Getting rusty

As Tiger comes back from his surgery and the recovery related delay to play the US Open this week there is much talk of whether he's rusty or not. Strange term to use after he has presumably had the "rust" removed from the hinge that is his left knee.

Not many are convinced that it will provide any competitive advantage to the others in the tournament. Tiger has played sick, tired, distracted and injured before and still won. Maybe harder for him and closer for the others, but he's still able to pull it out through sheer strength of will. His mental toughness is formidable under pressure.

That's probably the golf and business lesson for all of us. After any setback or prolonged absence it is important to re-focus and concentrate on the fundamentals to achieve our goals. Keep it simple, ignore the obstacles, and go for it.

Coaching a young golfer

I started a new golf challenge on the weekend - introducing the game to my seven year-old grandson.

We soon agreed that hitting balls at the driving range is not much fun.

First lesson for me: Like coaching young entrepreneurs, there is no point in doing this if it's not going to be fun because there is certainly no guarantee that you'll ever make money at it.

So let's find out how to make this fun. I'm looking for ideas and his suggestion of practicing on the soccer field sounds a little risky. Meanwhile I'm looking for whiffle balls before somebody gets hurt.

Another early challenge is which way to swing, left or right. Like many young Canadians he naturally picked up the club to smack it like a slap shot with his hockey stick - left handed. Oops, the clubs were right-handed. After debating with his father, who plays left but is right handed, we decided to keep the right handed clubs and let him start that way. He seemed to get the idea fairly quickly, including an interlocking grip, so we'll keep working at it.

I hope that first decision doesn't keep him from going pro.

Golf guru

Business consultants and executive coaches often use the line "even Tiger Woods needs to consult with a coach to improve his game". Sounds reasonable and it's true.

Golf guru, David Leadbetter, was recently interviewed in Maclean's magazine. He does coach the pro's as well as teach mere mortals at golf clinics around the world. As he puts it, "I'm a bit like Robin Hood because I rob from the rich and give to the poor." Since he charges up to $10,000 per day (for the guys competing in multi-million dollar tournaments) he can afford to give free advice to kids and young pros.

He did admit though that some golfers are "instructionally challenged" He was not so crude as to use the term LOFT (for "lack of f***ing talent") but he does sometimes suggest maybe they should try tennis.

It's also true for some ambitious new entrepreneurs who need to be told "maybe you should try a real job." Sometimes you just have to be cruel to be kind.

Learning from the pros

I had the pleasure recently of visiting the Zurich Classic at TPC Louisiana. Aside from watching Mike Weir practicing huge flop shots from 30 feet to the hole, John Daly rolling them into the cup, and David Duval cranking long drives a mile off the fairway I also got to watch Retief Gooosen's smooth swing close up.

Almost too close.

It was the Pro-Am day and I was wandering away from the three amateurs playing with David Duval thinking "Money can buy you a ticket to play, but you can't buy class." It's not the first time I've seen amateurs break the rules of etiquette. Dropping cigarettes on the green, improving their lie in the rough (The worst offender was PM Jean Chretien at the Canadian Open with Tiger Woods. At one point Tiger offered him a tee.) But one idiot with David Duval couldn't resist getting on the cell phone (in spite of all the signs saying NO CELL PHONES) and boasting "Yeah, I'm actually playing in the Pro-Am with David Duval."

But as I rounded the corner and headed up the cart path towards the 10th tee I noticed some poor amateur way off the fairway across the cart path and under the trees about to hit the ball straight at me. Oops, that's no amateur, that's Retief Goosen! So I backed out of his way and watched his silky swing pick it off the pine needles and send it over the bunkers and trees right onto the green. These guys are good.

I have a video of Retief on the tee. It's a good image to keep in mind next time I'm setting up to tee off.

Power, determination, technique

When I was coaching my son years ago, primarily in hockey, I would remind him of our mantra "PDT" - power, determination and technique.

We had agreed they were the three elements that were necessary for a high level of performance. "Power" requires building strength and fitness to overcome obstacles and the competition. "Determination" is about attitude and the mental ability to focus and persist in the pursuit of the objectives. "Technique" is mastering the skills required to perform at a high level consistently.

PDT applies very much to the sport of golf and is demonstrated by the winners every weekend. Developing the power, determination and technique applicable to your business will also lead to successes there.

From excellence to perfection

We've already observed that Tiger Woods seems to keep improving. To the dismay of his competitors. Last week he was dissatisfied with his driving and still won the tournament at Torrey Pines by eight strokes. What if he has four good days!?

Tom Peters wrote the business classic "In Search of Excellence" that has inspired a generation of business leaders. Lexus lived up to its slogan "The relentless pursuit of perfection" and Tiger seems to be on the same path.

What if you are a competitor? Are you just playing for second place? Just trying to make a decent living? Of course not. You too want to be the best, a winner one day. Your only choice is to keep chasing the standard bearer. Tiger had Jack Nicklaus. Now we all have Tiger.

The fun is in the pursuit of being the best you can be. That is the challenge that keeps us going.

Momentum

We have the tendency to start a New Year, or even each new month in business, by resetting the numbers back to zero and starting again from there. It can be a discouraging process.

The concept of building momentum and carrying it forward from one period to the next is probably a better approach. In business and in golf it is often the attitude that improves our results more than the aptitude.

Mike Weir had a very good start to the season in Hawaii last week leading on Sunday and finishing a strong fourth. Two early mistakes cost him a few hundred thousand dollars, but still in the serious money for a positive outcome. He agreed with the commentators that his victorious battle one-on-one with Tiger in Montreal followed by a win late last year have given him renewed confidence that he has carried into the new season.

In business we can also use the mental picture of good results in the past to lead us to the same results in the future.

Here's hoping it works for you. Wishing you all the best in business and in golf for 2008.