A good friend and client recently gave me the book "Raving Fans" written by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles. Ken Blanchard is the author of the "One Minute Manager" series of books. Raving Fans is a very easy-to-read and short business book about delivering extraordinary customer service and creating not just "satisfied customers", but Raving Fans! It is written using a golf motif.
Charlie is a Fairy Godmother (due to the Celestial Equal Opportunities legislation) who loves to play golf. His job is to teach the Area Manager the three magic secrets of creating Raving Fans. According to Charlie, the Area manager's "customers are a revolt waiting to happen. They're only satisfied because their expectations are so low and because no one else is doing any better. Your [the Area Manager's] customer service slogan should be" No Worse than the Competition."
I won't ruin the book for you, but I highly recommend Raving Fans for anyone in the service business, and in one respect or another, we are all in the service business.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Gathering Intelligence on St. Andrews
Well, I am back from my long (cold and wet) weekend in Nashville. I will dribble in some tidbits from the reunion over the next few posts. During the trip I did some reconnaissance on St. Andrews. My cousin, "Scratch" went to St. Andrews for his 50th birthday. According to Scratch, there are two ways to do the Scotland golf trip. First, you can go the expensive route and sign up for an organized tour that includes a guaranteed tee time at the Old Course, as well as tee times at some of the other famous Scottish courses, including Carnoustie and Muirfield. You also get a bus and driver/guide and stay at nice accommodations and eat as well as you can in Scotland (haggis sounds and looks pretty nasty!). You need to make sure that you go to St. Andrews at the right time of the year because there are certain times of the year when you have to bring a mat and hit each shot off of the mat. That does not sound like the St. Andrews experience to which I aspire!
The second alternative is the "hope and pray" approach. You get to St. Andrews with your sticks, stay at the local bed and breakfast and sign up each day for the daily lottery for the next day and hope and pray you are selected. The course is open 6 days per week and closed on Sundays. You also need to be careful because the Old Course is closed for maintenance or tournaments or other sundry reasons from time to time so you should call in advance to make sure that you are not there at an inopportune time. This is today's ballot for play tomorrow. July and August are the most difficult months to get a tee time. If you do not get a tee time for the Old Course in the daily lottery, you can play the New Course, the Jubilee Course or four other courses at St. Andrews, including the newest course, the Castle Course, and sign up for the following day's lottery. If you befriend the innkeeper, you somehow may be able to "win" the daily lottery.
Before you can play the Old Course, you need to present the starter with your USGA or R&A handicap card. The maximum handicap to play the Old Course is 24 for the gentlemen and 36 for the ladies. Of course, the only way to play the Old Course is to walk with a caddie and do whatever the caddie tells you to do, no matter how ridiculous it sounds. If the caddie tells you aim 30 yards to the left of the flag and take two extra clubs, do not question the advice, just do it (and later tip the caddie well for the sound advice)! In order to play the Old Course, you need to keep the ball close to the ground, whether it is low-flying, boring (the alternate meaning, dummy!) approach shots or chip and runs from the fairways. The balloon slice (or even the high fade) is not a good shot in Scotland!
Scratch and his buddies took the "hope and pray" approach and almost did not get to play the Old Course. Somehow, on their last day in Scotland, the good innkeeper was able to get a tee time. The innkeeper, Scratch and his buddies played in beautiful weather and Scratch shot a 78, losing a couple of strokes in the deep fairway traps and in the thick gorse. When he spoke about his St. Andrews golf experience, he was euphoric.
The second alternative is the "hope and pray" approach. You get to St. Andrews with your sticks, stay at the local bed and breakfast and sign up each day for the daily lottery for the next day and hope and pray you are selected. The course is open 6 days per week and closed on Sundays. You also need to be careful because the Old Course is closed for maintenance or tournaments or other sundry reasons from time to time so you should call in advance to make sure that you are not there at an inopportune time. This is today's ballot for play tomorrow. July and August are the most difficult months to get a tee time. If you do not get a tee time for the Old Course in the daily lottery, you can play the New Course, the Jubilee Course or four other courses at St. Andrews, including the newest course, the Castle Course, and sign up for the following day's lottery. If you befriend the innkeeper, you somehow may be able to "win" the daily lottery.
Before you can play the Old Course, you need to present the starter with your USGA or R&A handicap card. The maximum handicap to play the Old Course is 24 for the gentlemen and 36 for the ladies. Of course, the only way to play the Old Course is to walk with a caddie and do whatever the caddie tells you to do, no matter how ridiculous it sounds. If the caddie tells you aim 30 yards to the left of the flag and take two extra clubs, do not question the advice, just do it (and later tip the caddie well for the sound advice)! In order to play the Old Course, you need to keep the ball close to the ground, whether it is low-flying, boring (the alternate meaning, dummy!) approach shots or chip and runs from the fairways. The balloon slice (or even the high fade) is not a good shot in Scotland!
Scratch and his buddies took the "hope and pray" approach and almost did not get to play the Old Course. Somehow, on their last day in Scotland, the good innkeeper was able to get a tee time. The innkeeper, Scratch and his buddies played in beautiful weather and Scratch shot a 78, losing a couple of strokes in the deep fairway traps and in the thick gorse. When he spoke about his St. Andrews golf experience, he was euphoric.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Vandy Reunion Weekend
I am heading to Nashville for my 25th law school reunion tomorrow so I will not be posting for a few days. I am sure that I will have some interesting stories that I can relate to my Journey to St. Andrews when I return from the reunion. Keeping up my good vacation weather karma, showers are expected Thursday, Friday and Saturday and the high temperatures will be in the low-50s and the low temperatures will be in the high-30s to low 40s. This is girding me for Scotland!
My "World Of" buddies were talking about playing golf over the weekend, but then they went radio silent. I think I may have been the odd man out on the golf foursome. I am not going to lug my sticks down to Nashville (although I am flying on the Southwest Airlines, which is the only airline that does not charge for checked luggage). On Thursday we are going to the Loveless Motel and Cafe for breakfast for dinner. On Friday, we are going to enjoy some country music at the Grand Ole Opry and Ricky Skaggs was just added to the playbill! The Vandy homecoming game is Saturday against the Georgia Bulldogs (most teams bring in patsies for homecoming but the 'Dores will be their own homecoming patsies!). Hopefully, I will eat those words! Saturday night is the big class reunion party and Sunday we are having brunch with my Mississippi cousins who are also Vandy grads (the Harvard of the South!).
I will be back at you on Monday!
My "World Of" buddies were talking about playing golf over the weekend, but then they went radio silent. I think I may have been the odd man out on the golf foursome. I am not going to lug my sticks down to Nashville (although I am flying on the Southwest Airlines, which is the only airline that does not charge for checked luggage). On Thursday we are going to the Loveless Motel and Cafe for breakfast for dinner. On Friday, we are going to enjoy some country music at the Grand Ole Opry and Ricky Skaggs was just added to the playbill! The Vandy homecoming game is Saturday against the Georgia Bulldogs (most teams bring in patsies for homecoming but the 'Dores will be their own homecoming patsies!). Hopefully, I will eat those words! Saturday night is the big class reunion party and Sunday we are having brunch with my Mississippi cousins who are also Vandy grads (the Harvard of the South!).
I will be back at you on Monday!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Stop Choking the Chicken!
I have been playing so much golf recently that my hands are starting to hurt! As Slim Whiskey says: I am "choking the chicken" and I need to hold the club like I am holding a dove in my hands. I decided to try this at the driving range. I held the club lightly in my hands and after banging range balls for an hour my hands did not hurt and, as an added bonus, I was able to get more clubhead speed.
I feel like I am on the verge of a breakthrough! It is about time to go back and visit my golf guru, Bob. I have been working on hinging my wrist and loading my right side, hitting through the ball so that I take a divot in front of the ball, and holding the club like I am holding a dove in my hands. After checking my progress on the full swing, I want to work with Bob on the short game, pitching, chipping and putting.
Every high handicapper (especially me!) wants to hit the driver on the range, but I know in my heart of hearts that I lose way too many strokes within 50 yards of the hole and the quickest and easiest way to lower my handicap is to improve my pitching, chipping, sand play and, most importantly for me, putting. I have been concentrating on making solid contact on my chips so as not to chili-dip the shot and trying to get the chip shot to or past the hole instead of leaving it way short and then two or three putting. I have not figured out how to hit the chip shot so that it takes two skips and stops. I am also working hard on getting my putts to the hole following the old adage "never up, never in".
Many golfers that learn to play at a young age develop good short games because they are not long enough to consistently reach the greens in regulation and, therefore, need to learn to chip and putt to save par. A perfect example of this axiom is Tim Clark, the little South African golfer. He was magnificent this weekend at the President's Cup. He was the shortest hitter at the event, but he was deadly from 100 yards and closer. Invariably, he hit his wedges and short irons inside 10 feet and his putting was spot on. He had 8 birdies (in 15 holes!) and no bogeys in his singles match on Sunday against a shell-shocked Zach Johnson, who finished with 4 birdies in his last six holes.
I feel like I am on the verge of a breakthrough! It is about time to go back and visit my golf guru, Bob. I have been working on hinging my wrist and loading my right side, hitting through the ball so that I take a divot in front of the ball, and holding the club like I am holding a dove in my hands. After checking my progress on the full swing, I want to work with Bob on the short game, pitching, chipping and putting.
Every high handicapper (especially me!) wants to hit the driver on the range, but I know in my heart of hearts that I lose way too many strokes within 50 yards of the hole and the quickest and easiest way to lower my handicap is to improve my pitching, chipping, sand play and, most importantly for me, putting. I have been concentrating on making solid contact on my chips so as not to chili-dip the shot and trying to get the chip shot to or past the hole instead of leaving it way short and then two or three putting. I have not figured out how to hit the chip shot so that it takes two skips and stops. I am also working hard on getting my putts to the hole following the old adage "never up, never in".
Many golfers that learn to play at a young age develop good short games because they are not long enough to consistently reach the greens in regulation and, therefore, need to learn to chip and putt to save par. A perfect example of this axiom is Tim Clark, the little South African golfer. He was magnificent this weekend at the President's Cup. He was the shortest hitter at the event, but he was deadly from 100 yards and closer. Invariably, he hit his wedges and short irons inside 10 feet and his putting was spot on. He had 8 birdies (in 15 holes!) and no bogeys in his singles match on Sunday against a shell-shocked Zach Johnson, who finished with 4 birdies in his last six holes.
Monday, October 12, 2009
World Of XXVI - Day 4
Monday, I woke up and surprise, it was raining again in Biloxi! From Friday through Monday we had almost 5 inches of rain! Undaunted, the remaining 8 World Of scuba divers headed to Shell Landing, a Davis Love III-designed course. It is a links style, par 72 championship course. We played Hawksbill, which is only 6,010 yards because the course was soaking wet and it was the fourth day of the "World Of". This was the replacement course for Fallen Oaks, the Tom Fazio course that was supposed to be the marquee course for this "World Of" trip, but was closed for overseeding.
The fact that this group would even consider playing a Davis Love III course is a testament to how soft we have become. DLIII is the most ridiculed golfer at the "World Of" (even more than the Natural). The group (lead by Turtle) believes that DLIII has more natural talent and less heart than any other golfer on the tour. Davis is a great show or place horse, except at Harbour Town, his home course, which he has won 5 times! However, he has become irrelevant on the PGA tour in recent years so that may have affected our willingness to play his course. DLIII's most famous meltdown was in the third round of the 1999 Masters. The par-5 15th hole is a potential eagle hole for someone that hits the ball as long as Davis. Instead, he hit a poor drive so that he had to lay up instead of going for the green with his second shot and then things got worse! He hit his third shot in the water and made a double bogey 7 on a hole where he should have scored no worse than a birdie.
By the third hole the rain was coming down fairly hard and we saw lightning in the distance. I was putting for birdie when we marked our balls and headed back to the clubhouse, assuming World Of XXVI had mercifully come to a wet end. But the gods were smiling on the "World Of" and the sun came shining through 20 minutes later and we headed back to the course. I missed the birdie putt but I was just happy to be on the golf course among friends. We had intermittent rain, clouds and sunshine the remainder of the morning. I hit some really good shots and some really tired shots. On No. 18, a par 4, I hit my best shot of the round, a 4 hybrid from about 175 yards to 6' from the hole for a possible birdie, which would have been a perfect ending to my World Of XXVI ...
As we were leaving the hotel to drive to the airport, Smooth was talking about World Of XXVII in Ireland. I will have to talk him into a detour to St. Andrews. I don't think it will be too hard!!
The fact that this group would even consider playing a Davis Love III course is a testament to how soft we have become. DLIII is the most ridiculed golfer at the "World Of" (even more than the Natural). The group (lead by Turtle) believes that DLIII has more natural talent and less heart than any other golfer on the tour. Davis is a great show or place horse, except at Harbour Town, his home course, which he has won 5 times! However, he has become irrelevant on the PGA tour in recent years so that may have affected our willingness to play his course. DLIII's most famous meltdown was in the third round of the 1999 Masters. The par-5 15th hole is a potential eagle hole for someone that hits the ball as long as Davis. Instead, he hit a poor drive so that he had to lay up instead of going for the green with his second shot and then things got worse! He hit his third shot in the water and made a double bogey 7 on a hole where he should have scored no worse than a birdie.
By the third hole the rain was coming down fairly hard and we saw lightning in the distance. I was putting for birdie when we marked our balls and headed back to the clubhouse, assuming World Of XXVI had mercifully come to a wet end. But the gods were smiling on the "World Of" and the sun came shining through 20 minutes later and we headed back to the course. I missed the birdie putt but I was just happy to be on the golf course among friends. We had intermittent rain, clouds and sunshine the remainder of the morning. I hit some really good shots and some really tired shots. On No. 18, a par 4, I hit my best shot of the round, a 4 hybrid from about 175 yards to 6' from the hole for a possible birdie, which would have been a perfect ending to my World Of XXVI ...
As we were leaving the hotel to drive to the airport, Smooth was talking about World Of XXVII in Ireland. I will have to talk him into a detour to St. Andrews. I don't think it will be too hard!!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Golf in the Pines - Part 2
We arrived at the Golf Club at Chaparral Pines about an hour before our tee time, which gave me plenty of time to hit balls until my arms felt like lead. I felt really good on the driving range, but that does not always translate to the course. We decided to play the silver tees. Chaparral Pines is a 6,513 yard, par 72 championship golf course with a 133 slope from the silver tees, but the front 9 is a par 35 and the back 9 is a par 37.
On the first hole, I drove it right down the middle, hit the green in regulation and 3-putted for a bogey! The third hole is a short 315 yard par 4 with a rock formation in the middle of the fairway about 200 yards from the tees. I flew my drive well over the rock formation and was about 60 yards from the green. I hit my 60 degree wedge to less than 10' and made the birdie putt for the highlight of my round. The front 9 has three par 3s. I hit 5 out of 6 fairways and 5 out of 9 greens in regulation. But it took me 3 shots to get out of one greenside bunker and I three-putted 3 holes. I shot a 41 on the front that could easily have been a 38. I had the low gross score in the group.
However, as Chad Feldheimer aptly pointed out, golf is 18 holes and the planets aligned on the back nine. Somehow, between the ninth green and the tenth tee, I lost my swing. I wanted to go back and find it, but it was too late! Over the next six holes I had 6 penalty strokes for hooking or slicing my drives out of bounds (without knowing the local rules, I played my out-of-bounds tee shots as lateral hazards). I did get a par on the par 5 14th hole with a penalty stroke. I kind of pulled it together on the last 3 holes with my only fairway and green in regulation and only one more penalty stroke for a 50 on the back 9, and a 91 total.
After shooting a 43 on the front 9, Chad played brilliantly on the back, shooting a 3 under par 34 and an overall 77. Every drive was long and straight, he hit his approach shots with pinpoint accuracy and he made some nice putts, but no ridiculous 50 footers. It was beautiful to watch!
On the first hole, I drove it right down the middle, hit the green in regulation and 3-putted for a bogey! The third hole is a short 315 yard par 4 with a rock formation in the middle of the fairway about 200 yards from the tees. I flew my drive well over the rock formation and was about 60 yards from the green. I hit my 60 degree wedge to less than 10' and made the birdie putt for the highlight of my round. The front 9 has three par 3s. I hit 5 out of 6 fairways and 5 out of 9 greens in regulation. But it took me 3 shots to get out of one greenside bunker and I three-putted 3 holes. I shot a 41 on the front that could easily have been a 38. I had the low gross score in the group.
However, as Chad Feldheimer aptly pointed out, golf is 18 holes and the planets aligned on the back nine. Somehow, between the ninth green and the tenth tee, I lost my swing. I wanted to go back and find it, but it was too late! Over the next six holes I had 6 penalty strokes for hooking or slicing my drives out of bounds (without knowing the local rules, I played my out-of-bounds tee shots as lateral hazards). I did get a par on the par 5 14th hole with a penalty stroke. I kind of pulled it together on the last 3 holes with my only fairway and green in regulation and only one more penalty stroke for a 50 on the back 9, and a 91 total.
After shooting a 43 on the front 9, Chad played brilliantly on the back, shooting a 3 under par 34 and an overall 77. Every drive was long and straight, he hit his approach shots with pinpoint accuracy and he made some nice putts, but no ridiculous 50 footers. It was beautiful to watch!
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Golf in the Pines
We played hooky from work on Friday and went to Payson to play The Golf Club at Chaparral Pines. This website does not do the course justice! Payson is about 90 minutes from central Phoenix and the temperatures are about 10-12 degrees cooler. The high temperature was in the mid-70s (not my score!). I played with two of my friends from work, Slim Whiskey and Chad Feldheimer.
Slim Whiskey is a tax lawyer with a personality, which is a very unusual combination! He is creative, funny and a really sharp dresser. I would compare him to the late Payne Stewart. Using my 64-pack of Crayola Crayons, Slim wore a mango tango (orange) shirt with perfectly matched mango tango and complementary colors argyle socks. Slim had a bad ski accident about a year ago and it is still affecting his golf game. He is about a 12 handicap. Slim plays golf every Saturday and Sunday at a private club in Scottsdale, but the club is closed for overseeding so the members were given reciprocal privileges at Chaparral Pines.
Chad Feldheimer is our cocky young gun. His undergraduate degree is in golf course management. Can you believe that you can actually get a degree in golf course management! He attended law school on the San Diego beaches and somewhere in between he was an assistant golf professional at a golf resort in Phoenix. I think that means that he worked in the pro shop and cleaned your clubs on the driving range, which is why Chad ultimately went to law school. Chad does not have a current USGA handicap, but he once told me that if he shot 80 he would quit (or do something worse). I think that Chad is about a 5 handicap or less.
On the ride up to Payson, among other things we talked about the heresy of my recent "Rules of Golf" blog. We discussed one of the most famous gaffes in PGA golf history. In the final round of the 1968 Masters, Roberto De Vincenzo attested to an incorrect score card. He was not disqualified because the mistake resulted in a higher score, but he otherwise would have been in a playoff with Bob Goalby. At that time, the players reviewed their scorecards right off of the 18th green in the midst of the spectators. As a result of De Vincenzo's gaffe, the PGA changed its rules and players now go into a private room to carefully review their scorecards without all of the crowd distractions. The funny thing is that every golfer knows about Roberto De Vincenzo, but very few golfers know who won the 1968 Masters or even know of Bob Goalby, even though he won 11 PGA golf tournaments, including the 1968 Masters.
Slim Whiskey is a tax lawyer with a personality, which is a very unusual combination! He is creative, funny and a really sharp dresser. I would compare him to the late Payne Stewart. Using my 64-pack of Crayola Crayons, Slim wore a mango tango (orange) shirt with perfectly matched mango tango and complementary colors argyle socks. Slim had a bad ski accident about a year ago and it is still affecting his golf game. He is about a 12 handicap. Slim plays golf every Saturday and Sunday at a private club in Scottsdale, but the club is closed for overseeding so the members were given reciprocal privileges at Chaparral Pines.
Chad Feldheimer is our cocky young gun. His undergraduate degree is in golf course management. Can you believe that you can actually get a degree in golf course management! He attended law school on the San Diego beaches and somewhere in between he was an assistant golf professional at a golf resort in Phoenix. I think that means that he worked in the pro shop and cleaned your clubs on the driving range, which is why Chad ultimately went to law school. Chad does not have a current USGA handicap, but he once told me that if he shot 80 he would quit (or do something worse). I think that Chad is about a 5 handicap or less.
On the ride up to Payson, among other things we talked about the heresy of my recent "Rules of Golf" blog. We discussed one of the most famous gaffes in PGA golf history. In the final round of the 1968 Masters, Roberto De Vincenzo attested to an incorrect score card. He was not disqualified because the mistake resulted in a higher score, but he otherwise would have been in a playoff with Bob Goalby. At that time, the players reviewed their scorecards right off of the 18th green in the midst of the spectators. As a result of De Vincenzo's gaffe, the PGA changed its rules and players now go into a private room to carefully review their scorecards without all of the crowd distractions. The funny thing is that every golfer knows about Roberto De Vincenzo, but very few golfers know who won the 1968 Masters or even know of Bob Goalby, even though he won 11 PGA golf tournaments, including the 1968 Masters.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)