Top Four Golf Myths – From Golf Canada

The June 2009 issue of Golf Canada, published by the Royal Canadian Golf Association, included a wonderful, brief article by I.J. Schecter. The article focused on the “Top Four Golf Myths.”

Here are a few key quotes from the article.

1) Don’t Think

Here’s the problem: For most recreational golfers, it’s everything we can do just to stay focused on the ball ... Ummm... you better think.

This relates to my blog post from yesterday, specifically item 5) from yesterday, “Tomorrow will come anyway. Live and fully enjoy here and now.”

2) Drive for show, putt for dough.

If you can’t get a driver to cooperate with you, your putts are going to have as much consequence as Paris Hilton.

Great quote!

This too relates to my blog post from yesterday, specifically item 4), “Focus on a solution.”

3) The clothes make the man (or woman).

Accessorize as much as you like, but this is one sport that leaves everyone equally naked.

Another great quote!

4) You hit it as far as you think.

On most shots between the tee and green, most golfers chronically under-select clubs.

How true it is!

You can find the entire article here, on page 38. I’ve also included an image of the article below.

Positivity Blog Post – Overcome Your Worries [While Golfing]

I follow (subscribe to actually) a blog known as The Positivity Blog. The title pretty much tells the whole story.

One of their recent entries was titled “How to Overcome Your Worries: 5 Timeless Thoughts from the last 2500 Years.” As the title suggests, of course, the gist of the article was how to focus on the positive and be action-oriented, rather than sitting and worrying about life. Good stuff.

Being a golfer as well as a business guy, as I read the article, I immediately contemplated how these Thoughts would apply to both the business world AND the game of golf.

You can find the entire article here. I urge you to read it, as it includes many great tips on how to move from worry to action.

In the meantime, here are the 5 Timeless Thoughts, some quotes from the article, and some GOLF RELATED THOUGHTS.

1) 80-90 percent of what you fear will happen never really come into reality.

“When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened.” -Winston Churchill

This is a big one but one that is easy to forget about. Most things you fear will happen never happen. They are just monsters in your own mind. And if they happen then they will most often not be as painful or bad as you expected. Worrying is most often just a waste of time.

GOLF RELATED THOUGHTS:

Golf is such a fantastic analogy and microcosm for life. While golfing, quite often your ball simply goes where you place your focus. If you focus on the fairway, your ball lands softly therein. If you focus on the water left, or the forest right, your ball makes its way there.

So in some ways, yes, 80-90 percent of your fears will come to fruition, if you focus on your fears.

But there’s another way to look at it. All of you have stood up on the tee, worried about the water left, and then conjured up all sorts of fears and negative emotions related to the possibility of hitting it into the drink.
- You have a great round going and one bad shot will ruin it.
- Your partners will laugh at you.
- You’ll make a big number on that hole.
- There’s water left on the next two holes as well.
- Why do you even play this game?
- Blah blah blah!

And what happens if you do happen to get your ball wet? Well, you drop, hit your approach up onto the green, two-putt, take your bogie and move on. Big deal!

A round of golf is full of shots that don’t turn out perfectly. And yet, golf goes on, life goes on, and you make the very best of your next shot. And 80-90 percent of your fears do not come true.

2) Don’t mountains out of molehills.

“Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.” -Arthur Somers Roche

It’s very easy to fall into the habit of making mountains out of molehills. You think and think about a small problem until it becomes something that you believe may ruin your life.

GOLF RELATED THOUGHTS:

Once again, this is what most golfers do with hazards, be they bunkers, waste areas, rough, water, etc. Hazards are not simply physical in nature. They’re primary effect is mental.

Golfers look at a tee shot with a couple of bunkers in play and somehow mentally those bunkers come to dominate the vista.

In reality, their ball’s landing area is 90 percent fairway, with a bit of rough way off on either side, and a couple of sand bunkers. But in many golfers’ minds, the landing area is 90 percent hazard and 10 percent fairway.

3) Let go of that familiarity and certainty.

”People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them.” -George Bernard Shaw

Whatever you have been doing perhaps for decades feels familiar and comfortable. Even if it may be something destructive as worrying. Taking a leap of faith and going into the unknown, making a change that may turn out to be positive, can feel scarier and more uncomfortable than what you are used to. Even if what you are used to is worse in the long run.
...
One great tip that I have learned for making it easier to let go is to first accept it. Then to let it go. When you accept something instead of resisting it you stop feeding more energy into your problem and making it even bigger. A bit counterintuitive.

GOLF RELATED THOUGHTS:

So you, like many golfers, slice the ball with your driver. This great burden seems to weigh you down. On the first tee you announce to everyone that you’re a slicer so you’ll apologize up front for some time spent off to the right in search of your ball. Before each round and even throughout each round, you constantly lament and think about your dreaded slice.

Well, perhaps you’re more attached to your slice than it is to you.

Hit your 3-wood off the tee. Leave your driver in the parking lot. Between rounds learn to hook the ball. Then to draw the ball. It’s really not that difficult! And in the meantime, simply let it go. Stop thinking about it. You’ll be amazed at the results!

4) Focus on a solution.

“There is a great difference between worry and concern. A worried person sees a problem, and a concerned person solves a problem.” -Harold Stephen

To move out of worry it’s very helpful to just start moving and taking action to solve what you are concerned about.

GOLF RELATED THOUGHTS:

So, back to that first tee. You have water left and a forest right. You can already feel the tension throughout your arms, shoulders and chest. And you’re still putting your shoes on in the locker room!

Stop worrying and start focusing on a solution. Accept your reality for what it is. Those two hazards, left and right, have you frazzled. Fine. Accept that. And move on to devising your solution. What are you going to do about it?

You could consider hitting an iron off the tee. You could commit to reorienting your thoughts, your focus, and your intention towards the vast fairway. You could decide to hit a low-trajectory, hooded shot which is more likely avoid the dangers. You could commit to hitting a draw up the right side, or a fade up the left.

The point is, accept your reality, whatever it may be. Stop fighting it. And move on to a solution!

5) Tomorrow will come anyway. Live and fully enjoy here and now.

“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” -Leo F. Buscaglia

It may sometimes seem that by worrying we can less the sorrow of tomorrow. But it never works. It only sucks the life out of today and this moment.

To be able to live better today and to be able to take that action to prevent the possible sorrow it’s important to learn to live in the present moment. Because it’s there that you can do things in the best possible way with your focus fully on what you are doing.

GOLF RELATED THOUGHTS:

If you’re worrying about the outcome of a shot you’ve not yet hit, that means your attention is not focused on your current shot.

Even the very best golfers in the world focus all of their attention, all of their skills and abilities on the current shot. They do this because they realize that they’re not perfect, they’re not superhuman. They understand that the execution of the current shot demands ALL of their attention, no matter how good they may be.

So how is it that you feel you can execute the current shot with only a fraction of your attention? (Because the rest of your attention is focused on worrying about the unknown future.) Are you so much better than the world’s premiere golfers that you feel you can execute shots while your mind wanders elsewhere?

Focus on the here and now, on the current shot!

Golden Triangle Angelnet a Golden Opportunity for Local Entrepreneurs

It was bound to happen eventually. It seems I caused a little confusion with a comment I posted on Facebook the other day. I posted the following on Randall Howard’s Facebook page:

A full house is great. I think Angelnet is well positioned to succeed where others have, well, failed. Happy to help if I can.

I was referring, of course, to the recently launched Golden Triangle Angelnet, an organization that brings together active angel investors to listen to pitches by companies seeking seed capital. A friend and colleague, Rob Douglas is the driving force, along with his partner Carl Furtado (also a good friend and colleague). Randall had noted that the previous evening Angelnet had attracted a full house of angel investors, which is a wonderful thing.

So, to be clear, yes, I absolutely support and encourage the work of Angelnet, and also all similar organizations both locally and around the globe. Clearly I’m very passionate about the creation of new companies and the capital sometimes required to do so. I think angel groups, of all forms, can play a tremendous role in facilitating deal flow.

Of course, I’ve been heavily involved in raising seed capital for many different companies, including my own. I’ve also presented to other angel groups, supported other investors as they did the same, researched different angel group models around the globe, and met the principals within several other angel groups. Thus, I’ve formed some opinions.

Two of the largest, and often unspoken, challenges when raising seed capital relate to human relations. First, people invest in people. They invest in people that they know, that they respect, that they trust, and that they like. And second, groups often fall into a trap known as “group think,” whereby one or two outspoken individuals lead the opinions of all others in the group.

So yes, people invest in people. And yet, 95% of those seeking seed capital spend 95% of their time talking about the business and opportunity, and about 5% of their time talking about the people, themselves. Rarely does a potential angel investor get to know much more than surface, boiler plate information about the entrepreneur(s).

In some ways, during a presentation to angel investors, it’s like what Marshall McLuhan said, “the medium is the message.” The presenter, and how he/she conducts his/herself, is the message.

Ideas are a dime a dozen down at the local corner store. Execution is everything. We’ve all heard and understand that most investors will take a mediocre idea executed by a stellar team long before they’d consider a stellar idea executed by a mediocre team.

Several years ago, as I mentored the WLU MBA students that drafted the original business plan for the Accelerator Centre at UW, I met with a gentleman that ran an angel group somewhere in Scandinavia. Unfortunately, I’ve lost touch with him and cannot remember his name. However, what struck me about their model was that it seemed far more like a dating service than a traditional dog-and-pony show, presentation style event.

In this Scandinavian model, they truly focused on helping potential investors get to know the entrepreneurs behind the candidate companies. Social time was extensive. They all sat down over a nice meal. The focus was on human relationships, more so than simply the business idea.

The second major often unspoken challenge is group think. I witnessed this repeatedly within the now-defunct Toronto Angel Group. The company presentation had barely ended, and yet one or two highly negative individuals began dominating the discourse. Others who may have had a very positive opinion on the investment opportunity felt pressured and bullied, and thus kept quiet.

I’ve also witnessed this group think phenomena in other asynchronous presentation settings, such as when a company presents to one particular investor candidate, and then he/she ventures off to discuss they idea with his/her advisors. The advisor meetings are generally one-on-one, with the angel, rather than in a group setting. Nevertheless, group think prevails.

The angel will contact the first advisor and discuss the concept. Invariably, he/she will then mention the opinion of the first advisor to the second advisor, often swaying him/her. The third advisor is further swayed by the opinions of the first two, and so on, and so forth.

Yesterday I met with Rob Douglas and of course Angelnet came up in our conversation. I was VERY encouraged and happy to learn that Rob and his team are well aware of these two angel group challenges and have plans in place to mitigate the effects.

So once again, to clarify, I am delighted that the Golden Triangle Angelnet now exists, and I hope and expect that it will help with seed capital deal flow. I’m very passionate about this topic, and remain committed to helping in any way possible.

A History of Golf Illustrated by Sir Henry Cotton

I recently read A History of Golf Illustrated by the venerable Sir Henry Cotton, published in 1975. Sam Snead wrote the forward.

As student of our great game, of course I enjoy learning both the history and folklore. Sir Henry, being such a giant in golf, relates many firsthand accounts of his interactions with other greats in the game throughout the mid-20th century.

But he doesn’t start nor stop there. Sir Henry traverses golf from its very humble and hardly recognizable beginnings, through the development of new technologies (such as balls, clubs and footwear), continuing through the first and second world wards, they massive expansion of competitive golf in the post-war years, right up to the date of writing, 1975.

The latter chapters focus on women in golf, the caddie, and technique.

I’m not sure how many golf history books have been published over the years. The total must be close to one thousand or beyond. I’ve only read a few, but thoroughly enjoyed A History of Golf Illustrated.

You can learn more about Sir Henry Cotton on the Golf Europe website here. I’ve also included the biography below.

Sir Henry Cotton (1907 - 1987)

Born Cheshire, England, Cotton is remembered as one of Britain's golf luminaries this century.

Cotton came from an upper middle class background and went to public school . Already this gives us some insight into the man in terms of the social hierarchy and class divisions which existed within British society at the time. At school, he was banned from playing cricket as a punishment and instead started to playing golf. He was a natural and turned professional upon leaving school at 17.

He was the top British golfer of his time and went on to win the Open 3 times. Indeed he was the only British golfer to win between 1914 and 1989. He also played in four Ryder Cup tournaments. Cotton, like Walter Hagen, brought to the game flamboyance and style, "The best is always good enough for me". Indeed he was well known for his penchant for champagne, caviar and tailored clothing.

Cotton found the establishment's poor treatment of professionals unacceptable and campaigned against it. He always insisted on honorary membership of whichever club he was associated with. He also helped to set up the Golf Foundation. However, it is the way in which he conducted himself which helped more than anything else to earn professionals the respect they deserved.

When World War II broke out, he was given a commission in the Royal Air Force. During that time he helped to organise a series of exhibition matches with other professionals in aid of the Red Cross. This earned him an M.B.E. After the war, Cotton retired and became a journalist, writer and course designer. He designed the Penia course in the Algarve, Portugal and spent his last years living there.

In recognition of his contribution to British golf, the R&A awarded him honorary membership in 1968. A few days before he died he was awarded a knighthood.

“Why” Has Its Place in Adding Context and Understanding

We’re all familiar with the famous George Bernard Shaw quote: “You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?”

While I truly love this quote, and believe in all it advocates, there remains arguably much to learn in the question “Why?” For why seeks context. Why seeks clarity. Why offers some homage to the decisions of the past. Why seeks first to understand.

As Stephen Covey wrote, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”

Why simply seeks some knowledge of the past. As we continue the quote-fest herein, Dan Sullivan noted that “All progress begins by telling the truth.”

My interest in history, in the past, most certainly grows as I get older. And yet, the way I employ my knowledge of the past – to whatever extent said knowledge exists – also continues to evolve.

There’s the school of thought that follows George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." But another school of thought advocates our ability to make the future whatever we so choose, and by continued focus on the past, we actually increase our chances of repeating it. I tend towards the latter of these two opposing views.

So why all this focus on why? Well, because I had an astounding “why” experience a few days ago. I’ll get back to that later. For now, if we employ “how” for a moment, how might why help us all in our daily lives?

The answer, of course, lies above: context, clarity, understanding, the truth.

For example, when someone does something that disappoints you, angers you, frustrates you, etc., do you ask why he/she/they did so? Do you truly ask why, in an effort to understand?

When someone teaches you something, like a new skill, do you ask why it’s best to perform the skill the way that is taught?

Now to our golf games, where why can be quite powerful!

Do you ask why you don’t consistently hit the ball straight? Do you ask why you don’t consistently make all putts within five feet? When you take a lesson and are taught a new skill, do you ask why?

Don’t get me wrong, I continue to advocate the power of “how” questions as well, such as “How do I learn to hit the ball straight consistently?” But why helps us with context, and knowledge of the past.

I noted above that I recently enjoyed an astounding “why” experience. My father was notorious for not wanting to leave tips. This was most pronounced, and from my perspective also embarrassing, in restaurants. He’d often begrudgingly leave a quarter or two after a meal of $50 or $100. I would often lag behind and discreetly leave more, only to invariably be caught by his watchful eye.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I picked up some of his old Boy Scout books, dusted them off, and asked my mother if I might bring a few back to my Kitchener home to peruse. She agreed of course, and so on Tuesday evening of this week my two boys and I flipped through a couple of these mid-1940’s Boy Scout books.

And what did we find on page 174 of Scouting for Boys, written by Lord Baden-Powell himself, published by C. Arthur Pearson Ltd., in and around 1940?

Then “tips” are a very bad thing.
Wherever you go, people want to be “tipped” for doing the slightest thing which they ought to do out of common good feeling. A scout will never accept a “tip,” even if it is offered him, unless it is to pay for work done. It is often difficult to refuse, but for a scout it is easy. He has only to say, “Thank you very much, but I am a scout, and our rules don’t allow us to accept anything for doing a good turn.”
“Tips” put you on a wrong footing with everyone.
You cannot work in a friendly way with a man if you are thinking how much “tip” you are going to get out of him, or he is thinking how much he’ll have to “tip” you. And all scout’s work for another ought to be done in a friendly way.
I have had a number of letters of admiration for the scouts in many parts of the country on account of their doing good acts and then declining to be tipped for them. I am very glad to hear it, scouts.
Of course, proper pay that is earned by your works in another thing, and you will be right to accept it.

So there you have it. The point is not whether one agrees with the answer to why, but rather the context and understanding offered when one asks “why.”

Latest Parmasters Kitchener-Waterloo Newsletter

The following update went out, via email, to the many members, future members, shareholders and stakeholders who are involved in Parmasters Kitchener-Waterloo. We look forward to opening your incredible indoor golf training center soon!


Parmasters Kitchener-Waterloo Update

Hello Fellow Golfers,

We’ve made significant progress in the development of Parmasters Kitchener-Waterloo since our last update and we’re excited to share the news.

As noted previously, one of our largest investors has taken longer – much longer – than anticipated to free up the capital for the investment in your golf training center. This investor has once again made fantastic progress since our last update! We’re more confident than ever that we’re not far from construction, finally.

In August, the Waterloo Region Record reported – and we were already well aware – that TriOS College had signed lease for space within Market Square. The leased space does indeed involve some of the space we were intending to occupy. However, clearly there remains a large amount of vacant floor space within the same general area in Market Square. The only implication for Parmasters KW involves a reconfiguration of our space plan to fit a different footprint.

Even as our largest committed investor makes great progress, we’ve opened discussions with several groups across the Waterloo Region and the province to raise the remaining capital from other sources. We’ve worked hard to develop new and innovative strategies to quickly locate and engage with appropriate potential investors. These new approaches are developing very positively.

We made the very simple decision to temporarily close our Temporary Event Center (TEC) at Market Square. We did so in late September. This decision will ease the financial burden on our firm during this period, as we raise the final capital required to build your golf training center. The TEC will re-open when the timing is perfect.

Once again, we urge you to send your fellow golfers to the Parmasters Kitchener-Waterloo website – www.parmastersgolf.com/kitchener-waterloo . All interested golfers should register for these regular email updates.

Stephen Southern
Franchise Owner, Parmasters Kitchener-Waterloo and Southern Ontario
www.parmastersgolf.com/kitchener-waterloo
shsouthern.blogspot.com
twitter.com/shsouthern


Golf Tip
By Scott Hazledine , PGA Master Professional
Parmasters Co Founder & Director of Instruction

How Dynamic Balancing Helps You Control Your Ball Movement

The two most obvious things to look at when trying to control your ball movement are your grip and release position. You can experiment with a grip change by pronating your left h and , and by supinating your right h and . That is, move your left and right h and s to your right. If you play left h and ed simply reverse this procedure. FYI - I prefer not to experiment with grip changes.

Instead my preference is to experiment with the balance of the golf club. By this I mean when you have completed your swing, point the shaft towards the target. This is how Moe Norman did it. The position of the club head will show your release action by its "vertical" angle from heel to toe to the target.

Here is what you do. Take a full, fast, 100% swing and follow through the entire way. Now bring the club head down pointing to the target, i.e., the shaft is almost horizontal to the ground. Look down the club shaft, and you'll see the relationship between the club face and your target. Imagine that the club head is the large h and on the face of a clock with the twelve o'clock position being skyward, and six o'clock being towards the ground. The toe of the club will be pointing either straight up to the twelve o'clock position or to the right or left of twelve o'clock. More often than not, the toe will be pointing at twelve o'clock or more towards one o'clock if you consistently hit fades.

To hit a draw your balance of the club head must be left of twelve o'clock and towards eleven o'clock, or even left of eleven o'clock. Hold your position with the shaft pointing at the target, and move the club head to a point left of its original position. Now step up to the ball without changing your grip and swing normally. The balance of the golf club will feel quite different in your h and s because the club face will be more closed to your swing path. Your normal swing and release will yield a draw or even a hook. Remember to swing and release as you normally do. The only change you've made is the balance of the club through impact and separation.

You achieve the desired ball flight by turning the balance more and more to the left. Once this happens you will need to adjust your alignment accordingly. I suggest you accomplish this by aligning your shoulders to the right of the target by the amount you want to draw the ball.

If you attempt to manipulate the club by turning your h and s over faster - unless you have world class timing and tempo - it will lead to disaster. I advocate going to a simple single axis grip so you can release the golf club the same way every time, and the club will square up without pronation and supination of your forearms and h and s. This is the simplest and most accurate way to control spin. The balancing of the golf club will produce controlled fades, draws, and dead straight ball flight at will. My stroke video does an admirable job of explaining and demonstrating this principle.

When you watch professionals on TV observe their finish and you'll notice that their club balance is normally at twelve o'clock or slightly towards one. With a few practice sessions the balance of the golf club will not distract you as it does at first.

My nickname when I was playing competitively, "Dial a Shot," comes from my ability to control spin. Balancing the club to a point on the imaginary clock before I swing allows me to release the golf club the same way every time and lets the dynamics of the golf club's balance through impact and separation control spin and ball movement.

Best regards,
Scott Hazledine,
PGA Master Professional
Co Founder & Director of Instruction


Recent Blog Entries

By Stephen Southern
Franchise Owner, Parmasters Kitchener-Waterloo and Southern Ontario
shsouthern.blogspot.com
twitter.com/shsouthern

Parmasters’s First Virtual Franchise Owners Conference
Brief Article on Southwest Greens at Parmasters
Kavelman-Fonn Foundation Backs Canadian Amateur Golf Championships
“Stare at the target and glance at the ball”
Parmasters KW and Others Active on Twitter


Golf Quote or Joke

“It's easy to see golf not as a game at all but as some whey-faced, nineteenth-century Presbyterian minister's fever dream of exorcism achieved through ritual and self-mortification.” -Bruce McCall

Source: The Quote Garden ( www.quotegarden.com

The Match by Mark Frost Promises a Great Tale

I started this blog entry earlier this morning but had to leave the office for a breakfast meeting. I met with the principal and a director of a very unique, young company that aspires to compete amongst industry giants. What a fantastic and enviable challenge! We’ll see how this plays out over the next 5-20 years.

Last night I was perusing some golf magazines that have piled up, including Golf Canada – published by our very own Royal Canadian Golf Association – from June of this year. On page 32 I stumbled across a brief review of a book titled The Match. The book was written by Mark Frost, and the review was written by James McCarten.

The Match apparently focuses on “a little-known Cypress Point money tilt – fairway titans Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson [(two towering Texan golf giants)] versus amateur sensations Ken Venturi and Harvie Ward!” It sounds like a fascinating and entertaining read!

You can find the review online here. I’ve also included two images below that show McCarten’s entire review from the Golf Canada website.





On this past Thanksgiving weekend I took my Mother out for a lengthy Sunday afternoon drive – it was a cloudy but remarkable day – to wander until we were lost and view the changing leaf colours. The images below were taken during this jaunt.

Golf Approved for 2016 Olympics

I’m looking forward to the Oktoberfest 5k run on Sunday. I’ve only completed a few 5ks so far this summer, and this will likely be the last for the season. Hopefully I can better my previous best time of some 25 minutes and change.

This past Thanksgiving Monday saw the first and only staging of the famed Peace Street Classic. A great old friend and I, both of us having grown up on Peace Street, get together periodically to contest for the Classic trophy. The historical results are noted towards the bottom of the right hand column of this blog. Despite my clear losing record, and after an extensive frost delay, I did manage to squeak out a 2 and 1 victory at Mill Run, near Uxbridge, ON.

The golf world recently enjoyed some very big news, as our grand game ... er ... I mean our grand sport has been brought into the summer Olympic fold. The world’s best will compete for Olympic gold starting in 2016 in Rio De Janeiro. Golf News Now provided great coverage available here, and included inline below.


Golf Is Approved for 2016 Olympics

October 9, 2009 by GNN

Golf has received final approval from the International Olympic Committee for play starting in 2016 in Rio De Janeiro.

“We are elated that the IOC membership has accepted golf as an Olympic sport and look forward to seeing the world’s best golfers compete for gold at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro,” said Ty Votaw, Executive Director of the International Golf Federation Olympic Golf Committee.

“We thank the IOC for its support, and also congratulate rugby sevens for its inclusion in the 2016 Games,” said Votaw in a release.
Golf and rugby sevens were recommended for the Olympic Programme by the IOC Executive Board in August following an extensive review process involving seven sports that were vying to be added to the 2016 Olympic Games.

Although they emerged as the finalists, both sports still required final approval on Friday in Copenhagen by a majority of votes cast by the members of the IOC.

“We strongly believed that golf deserved to be added to the Olympic program and felt that we presented a compelling case to the IOC,” Votaw said.

“We have received unprecedented support from international golf organizations throughout this process, as well as from the world’s top-ranked men and women players, which was critical to our success. We also stressed the universal nature of golf, with 60 million people playing the sport in more than 120 countries.”

Based on player feedback, the IGF has proposed a format of 72-hole individual stroke play for both men and women. In case of a tie for either first, second or third place, a three-hole playoff is recommended to determine the medal winner(s).

The IGF also has recommended an Olympic field of 60 players for the men’s and women’s competitions, using the World Golf Rankings as a method of determining eligibility.

The top-15 world-ranked players would be eligible for the Olympics, regardless of the number of players from a given country.

Beyond the top-15, players would be eligible based on the world rankings, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top-15.

Current world rankings from both the men’s and women’s games show that at least 30 countries would be represented in both the men’s and women’s competitions, from all continents, under this proposal.

Spectradigital Corporation Media Release

I’m a director of Spectradigital Corporation. We put out an announcement recently. You can find it here, and also included in line below. This company has such incredible potential!


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 28, 2009

Contact Information
Ed King
970 207 1112

SpectraDigital Announces HIV/AIDS Initiative with a Brazilian partner

Fort Collins, CO –- SpectraDigital, Inc. of Fort Collins and SpectraDigital Corporation of Canada announced the publication in the September issue of Nature Biotechnology (http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v27/n9/full/nbt0909-806.html) of an article summarizing a partnership model with FK Biotec of Porto Alegre, Brazil (http://www.fkbiotec.com.br), to undertake a joint AIDS/HIV project. FK Biotec is a biotechnology company based in Brazil.

In addition to this Brazilian project, SpectraDigital also has a joint project with Dr. Lawrence Goodridge of CSU that is developing a platform technology for rapid detection of food-borne pathogens. SpectraDigital is also developing a project with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on TB diagnostics, and is seeking research partnerships in Africa on a malaria diagnostic project.

Ed King, President of SpectraDigital, Inc. remarked that the, “Nature Biotechnology article aptly recognizes the efforts of both SpectraDigital and FK Biotec to move forward projects that promise to deliver much needed testing services that are affordable and innovative. The ability to foster partnerships such as these is important in our economic times. Our solutions are aimed at bringing low cost diagnostic tests to resource-challenged areas and low margin industries like agriculture”.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've just returned from our annual post-Thanksgiving feast walk. It's become a family tradition, in an effort to help us all feel better following a celebratory and glutinous meal.

There's nothing quite like the enjoyment of a turkey supper with all the fixin's, as they're called!

All the very best to you and yours on this Thanksgiving weekend, and always thereafter.

These wise words by Goethe seem quite fitting:

We must not hope to be mowers,
And to gather the ripe gold ears,
Unless we have first been sowers
And watered the furrows with tears.
It is not just as we take it,
This mystical world of ours,
Life's field will yield as we make it
A harvest of thorns or of flowers.
–Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Parmasters’s Virtual Conference a Wrap

We wrapped up our virtual Parmasters franchise owners conference yesterday afternoon. As always, the group embodies an abundance of enthusiasm, drive, determination and commitment, along with a great mix of expertise, experience and innovation, of course.

In one of the less complex sessions we spoke about time management and effectiveness. One colleague shared the term “switch-tasking.” He didn’t coin the term, and he noted where he’d heard it, but the origin escapes me at the moment. The premise behind this term is quite simply that for the most part, humans are not capable of “multi-tasking.”

(The term multi-tasking originated in the computing world, when computers eventually gained the power necessary to perform two or more minor computing functions at the same time.)

The originator of the term switch-tasking argues apparently that we humans rarely achieve true multi-tasking. Rather, we simply switch back and forth from one largely all-consuming task to another. We “switch.” We don’t truly “multi” (even though that’s not a verb).

Of course, examples were given whereby humans can truly multi-task, specifically if one/more of the tasks is so menial as to not require much mental attention and/or capacity.

Another colleague shared he following formula:

(K + S) x A = S

K = Knowledge
S = Skill
A = Action
And “S”, of course, equals Success.

I’ve seen this before, and sometimes it’s tweaked slightly. But the point remains powerful.

May you all increase your knowledge, your skill, or both, and then amplify that with lots of action. Be well!

Parmasters’s First Virtual Franchise Owners Conference

It seems autumn hath arrived in southern Ontario. Whilst this season does offer challenges, adjustments and, in some cases, rude awakenings, it remains one of my favourites. All that’s happening around us at the moment, as much of nature transitions from life and growth to preparation for slumber and dormancy, continually dazzles as a great spectacle of this world.

Once again it’s been a busy period for Parmasters KW and Parmasters Golf Training Centers (our franchisor) as well. We’re in the midst of our first virtual franchise owners conference. We had all considered gathering in Memphis, TN, USA this week, just as we gathered in Las Vegas, NV, USA earlier this year, but schedules did not allow for the travel and the time away from other commitments. These conferences involve colleagues from three continents and several countries.

So, instead, we’re all gathering virtually for several hours of meetings daily. Technologies such as Webex, conference calling, Skype, MSN and the like have helped these meetings run surprisingly smoothly, devoid of but a few technical challenges.

Today we take a much-needed break from the conference, but that simply means a relatively full day of local Parmasters KW meetings. Happily I’ll also be enjoying a nice evening out on the town later.

I have a few different outstanding Parmasters KW items that require my attention. I’ve also been working with a Montreal firm that requires some of my time in the next day or two.

Last night I did some wood working with my youngest son. He’s developed an idea for a rather unique Halloween costume, and so we puttered about in the garage last night designing, cutting, shaping and sanding.

As mentioned last week, my eldest son suffered a couple of minor injuries in his team’s season opener. The finger is healing well, but his hip remains a nagging injury. Apparently he can barely jog, and running full out is simply out of the question at the moment, much to the chagrin of his coach who wants to continue to employ him on both sides of the ball. We were hoping he would play this week, as the opponent is a top-rated team.

For now, I’ll leave with a quote. A lady with whom I went to high school included this on her Facebook page last week, with no attribution. I’m not sure if it’s hers, originally, or not.

“Yesterday I was less. Tomorrow I will be more. Today I will be all that I can BE. Enjoy LIFE!!!”

Attempted Review: Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth

I sit here on this gorgeous fall Saturday in rather a conundrum. You see, I typically dedicate approximately 30 minutes, at most, to each blog entry. That time includes spell checking, including any relevant links, posting, etc. It’s more than just writing time.

Earlier this week I finished reading Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose. So it’s now time to post a brief review of Tolle’s latest offering. Therein lays my conundrum.

I’m not certain it’s possible, within the confines of a blog entry, even if I toss my 30 minute allotment to the wind, to do justice to this tome. And so, how do I convey a few thoughts on this work? Will a “few thoughts” do this book justice? No! Do I possess the literary skills to review this book in any way? I’m not sure.

I’ve leafed through the book again, searching in vain for a few excerpts to which I could point and say there, that’s what A New Earth is all about, and that’s why you should read it. For indeed, you should read it! My search came up dry. There are no such excerpts that possibly even aspire to capture the essence of Tolle’s message. Every word, on every page, is important.

But, enough of my procrastination.

A New Earth will either resonate with you, or it won’t. You’ll either be lost in the first chapter or two, or you’ll get it. And there’s nothing wrong with the former, nor anything particularly inspired in the latter. Put simply, you’ll either find yourself ready for this message, or you won’t.

As may now be rather obvious, I do highly, strongly recommend A New Earth. However, I also recommend that you read The Power of Now first. I believe the reading of A New Earth comes through in a much deeper, more meaningful way if building from the foundations of The Power of Now.

In A New Earth, Tolle expands upon his Power of Now message, taking the reader into a much deeper understanding of the awakened state that he believes is possible for all. Tolle delves into wonderful anecdotes to weave his message into everyday circumstance to which the reader can relate.

As the title may suggest, A New Earth also explores the macrocosm of what may be should enlightenment and consciousness spread throughout mankind. While The Power of Now focused on the individual, the microcosm if you will, A New Earth ventures into the realm of society, our species, and indeed this entire, incredible universe.

So here’s the thing. Read the book! If you find yourself lost, put it down for a while, perhaps a year or more. Then go back to it. Repeat until you no longer find yourself lost, until Tolle’s message resonates with you. Thenceforth, enjoy an awakened life!

Now I shall fire off an email to Tolle urging him to tailor his messages to the great game of golf. I suspect the impact on our enjoyment, and our overall average handicap, would be nothing short of startling.

Football Injuries

I'm sitting in emergency with my eldest son. Looks like his finger is broken. His hip is also bothering him. I'm feeling like the young guy here.

He played football last night and never left the field: tight end on the O line, defensive end on the D line, and also the kick-off and kick-return teams. But maybe now he's paying the price.

For now he's in getting some pictures taken.

Great Tip to Make To-Do Lists More Effective

Thank you for your insightful comment Shelagh. I will adopt this technique, perhaps substituting something like “Yes!” (because it’s brief and easier on my BlackBerry) for “Success!”

This reminds me of yet another favoured quote.

“Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things ... I am tempted to think ... there are no little things.” -Bruce Barton

I was chatting this morning with the Don Smith. He’s the former Athletic Director at Wilfrid Laurier University (one of my alma maters), and also former coach of the WLU golf team. Thank you to a friend for the connection. Don seems like a true Renaissance man, something to which I aspire.

Ontario Golf Magazine, in their fall issue, and also in their September 24, 2009 email newsletter, issued the results of their “popular biennial ranking of the province’s Top 50 layouts.” You can learn more about their ranking here.

Congratulations to Westmount G. & C. C. which made the list, once again, this time in the fourth spot. Any of you lucky enough to play Westmount, whether regularly, periodically, or only once, will most certainly agree that it ranks amongst the nation’s gems.