Monday Morning Match is a simple post – maybe a quote, inspirational story or idea – intended to spark some motivation inside each of you so your week gets off to a fantastic start on Monday morning.
There’s no hiding my love of sports. Ever since the CoronaVirus pandemic began and all sporting events were canceled, it’s been tough for sports fans like me who thrive on the competition, excitement, and stories that every sporting event that is contested. With all the major sporting leagues still trying to figure out when and how they can return, the sports that involve less personal contact have made their way back. NASCAR has been racing multiple times each week for the last month in front of bleachers full of empty seats and a few weeks ago, there were two golf exhibitions that were made for television and raised millions of dollars for charities and beneficial causes. As a lifelong golf fan, I was thrilled to watch the PGA make a spectacular return this past week at the Charles Schwab Invitational in Ft. Worth, Texas and was reminded that, among other things, “These Guys Are Good.”
What Realtors Can Learn from the Return of the PGA Tour
Even though there were no grandstands full of fans or spectators lining the tees, fairways, and greens of Colonial Country Club, it was so good to watch the PGA resume play. In what will be a hectic 13-week schedule between The Charles Schwab Invitational and the US Open and then the next week at The Ryder Cup, it’s going to be a great opportunity to learn a lot from the best golfers in the world. I knew there had to be plenty to learn from this week’s return to the course so let’s see what Realtors can learn from the return of the PGA Tour…
Practice never stops – When the PGA pulled the plug on the tour in the middle of the Players Championship back in March, no one really knew what to expect. With each new day, tournaments were canceled or postponed…only to be canceled later. Players needed to find ways to keep some sort of rhythm and consistency in their swings, short game, and mental approach to the game.
Stay in shape – With definite uncertainty about when they might resume competitive play, golfers needed to find ways to stay in shape. While golfers do not need the physical attributes of other professionals like basketball or hockey, they need to be strong through their core and maintain healthy stamina to be out walking on the course for hours each day, sometimes under intense heat and other weather conditions. Some golfers used the COVID-induced break to lose weight and tone up while others used it to add weight and increase strength. The two most notable this past week were defending US Open Champion Gary Woodland showing up 25 lbs lighter and rising star Bryson DeChambeau bringing a much bigger, bulkier body to Texas (up 25 lbs). Both approaches seemed to have worked in their own ways as both guys finished in the top ten and had a chance to win heading into the back nine on Sunday.
When it’s your turn, be ready – Even though the newly revised schedule was announced over a month ago, there still was more than three months between competitive rounds on tour. Everyone who showed up to play this week needed to figure out a way that once their name was called on that first tee on Thursday that they were ready to compete. As my good friend and fellow Realtor Anthony Malafronte likes to say, “you gotta get up, show up, and do the work.”
You can’t win if you don’t play – It’s the unwritten motto of state lottery games everywhere and it certainly applied at last week’s event. 16 of the top 20 golfers in the world were in the field at Colonial. International players Adam Scott (AUS) and Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) chose not to play due to the mandatory quarantine they would be subjected to upon returning to the US and, young phenom Patrick Cantlay, and Tiger Woods opted out of playing which meant in this time of uncertainty that one thing was certain – they weren’t going to win the tournament.
Starting doesn’t mean much if you don’t finish – As a regular full-field event on the PGA Tour, just because you start the event on Thursday doesn’t mean you’ll be there on Sunday to collect a paycheck. 122 players started the event but after Friday’s second round, only the top 67 players on the scoreboard move on to play the weekend. 2020 Champion Daniel Berger will earn $1,350,000 for his gutsy, well-earned victory but even last-place finisher Jason Dufner will walk away from Ft. Worth with $15, 825 for four rounds of golf on a beautiful course. Even I’ll say “War Eagle” to that!
You don’t have to carry the load alone – The best players become the best players through hard work and a massive amount of skill. When the tournament begins and they are in the middle of the pressure-filled competition, their future is literally in their hands. They swing the clubs and are solely responsible for getting the ball into the hole in the fewest shots possible. That doesn’t mean they are out there alone. They all have caddies, who not only serve as the men (and sometimes women) who carry their clubs and help them navigate the course, read the greens, and determine the best approach at the moment but are as close to teammates as a pro golfer will ever have. They also have swing coaches, nutritionists, trainers, psychiatrists, and family members who help with everything else “beyond the ropes.”
The importance of research and knowing your numbers – Amateur golfers love to swing as hard as they can on most shots, hoping to hit the ball as far as they can. The professional knows that his distance control and accuracy will be a huge factor in earning a paycheck each week and will help put them in the best position to possibly win the tournament. Unlike the casual weekend-golfer, the pros aren’t just guessing on distances or peeking at stickers on a sprinkler head in the fairway. Today’s caddies and players have hole placements and course yardage down to inches and are usually good enough to put that research and knowledge to good use. The difference of a few feet one-way or the next doesn’t just mean a few inches, it could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The best always learn something – All 122 golfers who showed up at Colonial last week arrived with the plan to win the event. 121 golfers not named Daniel Berger will be leaving Ft. Worth with unfinished plans but, if they’re smart, they will have gained experience and knowledge about the course (which could come in handy at next year’s event), the state of their game, their relationship with their caddy, and countless other things about what they could have done differently to have realized a better outcome. It was neat to listen to some of the interviews with competitors who fell a few shots short. None of them blamed forces outside of their control, none of them pointed fingers at players who beat them, and none of them hung their heads in anger or shame. They all talked about the small little things that could have made the difference and shared their determination to get to the next tournament because that’s the next best chance they have of winning. As the saying goes, “yesterday’s birdies don’t help lower today’s score.”
Be ready to work overtime – With the clubhouse lead at -14 under par, Daniel Berger knew he would need to birdie the 18th hole if he stood any chance of winning the tournament outright. Two players were still on the course at -15 so he knew he had to hit his approach shot close and make the putt. He did just that and then had to wait for fellow pros Colin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele to finish. Morikawa barely missed a winning putt and after Schauffele’s birdie putt on 18 stopped inches short, Berger and Morikawa were headed to a playoff. That’s right. They had to work overtime to try and “close the deal.” Berger got up and down from behind the green for par and when Morikawa’s putt to tie lipped out, Berger became the answer to the future trivia question, “Who won the first tournament after the longest break in PGA Tour history?”
The next scorecard is another blank canvas and your clubs are the brushes – Win or lose, all eyes and attention will quickly be focused on next week’s event (or the next event the pros will decide to play). The modified PGA Tour will be headed to Hilton Head, South Carolina for the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Club. For Berger, it’ll be a chance to keep the momentum going. For Morikawa, Schauffele, and all the other golfers it will be another chance to try and string together more good shots than bad shots and hopefully be the one standing with the trophy when it’s all over. If not next week, maybe the week after that or the week after that.
Much like real estate, golf is different every day. Even if you played the same course over and over again, it’ll never be the same course tomorrow as it was today. Maybe that’s why golf and real estate can be so frustrating and glorious at the same time?
Photo Credits – Mick De Paola, Louis Z S , David Goldsbury, & sydney Rae