ballangee of Waggle Room. Take a read.

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We went to the USA Baseball Complex here in Cary last night with our good friends the Coopers and the Stokes to watch the World Cup USA team take on Canada. In baseball, not curling or hockey. It was a lot of fun. Cool to see the USA team in action.

The USA World Cup Team in Cary

It got me thinking of golf in the Olympics. I mean, it is pretty cool to play any sport for your country, but is golf a good choice?

Quick quiz – which sport has been played in the Olympics the fewest times: Golf, Tug Of War, or Rugby?

Answer: Golf – only twice in 1900 and 1904 (Tug of War was hotly contested 6 times before from 1900 to 1920, and rugby 4 times between 1900 and 1928).

I’ve always pictured a good Olympic event as 1) a sport I don’t ordinarily see and, 2)an amateur sport.

Rule 1 takes out golf for sure, as well as baseball, hockey, tennis and basketball. I love watching the luge in the Olympics but wouldn’t change the channel with a remote to see it any other time. On the other hand, I don’t really care if “The Dream Team Part 10″ wins a game.

Rule 2 takes out golf for sure, as well as baseball, hockey, tennis and basketball – and track, skiing, figure skating, volleyball – heck, just about everything. But I don’t follow track much, unless the Tug of War is one of the events, so I don’t think of it as a typical professional sport and it gets a pass from me. Same is true for all the other lesser known professional sports. The big American team sports – not Olympic events in my book.

Golf has plenty of tournaments, many of which the best players already don’t care about. Do the best players in the world really care about playing for their country in yet another tournament? We already have widespread apathy for the President’s Cup. Is Olympic golf any different?

I say, leave golf out and let’s get Tug of War back!

A True Olympic Event!

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As for the golf ministry topic I’ve addressed previously, one question I need to answer is, “Why use sports to bring people closer to God?” It just seems so un-churchlike and, well, heathen. I mean, have you seen Raider Nation? Or the Dog Pound in Cleveland?

I’ve come to a few conclusions, though.

1. Bringing people to God involves meeting them where they are. For men, especially, where they most often are is knee-deep in sports. Golf is just one example, but any sport can be the hook. I know churches who have softball ministries, football-related small groups, tennis socials. I’m not going to attract many non-churchgoing men by saying, “Hey, come read the bible with me” or “Where is your spiritual head at – dude?”  You need to befriend people, develop a relationship with them, then, eventually, when the relationship is ready for it, an exploration of deeper topics. Sports is an easy entree for a lot of men.

2. Sports, be it watching/participating/coaching/parenting kids who play in, may be the primary social event for many men. Unless I become part of their family and jump in at the dinner table, I can’t otherwise get in a relationship with them to start the conversation that’s needed.

3. Sports aren’t threatening. Using golf as an example, I can invite men to golf with me and they’ll often jump at it. Inviting them to a “meeting of a few guys” is scary.

Ultimately, talking to people about Christ most often doesn’t start with talking to people about Christ. It starts with a relationship. It can be built on play groups for kids, book clubs, having kids on the same soccer team – tons of ways. But sports makes the most sense to me as a way to get to know guys a bit better. And for me, golf is one of the best ways.

Be on the watch for my new ministry, “Wisconsin Badger Football Buddies – Camp Randall is Truly Your Road to (Heavenly) Riches!”

Is This Heaven?

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How cool is it to sit at work without The Golf Channel anywhere and be able to watch the PGA on my humble little computer?

I get these emails during every major and, today, for the “playoffs” of the Tour, the Deutsche Bank Classic, that say “Watch Live Now”. The first time I got one, I was worried it was another male enhancement ad or a trick similar to the $1.4 million I need to send you from Africa to help me out. But it actually is live video of various holes, key groups that are felt to be interesting. Try it!

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Golf ministry – sounds like something that Dr. Bob Rotella does. You know, your head is so screwed up with left wrist straight, supinate, one plane swing that I need to minister to you to help you.

That isn’t what I was talking about in my last post. I’m talking, actually, about how to use the game of golf to help people know Jesus. Or if they know him already, to know him better. To, in the words of my home church at True North, become a passionate follower of Christ.

Doesn’t seem like they go together well, does it? I mean, God and Jesus’ names are invoked on the golf course very frequently, but I’ve never gotten the impression that those who use Jesus Christ’s name after banging one off of a pine tree are really interested in getting to have a personal relationship with him. And look at the courses you drive past on Sunday mornings. They aren’t singing hymns on the fairways, brother! They are out for the golf only.

But golf has a lot to offer in the way of showing people a Christian perspective. First, the way a Christian golfer carries himself. Have you ever played golf with a guy who had a bucolic demeanor and attitude playing golf? Someone who didn’t not care, but cared in a friendly, even-tempered fashion, even as his Titleist bounced off the cart path into the river.

Someone who was a pleasure to play with and be with on a sunny, or rainy, day on the course, no matter his score – or yours, for that matter. Did it make you want to ask, “What is different about you? Why don’t you toss clubs, or grumble under your breath?” Not swearing is the easy thing to not do, but how about the general attitude? Suppose that same, admirable guy started telling you about his life and what was important to him? Would you listen?

Or would you prefer life lessons from the 6-pack drinking, cussing, club helicoptering bozo you are often forced to play with?

Modeling Christian behavior in church isn’t the challenge. Doing it in the midst of a challenging, stressful situation is much more valuable to the observer. Golf is that, in spades.

Maybe next most important after behavior modeling is that 18 holes of golf is 4 to 5 hours of time together for a small group of  men (I focus on men because I am one and I empathize with their plight. Also, studies show if the dad starts coming to church, the family comes with more than 90% of the time, so more bang for the evangelistic buck as the salesman might say). What other situation does that occur in for guys? Work? Not really, unless you count the usual sales meetings, board meetings, or other snoozefests. Not much in depth life conversation there.

But walking the fairways brings guys together. They talk in ways they don’t in other situations. I still remember golfing with my dad and his buddies and hearing their conversations. Man, Dad was a different guy out on the links! And I loved it! It was a glimpse of the non-Dad Dad. I’m sure my sons think the same when they see me with other men at the course or other places.

Golf Ministry – two words that really do go together!

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OK, I haven’t been writing much lately.

But I have been thinking!

Believe it or not, this is indeed me

CAUTION: This blog is about to take a turn for the religious. Those of you who are extremely allergic to Christianity, please take prophylactic Benadryl.

I have been thinking about my life, my job, and whether the two work well together. If you don’t know already, I am an orthopaedic surgeon. I think I’m respectable at it. I can operate fairly well, deal with crowds of patients in pain, make good decisions that are beneficial for people.

But I don’t think I’m gifted by God for orthopaedics.

I truly feel, as Max Lucado, Bob Buford (”Halftime”), Richard Bolles (”What Color is Your Parachute?”) and others point out – God creates each of us uniquely. We are who we are – no one else is like us and what we have that is special to us is God’s gift to us and, more importantly, to the world. If we don’t use it, the world will never get it from anyone else.

Sound grandiose? Egotistical? I guess, but God is pretty grandiose, and I don’t think he puts his effort into things that shouldn’t be important to me.

How does all this relate to a golf blog?

Because I feel that my love of golf is part of the gifts God has given me. Not just to play (that isn’t always a gift, believe me), but to be involved in. To be a part of. To use golf to glorify Him, which, after all, should be the focus of every action I perform. Golf is part of the fabric of who I am, and I think it is there for a purpose.

My life is now changing to accept that fact about me.

As of September 30th, I will be moving to very part-time orthopaedic work. I will still see patients 1 1/2 days per week at Triangle Orthopaedics but won’t be operating. I’ll work 5 days per month covering a hospital’s emergency room orthopaedic issues for a company called Delphi Healthcare. But primarily, I’m going to be exploring golf as a ministry opportunity. I have had discussions with Jim Esary, National Director of FCA Golf, as well as Scott Lehman, founder and President of In His Grip Golf Ministry, about working with them in the future. I’ve also thought about starting some type of golf-related ministry of my own. Time will tell which path I’m asked to follow.

I’m hoping to write a bit more than I have in the past – still about golf, the Tour, juniors, but also about my journey to significance (thanks, Bob Buford) in the world of golf. Scary stuff for me – after all, I’ve been an employed physician since 1989 – but for my wife, Lori, and our kids as well. But Lori is on board for the ride and willing to place her faith in God’s calling for me and my willingness to listen. As Steven Curtis Chapman sings, “I’m Divin’ In”.

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Next topic: are sand traps sent from the devil? As proof, consider “Hell Bunker” at St. Andrews.

From the Devil? My 4 strokes in it say yes

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So it’s been over 3 months since I posted something. I would love to say the stampede of popular opinion has forced me to write again, but, in reality, no one seems to have noticed. I have, occasionally, missed it. Not often – usually I’m just relieved that I don’t “have to come up with another idea”, which probably means I’m not a true blogger.

Until now.

What got me off the couch to rip another post?

Twitter.

I don’t get Twitter. I find the fact that so many people are “tweeting” a bit discouraging for our future. It has become so rampant and out of control, that I’m half expecting to be invited to “Follow Barack” on Twitter. If our current president or a future president is found out to be a “tweeter”, I will then lose all hope in the United States as a country of influence in the world.

So this encouragement by C. Bivens, LPGA jefe, to have her players twit while on the course is not just disappointing, but infuriating. Does the LPGA want to be a fluff piece forever, or considered a real sport with real athletes? Compare the public response to my hometown Bucks’ forward Charlie Villanueva twittering in the locker room at halftime (outrage and head shaking) versus the acceptance of a commissioner of a major sports league encouraging her athletes to twitter.

Ms. Bivens, you have some of the greatest golfers in the world playing on your tour. Act like you run a sports league of value, not an after-school program for adolescents!

There, I feel better. I knew there was a value in blogging!

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