Andy Reistetter Goes Back to College, Picking Up a Check for The First Tee!

October 4, 2015 By
The Hobart & William Smith Colleges were established in 1852 but its history goes back to 1817 with the Geneva Academy.

The Hobart & William Smith Colleges were established in 1852 but its history goes back to 1817 with the Geneva Academy. Photo Credit: H&WS via Google Images

First of all I want to thank Hobart and William Smith Colleges for their generous $750 donation to The First Tee on behalf of the ‘Journey to Olympic Golf.‘ Special thanks to Dean of Studies Rocco L. “Chip” Capraro who took an interest in the ‘Journey to Olympic Golf,‘ orchestrated this visit and thereby has helped me along the road to raising $100,000 for The First Tee organization that will ultimately benefit youth all around the world.

Secondly, to be named the John Henry Hobart Fellow in Residence and have the opportunity to visit campus, attend classes and interact with the students and faculty is a great honor and privilege. This is a dream come true for this self admitted inspiration seeker, voyageur and documentarian in golf and life. What an opportunity to learn from and exchange ideas with our world’s newest adult generation. I think it will be as inspirational as the autumn colors I will see for the first time in many years.

Why me, what do I have to share with these young folks?

Not really sure but I suspect it will be the inspiration in life from family, friends and people I have met along the way.

The beautiful and historic Hobart & William Smith Colleges overlooks Seneca Lake, one of Central New York's Finger Lakes.

The beautiful and historic Hobart & William Smith Colleges overlooks Seneca Lake, one of Central New York’s Finger Lakes. Photo Credit: H&WS via Google Images.

Contemplating these three shares…

1.  If you are inspired in life to do something just get started and the rest will take care of itself. If not it was not true inspiration or you did not prepare well enough, work hard enough or ask for help when you needed it. The ‘Journey to Olympic Golf” was a simple inspiration to combine the Olympic Spirit with the history and tradition of the game of golf to define “The Olympic Spirit of Golf,” something no one has experienced in 112 years. That inspiration turned into a 100-day, 14-country, 18,471-mile odyssey down through Mexico, Central and South America to the new Olympic Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Along the way, by pure luck and good fortune I met Paulina De Labra at the Fountain of Cibeles in Mexico City. Click here for the article and the video and let me know if, after reading, hearing and seeing Paulina, you have a different impression of the Olympics and what it means to be a human being.

2. Get out and see the world but more importantly interact with people that are different than you (and everyone is different). One of the most rewarding times on the ‘Journey to Olympic Golf‘ was pulling over in rural Guatemala and saying hello to a bunch of kids with a soccer ball. How they reacted to the golf club and balls I put in their hands gave me a new understanding of the joy possible within a game I have loved my whole life through. Click here for the article and don’t miss the soccer kids video.

3. I still haven’t arrived at my ultimate purpose in life, maybe you can help me figure it out a bit more during my campus visit. I am struck by the fact that when standing in a room my mind goes to the corners of the ceiling knowing that I know their precise location yet beyond that room we really have no idea how far space extends or how it could ever end. I am also struck by the fact that a day in my life is passing by all too fast and sooner than later I will be saying the same thing about my lifetime.

Somehow I think my ultimate purpose in life surprisingly has little to do with trying to explore a universe in a lifetime but more to do with exploring, accepting, loving and being compassionate to myself as a human being first and then every other human being I meet along the way. There is no doubt in my mind that liberal arts students with semesters abroad and worldwide internships and friendships are the key. When you wake up in the morning do you think of yourself as a citizen of the world? You and old folks like me that are apparently acting like children again are, in my opinion, the most lasting and meaningful way to making our world a better place. An easier place to find peace, joy and freedom, both within ourselves and outside ourselves in this world we all call home.

Thanks for having me to your home and thanks for the generous donation to The First Tee organization.

By the way if you, maybe after you land that dream job and have your student loans paid off, or your parents would like to make a donation to The First Tee click here for the link to do so! Please select ‘Andy Reistetter’s Journey to Olympic Golf’ on the drop down menu for the question “What inspired you to make a gift today?’ This is for tracking purposes only. I do not receive anything whatsoever from The First Tee.

I am willing to do most anything!

PS- here is what I submitted to Dean Capraro when I first learned of being considered for this opportunity:

Andy’s Personal Statement:

“While I am simultaneously flattered and humbled to be even faintly considered to be a candidate for this award, please think of your decision in terms of the inspiring charity—The First Tee—that will be my designated charity should I be named this year’s Hobart Fellow.

Since its inception in 1997, the First Tee organization has impacted more than 10 million young people:  in 2012 FT announced a new goal to reach another 10 million by 2017.

I myself grew up in a “First Tee-like,” environment before there was such an organization and without realizing how much it shaped my life and who I am today. Growing up in Binghamton, New York I was fortunate to benefit from great parents– interested and interesting parents, caring and constructive coaches, and the par-3 golf course up at Ely Park Municipal Golf Course that encouraged junior golfers to give golf a go.  The First Tee extends similar opportunities to much less fortunate children across the nation.

While I was educated at a large public institution (SUNY Buffalo, BS Chemical Engineering, 1981), I acquired an independent liberal arts and mindful perspective through my MBA at Pepperdine University and my son’s education at Beloit College. “Freely Ye Receive, Freely Ye Give,” was Pepperdine’s motto.  I believe the mind and the whole person educated and experienced at Hobart and William Smith and schools like it is a beautiful thing.

If given the opportunity, here are some thoughts that come to my mind while envisioning myself immersed in your campus life for a few days and engaging your students both inside and outside the classroom:

I think of the beauty of the campus and its people, the vibrant atmosphere of students walking from class to class learning about the world and themselves. I like to walk eastward and sit on one of those benches overlooking Seneca Lake and take in the view and feel its beauty.

I wonder what Hobart and William Smith students are like today, what is on their minds and what is in their hearts. They have grown up in a different world than me. From my son’s Beloit College 2019 Mindset List, two things I know about college freshmen: Since they have been on the planet, Google has always been there, in its founding words, “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible” and the announcement of someone being the “first woman” to hold a position has only impressed their parents. I know my son’s liberal arts education has made me think differently. I wonder how today’s Hobart and William Smith students will change the world tomorrow.

I hope to share with them in some small way how much my parents inspired me by their hard work and open mindedness that through education their children could become better people with better lives, not just bigger homes than themselves. My parents gave more than they received in life. What more can we ask of any human being?

I hope to share in some small way how much I love life and the game of golf. I see them as intermingled from the day when I was 12 and my older brother gave me the Ben Hogan Five Modern Lessons book and inscribed it “To my brother Andy, Golf is a lot like life, the more you understand and learn about it, the easier it is to meet its challenges.” Boy has that perspective has helped me a lot both on the golf course and in life.

I hope to share in some small way how my life transitioned from success in Corporate America to pursuing my passion for golf and life. A producer at the Golf Channel called me “a golf voyager and documentarian” while I call myself an “inspiration seeker.” If my process is to always learn, be open-minded and to seek inspiration then my life outcomes will surely take care of themselves.

As I hope to share these things with Hobart and William Smith students I will look at their faces and into their eyes to connect with them and see if they are connecting with me. Have I shared too much, have I paused to give them time to express themselves? I don’t learn much when I am talking. I hope to listen a great deal too and learn, if given the opportunity, how this experience will impact my life.

Finally, I hope to share in some small way how much I feel that I am a citizen of the world when I wake up in the morning. Yes I am American and patriotic and thankful to be a citizen of the freest nation in the world and proud of it. But having spent six months recently traveling through Mexico, Central & South America, Australia and New Zealand and previously in Europe, I feel different now about life, the world and who I am. As Paula De Labra shared in Mexico City—“in the world we are only one kind of humans, we are human beings, all the same with the right to create, to be friends and to develop our dreams.”

If awarded, being the Hobart and William Smith John Henry Hobart Fellow in Residence, to benefit The First Tee, would be one of those dreams coming true for me.

Andy Reistetter

Filed Under: People in Golf

The First Tee of North Florida’s Taste of Golf Never Tasted Better

October 1, 2015 By
With First Tee participants Janie (R), Danny (L) and in the first row Landon (blue), Nicholas (yellow) and Rece (red). I am a big kid at heart for sure!

With First Tee participants Janie (R), Danny (L) and in the first row Landon (blue), Nicholas (yellow) and Rece (red). I am a big kid at heart for sure!

It was a grand evening in a grand place for a grand cause—the 10th annual Taste of Golf affair in the Clubhouse at TPC Sawgrass benefiting The First Tee of North Florida!

While the food prepared by a dozen local clubs was outstanding, the real story and inspiration of the evening was the presence of youngsters currently participating in The First Tee programs and activities that teach life lessons through golf. The youngest of the young greeted you at the massive front doors of the  col0ssal Mediterranean-Style Clubhouse. This interaction quickly brought you into their world of a child being a child while emerging into an adult. The moment you stepped foot into the foyer and saw the over-sized murals of THE PLAYERS Championship moments—including Tiger Woods making that better-than-most long snake putt on the 17th on Saturday of his magical 2001 PLAYERS victory—you are drawn into the purest and highest level of golf known to man.

Joshua, a 13-year-old participant of The First Tee of North Florida giving a passionate, informative and gracious thank you speech to supporters.

Joshua, a 13-year-old participant of The First Tee of North Florida giving a passionate, informative and gracious thank you speech to supporters.

There was something special about being at the home of the PGA TOUR, the home of the Web.com Tour Championship and THE PLAYERS Championship, on a night that honors not only the North Florida Chapter but the national First Tee organization that, with American and Presidential roots that date back to its origin in 1997.

Young Joshua made a speech that every parent would want their child to make. In the Sunset Room, in front of VIP contributors to The First Tee of North Florida, introduced by the Executive Director Boots Farley, 13-year-old Joshua nailed a 10 from the heart. Though there are sure to be encore speeches in this young man’s life, this one served, with Mom Norvie present, as an easy replacement for next year’s Mother’s Day gift.

With son Joshua and his Mom Norvie. It was quite an honor and privilege to meet such an inspirational young man.

With son Joshua and his Mom Norvie. It was quite an honor and privilege to meet such an inspirational young man.

I couldn’t help but think about some of this young man’s words—”even when eyes are not on me—I am not perfect—I am a young person wanting to give back to school, church and community”—and the realization that he was speaking in the very same room as Tiger Woods spoke to publicly apologize for his behavior in February 2010. Both speeches, in my opinion, were inspirational. No human being is perfect and we can never know what another person is going through in their lives. Wherever we are in life as long as we are headed in the right direction with the right attitude and perspective all will be fine. I can only imagine the joy felt by son Joshua and mother Norvie as they left the event last night and headed home. We all deserve peace, joy and freedom in our personal lives and it is nice to know The First Tee helps bring that inside out in the youth of the world.

With Mark McCumber on the balcony off the Sunset Room at the Clubhouse of TPC Sawgrass.

With Mark McCumber on the balcony off the Sunset Room at the Clubhouse of TPC Sawgrass.

The evening’s Honorary Chairmen were Mark McCumber and his son Tyler, Dad, born and raised in Jacksonville, won 10 times on the PGA TOUR, including the 1988 PLAYERS Championship and the 1994 Tour Championship. Son Tyler, now 24, played collegiate golf at Florida and turned pro in 2013. He immediately won the Florida Open and then twice on the the PGA Tour Latinoamérica to earn a Web.com Tour card this season. In 20 events he made eight cuts, had one Top-10 and missed the Top-75 that made the Finals.

CLICK here for a VIDEO INTERVIEW with Mark McCumber, Co-Honorary Chairman of Taste of Golf.

With General manager Bill Hughes and the home culinary team from TPC Sawgrass Executive Chef LJ Coussin, Logan McCurry and Kevin Shafer.

With General manager Bill Hughes and the home culinary team from TPC Sawgrass Executive Chef LJ Coussin, Logan McCurry and Kevin Shafer.

Mark McCumber graciously granted me an interview and shared his thoughts about his playing and golf design careers. With good humor with comments like—”I learned how to play (the game) before I knew it was hard,” admitting after the PLAYERS win that “he couldn’t believe he gets paid for doing this,” and “I knew what golf did for me growing up”—he spoke of the impact Jack Nicklaus had on him, how golf is a game of adversity, that like The First Tee, can make you a better person no matter your age. If you watch any of my interviews, watch this one!

TPC Sawgrass' duck confit, jicama, carrot, and scallions wrapped in a savory crepe with hoisin and plum ssuces, micro-greens and crisp duck skin 'crackle' salad.

TPC Sawgrass’ duck confit, jicama, carrot, and scallions wrapped in a savory crepe with hoisin and plum ssuces, micro-greens and crisp duck skin ‘crackle’ salad.

Like Darlene’s Diner and TacoLu’s, the Taste of Golf has become the complete culinary custom at TPC Sawgrass. Many of the participating clubs come back year after year. Here is my article from the 2012 Taste of Golf with some details on the culinary delights. I would be remiss if I didn’t include a link to the 2013 Taste of Golf though distracted by incredible artwork the food was incredible that year too! And is I include the first two years I have to include last year so here is the story of the 2014 Taste of Golf. Gosh I love my job!

Atlantic Beach CC's smoked pork cheeks with house made bacon along with butternut squash pudding, caramelized fennel, and maple grastrique.

Atlantic Beach CC’s smoked pork cheeks with house made bacon along with butternut squash pudding, caramelized fennel, and maple grastrique.

This year the new kid on the block was the Atlantic Beach Country Club. They weren’t here last year because they did not exist. Though they have deep golf roots through the land of the old Selva Marina Country Club which at one time hosted the Greater Jacksonville Open on the PGA TOUR. A brand new championship golf course designed by Erik Larsen and 178 single-family home sites now occupy this historic site. If the creation of Executive Chef Marvin McClelland—smoked pork cheeks with house made bacon along with butternut squash pudding, caramelized fennel, and maple grastrique is any indication, living and playing golf at Atlantic Beach CC must be a fabulous affair!

The Charlie Walker Band was a hit at the 10th Annual Taste of Golf!

The Charlie Walker Band was a hit at the 10th Annual Taste of Golf!

The Taste of Golf is a fun and entertaining night too apart from the food and First Tee emphasis. The Charlie Walker Band performed and captivated the crowd with his soulful blended ballads of folk and acoustic pop.  Snap Happy brought their photo booth and costumes so we could make “Happy Memories in A Snap.” The 10th annual ‘Taste of Golf’ did not miss a sweet tooth, even with Event Chairwoman Milan Moore being out on assignment  as a Project Manager & Golf Course Designer for the PGA TOUR. Emcee Charlene Shirk of Charlene Shirk Public Relations did a fabulous job as did, of course, the staff at TPC Sawgrass.

The First Tee's version of Stonehenge at TPC Sawgrass.

The First Tee’s version of Stonehenge at TPC Sawgrass.

Earlier in the day I couldn’t help but notice the nine core values of The First Tee arranged in a Stonehenge-like configuration at the TPC TOUR Academy practice facility for the Junior golf clinic and skills challenge. In the distance the iconic Clubhouse was yet another reminder of the synergy now demonstrated through The First Tee between golf and youth development. Those nine core values—of Honesty, Integrity, Sportsmanship, Respect, Confidence, Responsibility, Perseverance, Courtesy and Judgement along with the nine healthy habits—of Energy, Play, Safety, Vision, Mind, Family, Friends, School, and Community are so important in life whether you are young like Joshua or older like you and me.

Correction in the title—golf, life and food never tasted better at the Taste of Golf.

Be there next year!

Thanks to the supporters of The First Tee and thanks to the kids of The First Tee!

Thanks to the supporters of The First Tee and thanks to the kids of The First Tee!

 

Filed Under: Featured People, People in Golf

A Tribute to Mr. Perry, Kenny Perry’s Dad

August 28, 2015 By
Where else in America do you see an exit sign on a major highway that pulls you off to exit and play golf?

Where else in America do you see an exit sign on a major highway that pulls you off to exit and play golf?

Remember when the Ryder Cup was held at the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky?

The 37th Ryder Cup Matches were hosted by native Kentuckians Kenny Perry and J.B. Holmes. The United States captained by Paul Azinger won that year. I remember driving up to Louisville from Florida, passing by Exit 2 on Interstate 65 and seeing the sign for Kenny Perry’s Country Creek Golf Course thinking next time I am going to stop.

Fast forward six years and the same thing happened on the way up to the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla. This time I exited and drove in to see the golf course. Of course on the way down the winding road I drove slow and took quite a few pictures before even hitting the parking lot. Wouldn’t you? I mean it was as beautiful to me as Magnolia Lane at Augusta National. As soon as I drove into a parking spot who appeared next to me but Mr. Perry himself, the father of champion professional golfer Kenny Perry.

Mr. Perry simply appeared out of nowhere when I pulled into a parking spot at Country Creek.

Mr. Perry simply appeared out of nowhere when I pulled into a parking spot at Country Creek.

What a nice man. He was so kind and treated me like any other golfer showing up at Country Creek—like family. In fact he took a couple hours, showed me the golf course and introduced me to his daughter Lydia. He offered to introduce me to Kenny who was downstairs regripping his clubs to compete in the PGA Championship. I declined not wanting to disturb a man hard at work at his profession. It was a remarkable experience and one I knew I wanted to write about some day.

Sadly, Mr. Perry passed over the winter and today I asked Kenny Perry a question about his father at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open. The question and answer is included below courtesy of  Julie Winn and Kim Giel of Tee-Scripts Interviews. I thought Kenny’s words interspersed with pictures from my visit would be the best way to honor and offer a tribute to Mr. Perry.

If you are in that neck of the woods I would highly recommend an exit and stop to play golf. I look forward to teeing it up my next time through Kentucky!

Here we go with Mr. Perry & Son…

Off Exit 2 it is not far to Country Creek, follow the signs!

Off Exit 2 it is not far to Country Creek, follow the signs!

Q. I’m based in Florida, took the road trip up to Valhalla for that 2008 Ryder Cup (inaudible) passed it by. Back up there last year for the PGA and I pulled in, and kind of unique, I’m taking pictures going in so I pull into the parking lot. Your dad pulled up alongside in a golf cart and just hit it off with him, spent two hours with him. He took me out to see the house (inaudible) with your sister and the wedding. Your dad was a great guy, I knew him for two hours, felt like I knew him for his whole life. What did he mean to you, to your game of golf?

KENNY PERRY: Well, he was my hero, he was my hero. Here’s a man who survived the Battle of the Bulge. He told me he was in a foxhole for 30 days, didn’t take his boots off. He was dug in, it was frigid. He said the Germans were blowing ’em all up all around him. He’s lucky he survived, he said.

The entrance to Country Creek... gentle, spirited and handsome like Mr. Perry.

The entrance to Country Creek… gentle, spirited and handsome like Mr. Perry.

He’s a tough guy and learned a lot of life lessons from that man. He’s fun to talk to. I mean, he had a lot of stories. He had a lot of life stories and he was — he was really competitive. He loved to play golf, but he loved any kind of board game, card game. Back home in Kentucky Rook’s a big game, it’s a partner game. He used to beat me mercifully [sic.] I’d be six, seven years, eight, I’d be bawling, I’d be crying, I’d be throwing the game at him. I remember distinctly picking the games up and throwing them straight at him because I’d be so mad. It was amazing, and it made me the person who I am today. I’m a nice guy, but I want to beat your brains out when I get on that golf course. I’m very competitive.

With Mr. Perry and daughter Lydia in the old tobacco barn, now a fabulous wedding reception hall.

With Mr. Perry and daughter Lydia in the old tobacco barn, now a fabulous wedding reception hall.

He actually — I was probably 10 years old and he worked at Life & Casualty Insurance at the time, it’s now called American General. He was a divisional vice president and he did a lot of the, I guess the social events at night. He would bring the people in. He would have to supply the wine and the beer and the whiskey and all that, so in our house we would have these huge stacks of whiskey by the refrigerator. My dad never drank. I was like, “Hey, Dad, I want to try some of that.” I don’t know what type of whiskey it was or whatever. He poured me a shot of that and he said, “Just pour it down, just go for it.” And man, it lit me up, I was on fire. I remember to this day I went screaming, running around the house going, “I need water!” I was only probably 10 years old, I wasn’t that old. I haven’t drank to this day. That just tells me how smart that guy was, he broke me of the habit early. I guess he had seen a lot of problems with alcohol. That was pretty neat.

Mr. Perry's congenial personality will be missed but his spirit undoubtedly remains around Country Creek.

Mr. Perry’s congenial personality will be missed but his spirit undoubtedly remains around Country Creek.

But he worked five days a week. I have three older sisters and a little brother and we didn’t have a lot of money, but our time together was on the golf course on the weekends. He loved to play golf. He taught me how to play, and he was pretty much my instructor all the way up to my freshman year in college and then Norman Head took over when I signed at Western Kentucky to play golf there. So played golf there at Western for four years. Norman taught me pretty much until he passed away about 15 years ago. Now Matt Killen kind of took over, who actually he taught Matt Killen for a while. Matt’s a great young instructor now. He was voted one of the top new instructors a few years ago, so very comfortable with him.

Mr. Perry with Kenny Perry's first set of golf clubs. Proud Kentuckians but prouder father and son there is none to be found.

Mr. Perry with Kenny Perry’s first set of golf clubs. Proud Kentuckians but prouder father and son there is none to be found.

But Dad would always go with me — when I qualified for the Tour in ’86, Dad caddied for me and he would always have a cigar. He was probably in his bib overalls with his cigars right in the front pouch. That’s my dad, he loved to smoke cigars. Everybody tried to get him to quit. He passed away in November an d he was 90 years old still smoking. I said, “Y’all leave that guy alone, let him enjoy what few years he’s got left.”

But he would always chart — he would walk with me on every hole and he would chart every shot, every putt, and he would kind of make notes for the 18 holes and then he would write a little something down, and he handed me the score card at the end of each night for me to just kind of go over. He was basically trying to teach me course management a little bit, where he thought I could improve or get better.

You know, it was — me and him, it was a great relationship. I thought the world of that guy. It was pretty neat. And I miss him. Losing him in November was tough, but he went out — he taught me how to live and he taught me how to die. He was out with my sister. He’s 90 years old, still drove, still lived by himself. My mom had passed away about eight years earlier and she had multiple myeloma cancer, but I was really worried about him once I lost my mom. But shoot, he was tough. He took over everything at the house, he took over. But he was out to dinner, he was at Cheddar’s, he was with my sister and her husband and they said he just leaned his head forward and that was it.

Kenny figured it out pretty well on Friday opening up with a 2-under par 70. Mr. Perry had it figured out right all along in life...

Kenny figured it out pretty well on Friday opening up with a 2-under par 70. Mr. Perry had it figured out right all along in life…

He always told me, he said, “I don’t ever buy green bananas, Son. I don’t buy green bananas.” That’s the way he looked at life. I tell everybody he was probably mad because he didn’t get to eat his rack of ribs and his sweet tea he had in front of him. Amazing man. Hopefully I’ll take some of that energy and that competitiveness and try to figure it out come Friday.

Filed Under: People in Golf

2015 DSGO & the Triple Cities; Still the Valley of Opportunity, Hart & Faith

August 27, 2015 By
Cartoonist Mason Mastroianni created this artwork for this year's breakfast. One lucky raffle winner took it home after breakfast.

Cartoonist Mason Mastroianni created this artwork for this year’s breakfast. One lucky raffle winner took it home after breakfast.

The Champions Tour event—the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open (DSGO) is in the Triple Cities of Binghamton, Johnson City & Endicott, New York this week. So am I, now 55, I am lucky to have three hometowns and be back where I belong and where I lived the first 17 years of my life. If you have a few minutes, let me tell you why this, the Valley of the Susquehanna River (and the Chenango River in Binghamton), is still the Valley of Opportunity, Hart and Faith.

On this, the fourth day of being back home, I set the alarm for 6:30 a.m. Up, I showered, got dressed and headed over to The Johnny Hart Memorial Christian Fellowship Breakfast, hosted by the Hart Family at the Kalurah Shrine on Dickson Street in Endicott, not far from the En-Joie Golf Course, host to the DSGO since 2007. I have always wanted to attend this breakfast and I guess today was the day for me to do so.

Isn’t it funny how things in life, at times, seemingly so disconnected in time, suddenly become focused, clear and connected again? It was a good breakfast but I couldn’t tell you what I ate. I can tell you why it was good, long after the experience, because as you know I am a note-taker, a journeying journaler for some 15 years now. A producer at the Golf Channel once called me a “golf voyager and documentarian,” and I like to quickly add that I only like to document what I voyage.

See, it’s all about me and it is all about you and once we figure that out individually then we can celebrate it collectively. Have I lost you yet?

With LaVon and Skip, a lovely Christian Couple in life!

With LaVon and Skip, a lovely Christian Couple in life!

I sat down at a table and met a couple to cherish with the names of LaVon and Skip Hausamann. His full name is Erwin Werner Hausamann Jr., that’s why they call him Skip. She was from Texas and he from Massachusetts so of course I was intrigued as to how they met and how they came to live in the Triple Cities on the Southern Tier of New York, about a three hours drive time upstate from New York City.

He was a drill sergeant in the Air Force stationed at the Lackland Air Force Base outside San Antonio, Texas. She grew up a Southern Baptist (though now a Methodist) in a small town of Rogers, Texas. Her family and her church reached out to serviceman by inviting them over for Sunday dinner. Her family invited him and though forbade somehow they connected and made a go of it. Next year they,a long with their three children and eight grandchildren, will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary.

It was a packed house at the Kalurah Shrine for the 9th Annual Hartfest.

It was a packed house at the Kalurah Shrine for the 9th Annual Hartfest.

My thoughts of LaVon and Skip were interrupted by “It’s a joy to be with you,” the words of Emrys Tyler, the Teaching Elder of the Ninevah Presbyterian Church giving the Invocation, one of the most inspiring invocations I ever heard.

Of course, I knew who Johnny Hart was. Growing up I religiously read his B.C. comic strip in the newspaper each day. Remember newspapers? Yeah, and the Sunday comic section? I remember his cartoon characters on site at the B.C. Open, the old regular PGA TOUR event held at En Joie Golf Course from 1971 through 2006, though the final event was held at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona due to a flooded golf course. I wanted to know more about the person, his creativity and his faith.

In his Invocation, Elder Tyler delivered on all three of my wants as he started his invocation with a Johnny Hart story. Evidently Johnny baked his favorite lemon meringue pie for a friend’s party and while delivering it he dropped it on the guy’s driveway. He grabbed a fork, knelt down and started eating the now upside down pie from the bottom side. I could feel his sense of patient presence and humor. I could visualize him making the best of a sad situation. Why wouldn’t he?

Elder Tyler then took me to where I needed to be noting that sometimes our reality in life is flipped upside down—from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from darkness to light and from where we are today to eternity. Make it so in Jesus’ name. Amen.

With Mason Mastroianni. I laughed when he used the word awkward. His eyes seem to think I am a bit awkward too. I am!

With Mason Mastroianni. I laughed when he used the word awkward. His eyes seem to think I am a bit awkward too. I am!

After tuning out for a moment or two to once again assess my upside-down life, I came back to the present moment just as Johnny Hart’s grandson, Mason Matroianni, who has been doing the comic strip now for nine years after the death of the self-described title B.C. character in life, utter that they “did not skip a beat” in the transition. I looked over and smiled at Skip and his lovely wife wondering if I had somehow skipped a beat or two in my life?

CLICK HERE for a Video Interview with Mason Mastroianni, Cartoonist, B.C. Comic Strip

Listening to Mason I could see how the comic strip kept beating along even with the sudden and unexpected death of its creator. Mason’s message was humble and direct. His grandfather was the father figure in his life and taught him everything he knew about life. Like his grandfather he is at home here in the Triple Cities and lets life come to him and then turns it around, maybe turns it right side up, sketching it back to us in prehistoric terms we can all understand. He thanked us all for honoring the memory of his grandfather.

Right then I was actively targeting him for a post-breakfast interview. Somehow, Hart’s heart and humor, compassion and creativity, was passed along and enhanced. There was inspiration there. I am an inspiration seeker.

Fred Funk at the podium. Loren Roberts on the left with the microphone. Mike Goodes in the middle right where his dream and God took him!

Fred Funk at the podium. Loren Roberts on the left with the microphone. Mike Goodes in the middle right where his dream and God took him!

The main show of the breakfast hour came alive with Champions Tour players Fred Funk, Loren Roberts and Mike Goodes on stage with live microphones.

Fred told the first story. Playing with Jack Nicklaus at Doral, golf’s all-time greatest player asked him to play a practice with him and Arnold Palmer the guy who popularized the game of golf. at the Masters. After eager anticipation, he did so with goose bumps, disbelief and standing ovations all day long. The 2005 PLAYERS Champion readily admitted he could only handle playing with one legend at a time. Two was too much. One at a time… makes sense…

Loren’s greatest golfing experience was partnering with Arnold Palmer in the 2007 Wendy’s Champions Skins Game. His entry ticket was being the Charles Schwab Cup Champion, Mr. Palmer’s was being the King.

If Arnold was Mr. Golf Personality & Performance, then Loren was Mr. Golf Perseverance. admittedly a late bloomer, his first win on tour came at Arnold’s Bay Hill in 1994 at age 38, twenty years after turning pro, thirteen years after getting his first tour card on his fifth attempt at Q-School. Then he properly defended his title to the extreme the next year and went on to win a total of eight times on the PGA TOUR and thiriteen times on the Champions Tour, including four Majors.

Some things in life and golf take time…

Mike Goodes has o 1 win (2009 Allianz), 22 Top 10s in 187 dream starts on the Champions Tour. Photo Credit: Google Images

Mike Goodes has o 1 win (2009 Allianz), 22 Top 10s in 187 dream starts on the Champions Tour. Photo Credit: Google Images

Mike Goodes is like you and me, the ultimate dreamer and late bloomer—the dream of  every aging amateur golfer. Never a golf professional or professional golfer until age 50. Maybe you have to dream to become a dream reality for others. His biggest thrill coming out on tour was finding out that the guys he was watching play golf on TV were Christians too.

We live in an upside-down world, don’t we?

As Fred Funk shared, the tour is really a traveling circus and there is a need to keep in touch with reality and stay grounded. Whether you are on the move and doing the moving or stationary with the world moving around you we all need to be grounded somehow, somewhere.

Where in our whirlwind world can we find that foundation for life?

It’s probably more of an emotional and mental challenge than a physical one in reality.

Golf is a selfish sport. Whether an amateur or a professional, if we are not playing it, we are practicing, if we are not practicing, we are thinking about it. There can be a fear of losing one’s skill, one’s talent, one’s ability to compete and succeed in golf and life. We are born, we grow, we live, we decline and then we die. How do you deal with that if you want to be in control of everything?

We all can easily get sidetracked in faith even if we were raised in a religious family was how Loren started to share his testimony of how he came to Christ. He was down and out of money, everything he owned was in his car and he missed another cut. He came back to his hotel room and got down on his knees and accepted that Jesus Christ had died for our sins.

Today may be that day. Coming to Christ will change the rest of your life and beyond. Photo Credit: Google Images

Today may be that day. Coming to Christ will change the rest of your life and beyond. Photo Credit: Google Images

A new perspective and prioritization in life came upon him and others who have done so.

No longer was he identified only as a golfer and the score shot that day.

Somehow the damage golf and other selfish pursuits was now minimized.

Grounded in God and the Bible somehow calmed the whirlwind of the world.

If Jesus is in our minds we can only think of one thing at a time.

We see the big picture instead of only our own smallness.

We question our personal mission in light of God’s mission for us.

If we respect God’s will and live out our faith our mission will be God’s mission.

If you can do it, it is a gift.

We don’t have to be perfect in life. Why not be as accepting, loving and compassionate to ourselves as we are to our family and friends? Why not cleanse our hearts, minds and body of fear, resentments, dishonesty and our own egotistical self.

Johnny Hart, cartoonist and creator of the comic strips B.C. and Wizard of Id. 1931-2007 Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Johnny Hart, cartoonist and creator of the comic strips B.C. and Wizard of Id. 1931-2007 Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Remember what Johnny Hart would say—”God is God and you are not.”

Why not turn ourselves upside-down?

Chaplain Tom O’Connor the Benediction noting that in a few minutes we will all go our separate ways. I had already done that when I graduated from Binghamton Central High School in 1977. The theme of our prom was “We must go our separate ways.”

We do but not necessarily alone.

These are all inspiring words and thoughts that came to me during The Johnny Hart Memorial Christian Fellowship Breakfast

We can only play with one legend at a time.

We can skip through life and feel our hearts beat and our lungs breathe.

We can, as inspired by Wally Armstrong, take the Big Mulligan.

You take a mulligan in golf, why not take one in life?

Our best golf and our best life is in front of us.

The best golfer this week will win the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open.

What will you win this week?

The Triple Cities—still the Valley of Opportunity, Hart & Faith.

Amen.

With Loren Roberts, Mike Goodes and Fred Funk. It was an honor and a privilege to hear their testimony and be inspired to write this story. Grateful. (-:

With Loren Roberts, Mike Goodes and Fred Funk. It was an honor and a privilege to hear their testimony and be inspired to write this story. Grateful. (-:

Filed Under: Featured People, Hickory Golf, People in Golf, PGA TOUR Golf

Danny Balin, Champion Person, Now Champion Golfer.

May 25, 2015 By
Danny Balin, the Champion of the 2015 Guatemala Stella Artois Open. Photo Credit: Google Images & PGA TOUR Latinoamerica.

Danny Balin, the Champion of the 2015 Guatemala Stella Artois Open. Photo Credit: Google Images & PGA TOUR Latinoamerica.

As I am currently reliving the 100-day, 14-country, 18,471-mile ‘Journey to Olympic Golf,’ I was saving Danny Balin for JTOG Day No. 70 because that was the day I met him in Lima, Peru. But the word is out as of yesterday when he won his first professional golf tournament, the Guatemala Stella Artois Open on the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica. His victory came at The La Reunion Golf Resort & Residences on the Fuego Maya Course in Antigua, Guatemala, another stop on my odyssey to Rio.

Well the word was already out well before his first professional win if you know Danny Balin or someone that knows him! He is a great guy and I can attest to that! I was making my way down the west coast of South America with a stop in Lima. I met a guy named Billy Gorbitz who took me over the ridge to see his club called La Planicie and have some cerviche. That day they happened to be hosting the grand finale event for the Development Tour of the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica. I looked at the scoreboard and saw only one American—you guessed it, Danny Balin!

Later that evening I am taking the elevator down at the Hotel & Spa Golf Los Incas and a guy gets on heading down to the lobby to pick up a pizza. I introduced myself and he told me he was there competing in a golf tournament. I told him that he must be Danny Balin and he was!

CLICK here for the Full Video Interview with Danny Balin from November 2013 in Lima, Peru.

Interviewing Danny Balin in November, 2013 in Lima, Peru.

Interviewing Danny Balin in November, 2013 in Lima, Peru.

He granted me an interview and though as impressive as that was there was more to follow that made me an immediate Danny Balin fan! Along the way on the Journey to Rio I began to accumulate golf books. First at Glen Echo, then at the Golf Club of Mexico and another one about the first 100 years of golf in Mexico. Without Torch and her trunk my backpack and roller bag were starting to buldge. Golf books are heavy! A few days later I was flying out of Lima to Santiago and there I met Danny again and explained my situation. Without hesitation he offered to take my books back to the States for me. What a guy that I just met to offer to be a book mule for me!

Danny Balin's name on the board at La Planicie CC, now at the top of the leaderboard at the 2015 Guatemala Stella Artois Open!

Danny Balin’s name on the board at La Planicie CC, now at the top of the leaderboard at the 2015 Guatemala Stella Artois Open!

At that time (November 2013), Danny’s claim to fame was competing in four straight PGA Championships, having qualified through the PGA Professional National Championship. Even more impressive is that he picked up golf in the last year in high school and never had an amateur career. But he made up for that with all he has accomplished in the last 10 years, including being a 3-time Met Section Player of the Year after coming out of the Professional Golf Management Program at Penn State.

A Michael Breed protege? Watch the video and you decide!

In addition to the four majors he competed in the 2014 Puerto Rico Open. In addition to the 29 PGA TOUR Latinoamérica events, Danny has competed in 8 PGA TOUR CANADA events. If my math is right, his win in Guatemala came in only his 42nd professional event at age 33 after a little over a decade of preparing for and going after his dream.

It is exciting and inspiring to see a guy following and living his dream!

I agree with Danny, the sky is the limit!

 

 

Filed Under: Hickory Golf, People in Golf, PGA TOUR Golf

Calvin Peete, Champion Player in Golf and Life…

April 30, 2015 By

CLICK here for VIDEO Interview with Calvin Peete (Part 1).

CLICK here for VIDEO Interview with Calvin Peete (Part 2)

Sitting on the patio at TPC Sawgrass with Calvin Peete. It could not have been a more pleasant evening or conversation.

Sitting on the patio at TPC Sawgrass with Calvin Peete. It could not have been a more pleasant evening or conversation.

Just last Saturday, as a volunteer for THE PLAYERS Championship, I was cleaning the portraits of the champions on Championship Way and when I got to Calvin Peete’s image it seemed a little brighter and a little more brilliant than the rest of them. It made me wonder about him and how he was doing. I didn’t recall seeing him at last year’s PLAYERS and it’s been a year-and-a-half since I interviewed him at the Farewell Gathering at the Clubhouse at TPC Sawgrass for the Journey to Olympic Golf. Sadly, I learned today of his passing. We have lost another of Golf’s Greats.

His passing brought me back to watch the above two videos one more time. Twelve minutes in total I think they are worth watching, for older and younger people alike. One minute for each of his twelve tour victories, the biggest being the 1995 PLAYERS which put him up on Championship Way with the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods. At the very end of the second video I asked him an open ended question, what else would he like to share with the folks watching. He looked around for an American flag and said “God bless America.” He started the interview stating that “he was happy to be alive at age 70. My thoughts go out to his widow Pepper and his children and all I can think is “God bless Calvin Peete.”

Calvin Peete set a new record when he won the 1985 PLAYERS. Our hats off to Calvin Peete 30 years later. Photo Credit Google Images

Calvin Peete set a new record when he won the 1985 PLAYERS. Our hats off to Calvin Peete 30 years later. Photo Credit Google Images

He inspired me as a young adult in the early 80s when he won 11 of his 12 victories in a five year span, including “the major of the players,” the 1985 PLAYERS Championship. He had grit and determination, talent and a crooked arm from a fall out of a tree. He started playing golf at age 23 at Genesee Valley Golf Course in Rochester, New York, a great municipal golf course that I played many times when I lived nearby. His first year on tour was at age 32. Age and physical handicaps like a crooked arm doesn’t mean a thing to that little white ball, does it?

As I watched these video interviews I thought about the humbleness of this man and his high level of intelligence. He was a thinking man out on the golf course and outside the ropes in life. We spoke about how he was always the first player off the tee, walking ahead with his head held high no matter the order of play or the result of the tee shots. He always stayed in the moment, not getting too far ahead or too far behind in his thoughts. The most pleasant time of his life was when he was practicing and learning golf so that is what he chose to think about when he set out to beat all the other good golfers on tour. His inner strength was knowing that when he was playing his best, nobody else could beat him, like on the Sunday thirty years ago when he shot 66 to win by three strokes.

Calvin Peete with his good friend Arthur Johnson. Two balls in a cup.

Calvin Peete with his good friend Arthur Johnson. Two balls in a cup.

He loved the game we love because of its challenge. In his words, “the ball is just sitting there saying hit me.” It was a challenge he never experienced before and one we all experience every round—how to be able to control that little white ball?”

Patriotic, above all except one thing, which he caught himself on in the interview. An always present man, with a secure and quietly confident spirit about him. Played two Ryder Cups for his country. To represent your country in the greatest sports arena in the world. There is nothing  greater, except Calvin pointed out, nothing greater than to represent your God.

Amongst all the jubilation and excitement of the 44th PLAYERS nest week, there will be sadness with the absence of the 1985 Champion Calvin Peete. While I miss watching him  play and compete like he did in the 80s, I will miss the really good human being. After we said what is now our last good bye on the patio, we went out to the range and Mr. Peete hit a hickory-shafted golf club for the first time in his life. he wasn’t old, he was young and getting younger.

With Calvin Peete after he first hit a hickory-shafted golf club. You can tell how excited he was by how he is holding the hickory club in this picture!

With Calvin Peete after he first hit a hickory-shafted golf club. You can tell how excited he was by how he is holding the hickory club in this picture!

That day I was setting out on a 100-day, 14-country, 14,871-mile golfing odyssey called the “Journey to Olympic Golf,” not having any idea of what it would be like or how it would go for me. One considerate, caring, creature helped me get it started and is now on the other side of this life. He is surely alive in a wonderful paradise probably swinging with two straight arms, hitting it 30 yards further and maybe missing one or two fairways a round but still going low.

God bless America and God bless Calvin Peete

 

 

Filed Under: People in Golf

Jim Furyk, Passionate Golf Champion & Inspired Leader

April 19, 2015 By
Jim Furyk, 2015 RBC Heritage Champion. Photo Credit: Google Images

Jim Furyk, 2015 RBC Heritage Champion. Photo Credit: Google Images

Congratulations to Jim Furyk on his 17th PGA TOUR career victory at the 2015 RBC Heritage. The veteran of 532 PGA TOUR events, with 442 cuts made and the 2003 United States Open Champion last won in 2010. That year he won the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort, the RBC Heritage in another playoff, and the TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. To top off that banner season he won the FedEx Cup and was named PGA TOUR Player of the Year.

Inspired by his play on the golf course and his conduct off the golf course. I wrote the article below in April, 2010 after his win at Harbour Town Golf Links. My premise in doing so was that if we took some of the traditions, principles and leadership found in the game of golf and applied them to Corporate America we would have a better America in terms of inspirational leadership, GNP and our overall culture.

In September 2013 Jim Furyk shot a 59 in the BMW Championship at Conway Farms GC to become the sixth player in PGA TOUR history to do so.

In September 2013 Jim Furyk shot a 59 in the BMW Championship at Conway Farms GC to become the sixth player in PGA TOUR history to do so. Photo Credit: Google Images

Another thought from the 2015 RBC Heritage… How about that 65-year-old Tom Watson? Hits an 8-iron on the last hole on Friday afternoon to three feet for birdie and sinks the putt to make the cut on the number. I wish the golf gods were as kind to him (and they should have been) in the 2009 Open at Turnberry. Watson has made 501 out of 617 cuts on the PGA TOUR.

Final thoughts… I would love to see Jim Furyk win the 2015 THE PLAYERS Championship… a few years ago I saw him practicing at TPC Sawgrass for the PLAYERS and wished him well, ending with that I would love to clean his Champions Mural on Championship Way as I do every year as a volunteer for the PLAYERS… and I would love to see him inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. If he is not already in he should be very close by now…

Furyk & Friends are celebrating tonight and tomorrow in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida!

Coincidentally the article is about Tom Watson and Jim Furyk. For the record Brian Davis has yet to win on the PGA TOUR.

The article from April 2010:

Jim Furyk: CORPORATE LEADERSHIP Inspired by The Game of Golf (Exclusive Series)

Jim Furyk earned two trophies on the last day of the 2010 season as he won the TOUR Championship and the FedEx Cup. Photo Credit: Google Images

Jim Furyk earned two trophies on the last day of the 2010 season as he won the TOUR Championship and the FedEx Cup. Photo Credit: Google Images

The author Andy Reistetter shares his insight on how PGA TOUR players, competition and the game of golf can be utilized inside corporations to dynamically develop corporate leadership and culture. Reistetter has written two books- one on inspirational leadership called “The Approach” and the other on inspiration living called “Love, The Rest of My Life (TROML) & The Pursuit of Eternity.” Both books are available by emailing AndyReistetter@gmail.com.   

Most people think of Jim Furyk as a golfer who went 2-1/2 years without a win on the PGA TOUR.

But they don’t know the Jim Furyk, the natural leader, the team player or the family man.

Jim Furyk led and did win during that 2-1/2 year personal victory hiatus on both the 2008 United States Ryder Cup team at Valhalla and the 2009 United States President’s Cup team at Harding Park.

In Furyk is a premiere example of leadership and an enveloping dynamic culture that can benefit corporations throughout the world.

He understands it is relationships first and foremost whether in one’s personal life or professional life.

Everyone knows the objective is to win or maximize corporate profit.

Without success to some degree there is no professional golfing career.

There is no company, organization or corporate entity without profit, even for “non-profits” who are also subject to the realities of a worldwide financial system.

Is valuing people the first step to having an evolving dynamic culture where natural leadership can prevail and flourish?

Where people are motivated by an inspiring example or an inspiring manner of leadership and not by fear alone?

Jim leads and people follow.

How does he do that?

He values people to the extent of being irreplaceable. He sees people as a never dying fountain of creativity, of improvement and willingness to work hard no matter what it takes to achieve success.

He is forthright, honest and of good morals.

He is and he demands sincerity- to tell the truth, the whole truth and do the right thing no matter what the circumstances are or what the consequences could be.

In the grandest of sporting gestures, Tom Watson raising the flagstick on No. 15 to enable Steve Marino to know the location of the hole.

In the grandest of sporting gestures, Tom Watson raising the flagstick on No. 15 to enable Steve Marino to know the location of the hole in the 2009 Open at Turnberry.

The “flagstick” photograph for this exclusive series of CORPORATE LEADERSHIP Inspired by The Game of Golf is Tom Watson holding the flagstick above his head on the 15th hole at Turnberry in the Open he almost won last year at age 59.

It was Saturday he was playing with Steve Marino who hit his ball down a gulley to the right side of the green at the difficult par-3 hole.

After going down the slope to help Marino find his ball, Tom came back up to the green and raised the flagstick as high as he could so Marino could know where the hold was located.

See beyond what seems to be…

Why did Watson do this?

Why did Watson help his competitor in the last pairing of the day while both pursued the Claret Jug and the title of “the champion golfer of the year?”

Because he is a natural leader who understands the dynamics of improving oneself and one’s golf game.

He raised that flagstick high and assisted Marino because he knew that it would raise the standard of competition.

He confidently knew that he would naturally elevate his performance to a higher level as the standards were increased even if by his own doing.

Tom didn’t need a third party to motivate him by fear to improve his golf game.

He did it naturally as the pride of the American Midwest.

As it did turn out the next day he needed someone to whisper in his ear that even a 59 year-old gets an adrenaline rush and is capable of hitting an 8-iron more than 184 yards over the green at the home hole.

Jim Furyk did the same thing at the President’s Cup late Sunday afternoon before Tiger sealed the deal for the American team.

Behind in his match and uncertain of the team outcome Furyk was inspiring in a way that nobody else save this author may have noticed.

Furyk’s competitor- the reigning Masters champion Angel Cabrera hit an awkward shot at the par-3 11th hole.

Well left and a bit long Cabrera’s tee shot took a big bounce and then even a bigger bounce off the deck of a wooden handicap platform.

Then it rolled down a cart path ending up 50 yards from the hole and in the proverbial golfer’s “jail.”

Furyk who had the honor on the tee and hit his ball on the green marched right down to the gallery at the scene of no crime and quickly inquired about what had happened to Cabrera’s ball before even Cabrera arrived.

“Did anyone touch it or kick it?”

See beyond what seems to be…

Why did Furyk do this?

Like Watson, he did this because he knows if he goes above and beyond the rules of golfing competitions he will be challenged to a higher standard and naturally improves, thereby elevating his game to a higher performance level.

As it turned out, Cabrera took a drop on a hillside no closer to the hole and made an unbelievable three to tie Furyk on the hole.

Cabrera would go on and catch fire birdieing the next three holes and defeating Furyk in singles for only the second time in President’s Cup history.

Though Tiger would seal the deal later for the American team with a birdie on the 13th hole before embracing United States Captain Fred Couples.

If valuing people and high moral standards like integrity and ethical behavior are the first two steps in a leadership style and culture, what are the remaining keys to producing the right dynamics in your organization?

The next key is building a team mentality even though individuals fill positions with defined roles and responsibilities in a static organization culture.

Does Jim Furyk change whether he is battling a competitor in a singles match in an international competition or playing against the field on the Copperhead golf course in the Transitions (now Valspar) event?

The answer is no- he does not change fundamentally.

He is always a team player whether in relationship to his family, caddie, equipment supplier, tournament sponsor, or most importantly a fan or patron of the game of golf.

As the situation, the competition may change he may choose a different strategy but his 1-2-3 punch is always value people, morals and ethics and being a team player always knowing there is something larger than self in this world whether at work or play.

Image if each person in your organization whether on the shop floor in the plant or in the office embraced this style of natural leadership and an evolving dynamic culture?

Jim Furyk is a master of communication.

When the topic is in his bailiwick he will speak in an open, honest and forthright manner making no excuses for poor performance or making any promises he cannot keep.

He is a stand-up guy from Pennsylvania who has found the common path to success in an uncommon way whether it is his unorthodox swing, his only dedicated swing coach in his father or as a shining example of how PGA TOUR players, their competition, and the game of golf can inspire leadership and culture in the corporate arena.

Jim Furyk knows how to reinvent, how to revitalize himself.

Clearly evident with his rise to No. 5 in the official world golf rankings after becoming the first multiple winner in 2010 with winds at the Transitions and the Verizon Heritage.

What company would not benefit from revitalization in terms of new or improved products and services?

That would attract new customers and additional revenues.

Embracing innovation and new technology while knowing that success is not only based on technology but the dynamic sequence in leadership and culture outlined in this article.

Jim Furyk did not win at Harbour Town playing hickory shafted golf clubs and feathery golf balls though he has respect for Willie the mascot’s long nosed antique golf club.

Could he have parred the 18th hole employing a set of hickory clubs?

Undoubtedly so, but to be competitive as possible he embraces all sorts of innovation whether it is in golf equipment, how one approaches the game or how he interacts with various elements in the game of golf.

Innovation does not simply mean better technology.

It also means new and improved processes whether it is a pre-shot routine or how one communicates within an organization of 100,000 associates.

Maintaining the processes, continuously making them better will transform a company as surely as a mega-hit new product invention.

Accountability in an organization is the key to success.

But accountability in an organization with natural leadership in an evolving dynamic culture is different than what one may expect.

It is not the heavy anchor around each worker’s neck with fear as the biggest motivator.

Accountability is a learning process whereby people and the organization become introspective always learning from within.

With the right corporate attitude and personal attitude, mistakes or misfortune can be a catalyst to future successes larger than ever imagined.

Again PGA TOUR players, their competition and the game of golf are a never ending source of material to be applied to develop natural leadership and an evolving dynamic culture within any organization.

Brian Davis has yet to win in 169 PGA TOUR events after his playoff loss to Furyk at the Verizon Heritage.

He will someday soon win on the PGA TOUR.

Why?

Because one can tell he has the right “approach” to the game of golf and life.

After hitting his third shot out of the hazard and contacting a reed in his backswing, he immediately raised his right hand as if to say “I made a mistake,” knowing full well the two stroke penalty would mean an immediate personal loss.

Contrast this to the manager who makes a mistake, buries it and moves the headstone so no one will associate the mistake with his personal career.

Which entity- person or organization will learn and improve from the mistake?

Brian Davis surely will and through that dynamic process will undoubtedly raise the level of his game to that of champion in the near future.

There are countless examples of experiences like this on the PGA TOUR.

What examples are there in your organization?

Accountability is a good thing for both an organization and a person within that organization.

At the end of this dynamically evolving natural leadership style and culture is what we all desire in the first place- success.

Paradoxically it is the byproduct of the system and not the system itself.

For a golfer like Jim Furyk success is defined by 15 PGA TOUR victories, numerous Ryder and President’s Cup victories and a loving family.

For an organization success is defined by customers who are satisfied with your product and/or service and want to come back again and buy more.

It does matter how one goes about trying to achieve success for in that process, in that manner, in that way one’s success is defined even before the final tally is taken.

Jim Furyk claimed victory for the Americans at Valhalla in the 2008 Ryder Cup when he closed out Miguel Angel Jimenez on the 17th green after four back nine birdies.

All he did was looked Jimenez in the eye and thanked him for the fierce competition.

He knew what it felt like to be in Jimenez’s shoes as he was on the other side at The Belfry in 2002 when Paul McGinley made a 10-footer to halve the match and win the Cup for the Europeans.

So leadership is experience but only if that experience is processed in an evolving dynamic manner.

For organizations that mean valuing people, practicing moral and ethical behavior in a competitive business environment, developing teamwork, communicating in several dynamic ways, having innovation in products, services and internal processes, and insuring positive learning accountability that naturally results in success.

In organizations it is easy to tell if natural leadership and an evolving dynamic culture is present- talk to the people in the organization.

In the game of golf, talk to the caddie.

Why do you think caddie Mike Cowan continues to hobble along in his early 60s to caddie for Furyk?

As a caddie for Tiger Woods when he won that historic Masters in 1997 hasn’t he seen it all on golf course where the world’s best players compete?

“Fluff” has been looping for Furyk now for over 10 years including his 2003 U.S. Open win at Olympia Fields CC.

As a member himself at Congressional CC where the 2011 U.S. Open is scheduled to be played maybe he wants to go out in style with Jim winning there?

That’s what inspirational leadership and a dynamic enveloping culture can do for your company.

Produce loyalty, dedication and the hardest of work from each one of your associates.

Forget about “incentivizing” your employees. Why not inspire them to new heights with a natural leadership style and an enveloping dynamic culture?

Look what it has done for Jim Furyk whether or not anyone has realized how many different times and in how many different ways he has won on the PGA TOUR!

Congratulations to Jim Furyk the first multiple winner on the PGA TOUR in 2010!

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer and broadcast assitant. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering and working part time for various golf broadcasting companies.

He resides in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it.

He can be reached through his website www.AndyGolfTravelDiary.com or by e-mailing him to AndyReistetter@gmail.com

Filed Under: People in Golf

Linda Hartough, Lady of The Masters

April 2, 2015 By

CLICK Here for a VIDEO INTERVIEW with Linda Hartough on her 2015 Masters Exhibit

The 12th at Augusta National. Image is property of and used with permission of Linda Hartough.

The 12th at Augusta National. Image is property of and used with permission of Linda Hartough.

I first met Linda Hartough at the 2010 PGA Show in Orlando. For years, while in corporate America I had been admiring and collecting her work. Her paintings drew me into her booth where I met her and her brother Dale. As she explained to me how she created each painting I became mesmerized by a new aspect of golf for me. Here is one of the pioneers of golf art in our midst who possesses a creative talent that allows us to take the game’s most storied golf courses home with us to enjoy whenever we want. Linda’s pictures take you there time and time again.

Last year Linda was honored by the United States Golf Association as she created her 25th consecutive golf landscape of the U.S. Open golf course. This year her work, all originals, is being shown at the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia during Masters week. This is her largest show ever, with nearly 50 pieces, and it seems fitting that it is associated with The Masters. The Augusta National Golf Club found her down in Hilton Head painting landscapes of the Low Country and asked her if she would like to paint the 13th hole. That was back in 1984 when Ben Crenshaw was winning his first of two Masters. This year Gentle Ben, along with his caddie Carl Johnson, will be saying good bye as they compete together in their last Masters.

With Linda Hartough, Lady of the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open... at the 2015 PGA Show.

With Linda Hartough, Lady of the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open… at the 2015 PGA Show.

I don’t think Linda Hartough will ever say good bye to us as she continues to create special artwork that will speak, embrace and entertain us for many years to come. Here are two other articles I have written on Linda. The full press release for the exhibition, “In Celebration of Golf: Landscapes by Linda Hartough,” is below.

Linda Hartough Outlasts Tiger and Paints Her 23rd U.S. Open

Linda Hartough’s 25th U.S. Open Landscape!

Linda Hartough to Appear at Exhibition Opening at Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (March 26, 2015) – Linda Hartough, world-renowned golf-landscape artist (www.hartough.com), will attend the official opening reception April 2 of the exhibition, “In Celebration of Golf: Landscapes by Linda Hartough” at the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Ga. Hartough will be present from 6:00 p.m until 8:00 p.m. to greet attendees and talk about her work. The exhibition, which will extend through April 26, including during the week of the Masters Tournament, is an exclusive showing of her work.

“I look forward to seeing everyone at the opening reception,” Hartough said. “We invite anyone interested in golf art to join us at the reception or anytime during this special exhibit, especially visitors attending this year’s Masters Tournament.”

Every piece being shown at this exhibition is a Hartough original. This represents Hartough’s largest showing ever of her original work. She is the only artist featured at the exhibit.

One of Linda's favorites is the 18th at Pebble Beach. From 1992 the year Tom Kite won. Image is property of and used with permission of Linda Hartough.

One of Linda’s favorites is the 18th at Pebble Beach. From 1992 the year Tom Kite won. Image is property of and used with permission of Linda Hartough.

Hartough’s oil paintings on display include:
1) The 18th Hole, Pebble Beach Golf Links
2) The 4th Hole, Black Course, Bethpage State Park, 2002 U.S. Open Championship
3) The 16th Hole, East Course, Merion Golf Club, 2013 U.S. Open Championship
4) The 18th Hole, Lake Course, The Olympic Club, 2012 U.S. Open Championship
5) The 10th Hole, Blue Course, Congressional Country Club, 2011 U.S. Open Championship
6) The 17th Hole, Black Course, Bethpage State Park, 2009 U.S. Open Championship
7) The 12th Hole, North Course, Olympia Fields Country Club, 2003 U.S. Open Championship
8) The 17th Hole, Royal St George’s Golf Club, 1993 Open Championship
9) The 18th Hole, Lake Course, The Olympic Club, 1998 U.S. Open Championship
10) The 17th Hole, Old Tabby Links
11) The Swilcan Bridge, The Old Course, St Andrews

In addition to these oil paintings, also included in the exhibit are 36 framed Hartough drawings and watercolors.

About the Morris Museum of Art

The Morris Museum of Art, located on the Riverwalk in downtown Augusta, Ga., is the first museum dedicated to the art and artists of the American South. First incorporated as a nonprofit foundation in 1985, the Morris Museum of Art was established by William S. Morris III in memory of his parents, William Shivers Morris, Jr., and Florence Hill Morris. The collection includes holdings of nearly 5,000 paintings, works on paper, photographs and sculptures dating from the late-eighteenth century to the present. In addition to the permanent collection galleries, the museum hosts eight to ten temporary special exhibitions every year. The museum also houses the Center for the Study of Southern Art, a reference and research library that includes archives pertaining to artists working in the South.

For more information, visit www.themorris.org.

About Linda Hartough

A confirmed artist since childhood, early in her career Hartough painted landscapes, portraits and horses. In 1984, Augusta National Golf Club commissioned her to paint its famous 13th hole, an event which propelled Hartough toward specialization as a golf-landscape painter. Since then, her work has achieved a distinguished status, displayed in the permanent collections of such legendary clubs as Augusta National, Laurel Valley, Pinehurst and Pine Valley, as well as in the personal collections of such golf notables as Jack Nicklaus, Raymond Floyd and Robert Trent Jones Sr. Known for extraordinary attention to detail in her recreation of some of golf’s most beautiful holes, Hartough imbues her paintings with admiration for the scenery’s natural beauty and respect for the game’s history and tradition, elements which seem to emerge from the canvas.

Hartough’s paintings of various holes at Augusta National Golf Club are prized by collectors the world over. In addition, Hartough painted the first of her U.S. Open series in 1990 – commissioned by the U.S. Golf Association – a 25-year series she completed in 2014, as well as her official British Open Championship series from 1990-1999.

Hartough is a Founding Trustee of the Academy of Golf Art, a professional society of golf artists established in 2004 to create an awareness and appreciation of golf art as a valuable segment of fine art.

For more information, visit www.hartough.com.

 

Filed Under: People in Golf

First Tee ParTee, the Not-to-Miss Event at Pebble Beach

March 22, 2015 By
The logo for the First Tee ParTee to benefit the First Tee of Monterey.

The logo for the First Tee ParTee to benefit the First Tee of Monterey.

This was my 7th straight year at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. It was AT&T’s 30th anniversary. The tournament dates back to 1937. My experiences at Pebble Beach are only a couple pebbles from the beach of life that extends from celebrity to each one of us. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to interview celebrities and amateurs each year on the practice putting green at Pebble Beach.

That putting green is a special place.  It’s an arena, encircled by the Lodge, the first tee and the Shops of Pebble Beach including one special one—Golf Links to the Past. Like my volunteering at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, that golf emporium takes me back to the very essence of the origins of this game of golf we love. The spirit of golf and life is alive and thriving in each individual I meet on the grounds at Pebble Beach.

Heading down the red carpet to the Great Gatsby Party of the West.

Heading down the red carpet to the Great Gatsby Party of the West.

This year was different as I found that special spirit alive and well off-property for the first time. The experience took place, not far from the Lodge, at the inaugural First Tee ParTee. Ironically, it was held at the home of Stefanie and Robert Skinner right on the second fairway of Cypress Point Club. After World War II, Bing Crosby’s membership at the Cypress Point Club was the key link to bringing the Bing Crosby’s National Pro-Am (a.k.a. The Crosby Clambake, the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am today) to the Monterey Peninsula.

The Crosby: Greatest Show in Golf, a book written by Dwayne Netland in 1975, has a prologue by Bing Crosby. What is a prologue? One definition, the one I think that fits here is that a prologue is an introductory speech, often in verse, calling attention to the theme of a play.

Bing Crosby (left) is seen here with Bob Hope (center) and Babe Ruth, circa 1940. (Courtesy of the USGA Museum).

Bing Crosby (left) is seen here with Bob Hope (center) and Babe Ruth, circa 1940. (Courtesy of the USGA Museum).

“In the early thirties, having abandoned the rigors of the vaudeville circuits for the more prestigious posture of a film personality, I joined a club called Lakeside,” opens Bing Crosby.

He goes on that “our first event was held in 1937 at Rancho Sante Fe, and the weather that day seemed to set the pattern for what was to occur with annoying frequency in the years that followed: a small deluge.

They got that first round in despite the weather and Bing would describe the activities when the golf was over by saying—“the first party was a pretty good little soiree, lasting far into the night… thus was born what was to become known as “The Clambake.”

By the way, this year, the weather was the best I have ever seen in seven years—warm, sunny and calm.

Stefanie and Robert Skinner, hosts of the inaugural First Tee ParTee.

Stefanie and Robert Skinner, hosts of the inaugural First Tee ParTee. Photo Credit: The Desisle Group

Like Crosby, the Skinners relocated to Pebble Beach. Since they did not know any of their neighbors they decided to have a party. That private party, after six years of progressively becoming bigger and better, transitioned this year into a charitable event called the ‘First Tee ParTee.’ Hosted in their back yard in a corporate tent turned club extraordinaire, the night flowed upon arrival descending onto a red carpet and into a magical celebration of golf and life just like, in my imagination, that first Crosby soiree in San Diego County in 1937 or the first shindig at Pebble Beach in 1947. The heart of the event is the fundraising for The First Tee of Monterey County.

Over the years I had interviewed several people associated with The First Tee of Monterey County and the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, both nonprofits targeted at helping the youth of Monterey County. So impressed and so inspired by their stories I stopped by to visit The First Tee of Monterey County facility last year while in town for the Pro-Am.

Welcome to the First Tee of Monterey, an exceptional facility for youth.

Welcome to the First Tee of Monterey, an exceptional facility for youth.

What an amazing sight—computers galore and a golf course! One, a way to connect with anyone in the world, the other a way to connect with yourself. Growing up in a de facto First Tee-like setting, I first learned to play golf with my Dad up on the par-3 course at Ely Park Municipal Golf Course in Binghamton, New York. The 9-holer with a view of the big course on the 7th tee was designed by the pro Ernie Smith so kids could have a place to play golf starting at a young age. There weren’t computers back then but education and an open-mind to the world was stressed in our home, at school and in our little community in the ‘Valley of Opportunity.’ My brother’s gift and inscription of the Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons book to me at age 12 is still with me today: “Golf is a lot like life, the more you learn and understand about it, the easier it is to meet its challenge.”

Little did I know at the time of the visit that a year later I would be invited to the inaugural First Tee ParTee,

I gave it a shot on the simulator but it was not a very good shot. No hole-in-one. No Lexus for me.

I gave it a shot on the simulator but it was not a very good shot. No hole-in-one. No Lexus for me.

The extravaganza felt like a Great Gatsby party of the West. There was a red carpet complete with a photographer to take you picture in front of the themed backdrop. Three shining Lexus in the driveway yours for making a hole-in-one in the golf simulator in the garage, not on the nearby par-3 third hole at Cypress. Upon entering the Skinner home you cascaded through and down to the festive environment of a Hollywood-like party gone wild yet in a restrained manner. The buzz and clamor likened to the on-course drama of Bill Murray winning the Cinderella Pro Am in 2011 with D.A. Points, Phil Michelson winning his fourth title in 2012 or Brandt Snedeker winning again this year, his second triumph in the last three years. Aptly named for the occasion, the band Money with lead singer Zoe Alexander was a big hit and played well into the Crosby morning.

Club scene with The Money Band performing at the First Tee ParTee.

Club scene with The Money Band performing at the First Tee ParTee.

Rob Skinner was best described to me as a “Connector,” of people, ideas and movements. No doubt this first ParTee for the First Tee of Monterey County is a great move in the right direction. Also no doubt that it will be taken to a bigger venue next year. As Stephanie mentioned to me, the party grew so big last year, they came to the conclusion of let’s do something good. Surely that is worth repeating at the 2016 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

There were handwritten cards from the First Tee kids. One said “I like the core value of respect because when you respect others they respect you back.” Another simply said “thank you for donating to the First Tee and letting us play golf. It seems to me that this the Spirit of Crosby is alive and well in Pebble Beach and this party will impact the next generation in a positive manner.

Bing would hit the nail right on the head as he said “the golf tournament, I believe, was a success if for no other reason than the opportunity it afforded the amateurs to meet and play with some great golfers of the day, and for the professionals to establish a social relationship with some of the people who played and supported the game.

The First Tee of Monterey County.

The First Tee of Monterey County.

Crosby’s tournament raised over $3 million by 1975 with part of the proceeds benefiting the youth in Monterey County through the building and maintenance of recreation centers. That giving spirit is alive and well with the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and the nonprofit Monterey Peninsula Foundation who has upped that total to over $120 million.

The Skinner party, now the First Tee of Monterey County ParTee, on Friday night at the AT&T, brings a focus on what individual people can do to give back and give forward, to others in need in their communities. And it goes without saying that your last name does not have to be Crosby or Skinner. Proof positive the thousands of volunteers at Pebble Beach over the years.

I will close with another Crosby quote from Netland’s book, with a slight modification—“We used to have some beautiful parties, of course, during the tournament in the evenings. Big functions with Big Purposes, one of them will occur well after I am gone at Stephanie and Rob Skinner’s home, it will be the annual “do.”

Well the future is now, the Big Purpose is The First Tee of Monterey County, and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am party not to be missed is the Friday night ‘First Tee ParTee.” Look for it in 2016.

The Crosby spirit is alive and well at Pebble Beach.

I hope to see you there next year!

With Shirley Ryan Roy of the Roy Estate Winery and Zoe Alexander, Lead Singer for The Money Band.

With Shirley Ryan Roy of the Roy Estate Winery and Zoe Alexander, Lead Singer for The Money Band.

Ran into professioanal golfer J.J. Henry at the simulator.

Ran into professioanal golfer J.J. Henry at the simulator.

With comedian Jackie Flynn. Funny guy!

With comedian Jackie Flynn. Funny guy!

With Jim Harbaugh, former 49ers coach, now Michigan Coach.

With Jim Harbaugh, former 49ers coach, now Michigan Coach.

 

 

Filed Under: People in Golf

Tim Tebow Performs a Miracle at TPC Sawgrass

March 14, 2015 By
Tim Tebow giving autographs after the Celebrity Golf Classic.

Tim Tebow giving autographs after the Celebrity Golf Classic.

With only 54 days to THE PLAYERS Championship, Tim Tebow and his Foundation came to TPC Sawgrass for their 5th Annual Celebrity Classic and carried out a miraculous transformation of the Stadium Course. The normally overly difficult, Dye-abolical, and unforgiving golf course was converted into a fun, engaging, and child-like playground. I have never seen anything like it in my past seven years of wandering around the home club of the world’s best golfers. And there may have been other miracles taking place.

Former Undisputed World Champion Evander Holyfield on the Red Carpet. His next opponent is Mitt Romney.

Former Undisputed World Champion Evander Holyfield on the Red Carpet. His next opponent is Mitt Romney.

How did he do it? The local boy turned Christian football icon rolled out the red carpet at the Clubhouse on Friday night. Celebrities, donors and kids with a WISH showed up to celebrate the good things in life, especially faith, hope and love. They came from all walks of life—golfers, boxers (Evander Holyfield), football players galore, basketball players (Artis Gilmore), country singers (Jake Owen & Kristy Lee Cook), The First Voice (Javier Colon) and even from the kitchen (Master Chef Whitney Miller). Okay, maybe it was mainly sports figures, sports broadcasters and entertainers. No politicians needed for these miracles.

Then on Saturday, the Heisman Trophy winner and soon-to- be-signed quarterback (my guess) calmed the waters on the Stadium Course and hosted a classic golf tournament unlike any other I have seen.

It was all fun and all for charity for Jason Day and Billy Horschel on the Red Carpet Friday night and on the Stadium Course on Saturday.

It was all fun and all for charity for Jason Day and Billy Horschel on the Red Carpet Friday night and on the Stadium Course on Saturday.

On the 15th tee, World No. 5 Jason Day, took a cell phone from his playing amateur partner, after being asked if he FaceTime with his daughter, and said “sure.” On the 18th green, World No. 17 Billy Horschel, after signing a bunch of autographs, stopped, turned around and asked if he “had got everyone.” This doesn’t happen in the Pro-Am during the PLAYERS, primarily because there is no Pro-Am during the PLAYERS, but it does happen at the Tim Tebow Celebrity Classic, the most intimate intermingling of celebrities, professional golfers and fans I have ever seen.

Jason Day coaching his team through the corn bag toss on the 15th tee.

Jason Day coaching his team through the corn bag toss on the 15th tee.

Each hole had an “activity” and “The Gauntlet,” the four finishing holes on the Stadium Course, were setup, in order,  as a “Corn Hole Challenge,” “Meet the Master Chef,” “Golf Skate Caddy,” and “Spectator Putt.” If running the Gauntlet to a PLAYERS Championship was only that easy—toss a corn bag, woof down a handful of Whitney’s crispy chickpeas, ride a golf skate up to the 17th tee and pick out a spectator (hoping David Stockton is in your gallery) to drain the winning putt. Maybe if Jim Furyk had picked me on that 15-footer before the rain last year, he would have been in a playoff with Martin Kaymer? NOT, I wouldn’t have been able to get the putter back.

The Tim Tebow Foundation helps kids around the world.

The Tim Tebow Foundation helps kids around the world.

The Tim Tebow Foundation raised more than $4 million in the first four years. This year’s outing raised well over one-and-a-half million dollars. The money goes to making dreams come true for children with life threatening illnesses through the W15H program (everything’s a 15 for Tebow, his number at Florida and on the Denver Broncos), providing life-changing surgeries to the children of the Philippines through the Tebow CURE Hospital, building Timmy’s Playrooms in children’s hospitals around the world, supporting more than 2,000 orphans in four countries, sponsoring Night to Shine, a nationwide prom for people with special needs, and encouraging service to others through Team Tebow.

Tim and the Foundation’s mission is “to bring Faith, Hope, and Love to those needing a brighter day in their darkest hour of need.” He referenced this verbatim in his media interview and it is easy to see it not only in print and in his words but in his heart, his soul through his eyes and everywhere around TPC Sawgrass on a blessedly beautiful day.

An innovative temporary walk bridge has been installed on the island 17th green to minimize foot traffic entering the green. Maybe a new back left hole location this year?

An innovative temporary walk bridge has been installed on the island 17th green to minimize foot traffic entering the green. Maybe a new back left hole location this year?

The grassy green grounds of TPC Sawgrass has never looked better to me this early in the year. This year, undoubtedly the 41st PLAYERS will be the best ever in terms of playing conditions, field strength, entire entertainment for the guests and most importantly, charitable dollars raised.

There is definitely a winning formula at TPC Sawgrass with golf and charity fundraising.

Maybe Tim Tebow did not perform a miracle at TPC Sawgrass, but the Tim Tebow Foundation has and will continue to do so for sure. Just ask some of the children and their parents that have benefited around the world.

Please consider making a donation by clicking here.

Postscript:

Tim Tebow fielding media questions, many about his future NFL playing career.

Tim Tebow fielding media questions, many about his future NFL playing career.

Oh, did you catch the “soon-to-be signed” reference? Only my opinion. No expert here, just a hunch from being around the media hounds and being present and listening closely to Tim’s interviews. Tebow, when pressed by the great Jacksonville sportswriter Garry Smits, stated that he did not apply for the first-ever NFL Veteran Combine. That is why his name is not on the list of participants that was recently released. Though he quickly followed with “I feel like I am in great shape,” and definitely looked like he was. Subsequent to his media interview I see he tried out for the Eagles but no contract was signed.

Tebow brothers on the 17th green. Robby putting Kaymer putt with Tim watching. Both are good golfers.

Tebow brothers on the 17th green. Robby putting the Kaymer putt with Tim watching. Both are good golfers.

His situation points out one of the differences between golf and football. In my opinion, the raw deal Tebow got in Denver happens in the NFL but not on the PGA Tour. Once an opportunity to play on any tour is earned in golf it is given to the deserving player. Not so in football. Maybe the NFL has an opportunity to learn something here. When a guy takes over a 1-4 team at halftime and leads them to the playoffs and wins a game against the Steelers he deserves a chance the following season. Granted in golf, success one year does not guarantee success the following year but it does give a player status and the opportunity to compete.

From what I saw of Tim’s (and his brother Robby) golf game, maybe he should give golf a go?

I hope Tim Tebow gets that opportunity in football, he deserves it!

Billy Horschel fulfilling all autograph requests.

Billy Horschel fulfilling all autograph requests.

Tebow's foundation, his family and friends on the 17th tee.

Tebow’s foundation, his family and friends on the 17th tee.

The Tim Tebow Foundation Celebrity Gala & Golf Classic is a great charitable event and fun to cover!

The Tim Tebow Foundation Celebrity Gala & Golf Classic is a great charitable event and fun to cover!

Filed Under: People in Golf