Sirius XM Radio host and New York Times best selling author Matt Adams has assembled a compendium of inspiring golf quotes–and there are many. One reason for their quotability might be because they apply so well to the game of life.
Here are a few:
“I think that to score in golf is a matter of confidence, if you think you cannot do it, then there is no chance that you will.” — Sir Henry Cotton, Open Champion 1934, 1937, 1948, Ryder Cup Captain 1947 and 1953.
“Don’t hurry, don’t worry. You are only here for a short visit, so don’t forget to stop and smell the roses.” –Walter Hagen, U.S. Open Champion 1914, 1919, Open Champion 1922, 1924, 1928, 1929, PGA Champion, 1921, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927.
“Golf reflects the cycle of life. No matter what you shoot, the next day you have to go back to the first tee and begin all over again and make yourself into something.” — Peter Jacobsen, U.S. Senior Open Champion 2004, Senior Players Champion 2005.
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“It would be much better if she and her ilk stayed at home, got themselves prettied up and waited for the phone to ring.”
Fortunately for us Babe Didrikson Zaharias did not listen to sportswriter Joe Williams but the quote does capture the state of affairs for women athletes in the early 20th Century.
Named one of the Top 10 athletes of the 20th Century, Babe Didrikson Zaharias’s accomplishments are legendary.
-Two track and field Gold Medals and one Silver Medal (1932 Los Angeles Olympics)
-All-American status in basketball
-Expert diver, roller-skater, and bowler
-The first (and currently only) woman in history to make the cut in a regular PGA Tour event
(Oh, and she was an expert seamstress making many of the clothes she wore, including her golfing outfits.)
In this biography of Babe’s life, author Don Van Natta Jr. brings to life the extraordinary life and sporting career of golf’s first female superstar.
A founding member of the LPGA, Babe (named after Babe Ruth) won more consecutive tournaments than any golfer in history. But near the peak of her fame she was diagnosed with colon cancer. Never one to give up, a month after undergoing surgery Babe won her 10th and final major with a U.S. Women’s Open championship.
“Wonder Girl is a wonderful read about a woman who charged through life shattering stereotypes on the playing fields and off. As a boy I followed her amazing career in the sports pages as she changed the face of golf and the Olympics but now, thanks to Don Van Natta, I have the complete story of this authentically American trail blazer who was so much more than just a gifted athlete.” (Tom Brokaw )
You might say that golf runs in Annie’s blood. She had uncles who were captains of the Notre Dame and Georgetown golf teams and began her golf career as a tournament official for the Women’s Professional Golf Tour out of Palo Alto, Calif. She was the 5th woman in California to obtain her PGA Class A status–today only 500 women out of 22,000 PGA professionals hold Class A status.
A teacher for more than 22 years, Annie has compiled a number of stories and anecdotes into a little book she calls The Golf Letters. It’s available in print as well as the Kindle ebook format.
Annie shares a few of her thoughts about teaching and golf.
1. Do you ever tell your students stories from Golf Letters? Which ones get the most laughs or get people to think the most?
Yes, all the time. I find that the student needs to have levity brought to the lesson as this enhances the learning. Sometimes they tell me an anecdote, and I say, “Oh, that little story will be in my next book.” They like that idea. The student is my best source for everything I learn while teaching. Here are a couple of short anecdotes that are included in the book:
Playing Through A friend of mine was playing with his regular group of buddies. They came upon a foursome of ladies on a par 3. The ladies were not moving along expeditiously. They hit their tee shots on the par 3 and were chatting up a storm. There was some extra room between the ladies and the group ahead who were already on the next hole. The women waved the group of buddies up and said, “Why don’t you play through here?”
The buddies agreed and they hit their shots and began walking to the green. They noticed the ladies were now hurrying up which they thought a bit odd. However, they continued on up to the green. They arrived at the green, only to see the ladies there ahead of them and hitting their shots.
The buddies exclaimed, “We thought you wanted us to play through?”
The ladies looked at them, smiled and exclaimed, “Yes, we did, but we got here first!”
Golf and the Pyramids The pro shop, the driving range, the clubs, the bags, the balls and many things about golf can be intimidating to someone who hasn’t been educated on its procedures. I have a good friend who runs programs for Girl Scouts in Montana. She recounted her first foray to the driving range and her first time at a very nice resort. All the range balls were piled pyramid style, as they sometimes are for presentation and appearances only.
My friend told me she thought the pyramids were very nice and she began to hit. She figured it was going to take forever to hit all those balls. Yes, she thought she had to hit every last ball in the pyramid. No one told her otherwise.
So, she proceeded to do just that. She had to hit fast, though, because it was a warm-up for her game. She was to tee off in 15 minutes. She did manage to hit the whole pyramid, but obviously, was worn out for her round of golf!
2. What do you talk about in your speaking engagements?
I usually gear my speaking engagements to the audience, just like I do with my golf lessons. I start by telling a few of The Golf Letters, Tee Tales anecdotes and go on from there. There is usually a universal common theme found in the anecdotes, whether it be humor or fear or another human emotion that golf seems to bring out. I elaborate on this particular thought and give suggestions and tips on how to overcome obstacles. I find that stories are the true teachers. In a way, these are parables. They bring forth a point without hitting the reader/golfer/audience member over the head with it. Humor seems to allow the sensory system a chance to not “try” so hard. After all, golf is a difficult game! Here is an example from my book that tries to make a point, subtly:
Smith Barney I was teaching a group class on using the woods. The driving range was full of other golfers practicing. I purposely said a bit loudly, “Now I am going to tell you the secret of golf.” I wanted all the golfers on the range to hear, because it was like that Smith Barney commercial where everyone stops what they are doing and cups their hand to their ear so they can hear the secret. As soon as I saw the other golfers who were not in the group perk up to listen, I whispered to each student in the group very quietly so it appeared that they were, indeed, receiving the secret to golf! What I whispered was, “There is no secret!” I wish I had a camera to record some of the looks I received. They were forlorn looks. No secret for them, at least not that day!
3. You use the word recovery when talking about golf and life, why?
This book is about both golf and life. And, they are nearly synonymous, don’t you think? Life. Golf. Both 4 letters to start off with, and then, you add in a defined playing field that has a start and an end, and yes, life comes to mind. As does golf. And, in the end, the day by day of golf and life boils down to one word: RECOVERY. We are always recovering in some form from our last swing, our last encounter, etc. This is true whether it is a positive outcome or a not so good outcome.
4. You’ve worked with men, women and children. Can you describe your favorite type of student?
As an instructor, the politically correct thing to say is that I don’t have a favorite type of student. However, being human, I can tell you that after giving thousands of golf lessons over 22 years, the student that is the easiest to work with is one that has truly defined their golf goals and wants to have FUN in the process of meeting these goals. They know, inherently, that golf is a GAME and that there are many parts to it, aside from the scoring alone! Through the years, I have really learned a lot from teaching kids. They know how to PLAY! As adults, most of us turn into critics and we are always criticizing ourselves for the various outcomes we produce on the golf course. Not so with the kids. They are out there naturally having fun and being “present” to their experience. In a way, this is the “state” that I attempt to allow my students to enter into as they take their lesson and continue to play the game of golf.
5. You were recently appointed to The PGA National Instruction Committee. What does this committee do and what is your role?
Yes, thank you. This has been an honor. Allen Wronowski, current PGA of America President, appointed me to this committee. It is a collection of PGA leaders called together to discuss the current state of golf instruction in America. We met this past March in St. Louis and will meet again in the Fall in Maryland. The concern is that more people are leaving the game of golf and we, as an industry, need to do better to retain them. What we are discovering is that we need to make golf fun, allow it to take less time, and become more welcoming to the non-traditional golfer, as well as get more creative in our programming.
6. People are playing less golf and fewer are entering the game. As a tenured teacher, what is your perspective on making the game of golf more accessible?
I am in agreement. And, at the National Instruction Committee Meeting, we all agreed, based on some extensive research, that we need somewhat of a paradigm shift in order for golf to improve its numbers. However, my take on this is also that not everyone should really play the game. It is a hard game. We can’t force people to play. They need to have a passion for it. We need to keep the players we have and invite more women and juniors into the game. We need to make the game more family friendly. More programs may not be the answer. Some of the complaints are that golf takes too long, is too difficult, and is too expensive. I believe all of this to be true in a lot of cases. I think we need to promote more playing of 3, 6, 9, 12 or 15 holes in addition to 18 holes. This would not have to interfere with the regular golfer’s game, but maybe people should be able to “pay per hole” in golf. This might help. And, maybe we need to involve more technology on courses using smart phones to entice the younger golfers. Their lives are spent texting, using apps, and on Facebook and Twitter. In a lot of cases, kids are not comfortable outdoors. They find it boring. Hard to believe, but if we somehow included some technology, this might entice them.
But, remember, golf is not for everyone, just like knitting or bowling is not for everyone! Let’s encourage people to have fun and the passion will follow. We can’t coerce people to come play golf. Maybe the game just grew too fast and now we are seeing a correction. Time will tell. But, in the meantime, my love and zest for the game will never fade! Thank you!
“Utley is kind of an aw-shucks pro who doesn’t seem to offer much until you put a club in his hand, and then suddenly he becomes Stephen Hawking.”
-Golf Digest
If you’re looking for help with your short game (and whom amoung us should not be focused here?) you might want to tap into Utley’s latest thinking. It’s a 30-day program focused on grip, stance and posture.
Our guest interview today is with Tony Rosa, author of two books aimed squarely at today’s youth and written to address the kinds of moral challenges that many of us faced when we were young. The Schoolboy and Two for Tee will introduce a young person to good role models which is often as important as buying them a new driver. It’s also less expensive and the lessons last longer.
1. Who is your target audience?
I hope my stories are good enough to draw wide appeal beyond any specific, targeted group. With the concise and straight-forward writing, the books don’t ramble on for an unnecessary epic length. So far, the main characters have been teenage boys, and so some would say that’s the target audience. But I know golfers of all ages enjoy the books. I’ve even had teenage girls and grandmothers praising the stories. I try not to get too preachy, but I’m hopeful young readers will come away with something. Also, since the characters are all interrelated, I’m trying to convey the old motto of trying to understand others by looking at the world from their perspective.
2. Why junior golf?
Like most writers, I’d have to admit the subject became apparent to me through the creative process. I asked myself: What was the first time you ever felt like you were on your own? I immediately thought about my mother dropping me off at the municipal golf course to play in a junior golf tournament. I signed-up on my own and played with a group of strangers and could remember how alone, yet, how different things were going to be for me after I had proved I could do something on my own. That experience and many that followed provided the inspiration for my first golf story, The Schoolboy.
3. How are your books different than other golf fiction?
I’ve read a number of junior golf books, some good, and some that made me wince. For me, most of the golf fiction out there follows a formulaic plot that would have an underdog character winning a tournament at the end of the story. For starters, having never won a golf tournament, I decided to stay away from that. My experience comes from being around the game and hopefully having an ability to identify those peripheral things that teach us lessons. Growing up, I was urged to play in a number of junior golf tournaments and I always came home empty-handed. I attempt to make my golf stories a testament that all of life’s victories are not on display in the trophy case.
4. Are you an advocate for junior golf?
Absolutely. As a kid, I benefited from the generosity of those in the golf community and benefited greatly from participating in tournaments and summers at golf camp. Like my characters in the books, you don’t realize it until you have a chance to look back. But, make no mistake, junior golf is not an easy sport nor is it something for the faint of heart. It is hours out in the hot summer sun carrying a bag over miles of terrain and hacking at piles of practice balls. It does come with a financial cost as well, although with the efforts of some absolutely wonderful junior golf programs, I am convinced that any kid that shows real initiative and drive for the game, that his or her financial situation would not hold them back.
5. What about the life lessons learned in golf. Would you mind explaining what that means?
You can’t watch a tournament on television without catching at least one commercial extolling the life lessons learned in golf; I think that’s true of most sports. In golf, there’s no where to hide from your mistakes. You can’t blame a teammate, you can’t blame the umpire or referee for making a bad call, and you generally can’t claim you were oversized. In golf, you can’t play defense and everyone matches up against the same layout and conditions using the same regulated equipment. There’s generally no home team crowd or cheering squads giving you a lift and the biggest challenges are both physical and mental. I could go on forever just laying the groundwork for what golf is all about, but it certainly provides an arena for you to learn about yourself and your approach to life. Some of these are celebrated in my golf stories.
6. I recollect two widely reported stories in 2010 involving young golfers and integrity. One guy purposely took a bad shot to help another player advance and the second fellow called a violation on himself.
Golf has a long history of teaching young folks. The two examples of integrity you mention are part of the multitude of good acts that happen everyday on the golf course. As a writer, I wanted to look at the other side of the coin. I thought it would be interesting to dig for the root causes and create characters that ponder and often decide to ignore the rules.
In my second novel, “Two for Tee”, Chad and Buzzy learn lessons and sometimes forget what they’ve been taught. They play together in a junior golf tournament where their foursome condones a lack of integrity and they react to the situation at polar opposites. Why would a character cheat in golf the first place? I realized their reasons would be the same as if they decided to cheat off the golf course. When it comes to young folks, ignorance, defiance, and a need to conform were at the top of my list. In “Two for Tee”, I also thought it was important to show how fruitless or how insignificant the result can be when someone decides to bend the rules.
7. Are we missing an opportunity to generate heightened interest with our youth and amateur players if we allow professional golfers to complete in the 2016 Olympics?
First off, I think it’s great for golf. But the way your question is framed, I can’t help but think about how the basketball “Dream Team” exploded onto the Olympic scene. I know it’s all about TV ratings, selling tickets, and endorsement deals, but the coverage of the NBA superstars at the Olympics overshadowed the truly “amateur” athletes at the games. The lesser-knowns worked their whole lives in their sport with the ultimate goal being the representation of their country at the Olympic Games. Meanwhile, the TV cameras were focused on every move made by the well-known members of the “Dream Team”. I’m not knocking the superstar professionals, but it appeared that their participation in the Olympics was little more than a friendly diversion from their regular season goals. As proof, I recall how the best players dropped off the team as the novelty wore off.
As for golf, there is an international competition called the World Cup of Golf. It appears to me that the best U.S. golfers haven’t been interested in competing at this event for a very long time. There are numerous team competitions for both professionals and amateurs with the most popular being the Ryder Cup and the President’s Cup. I recall some recently rumored rumblings about some professionals wanting a cut of the money to appear in these matches.
So, for the young and the amateur wanting to compete for their country in the Olympics, I offer two pieces of advice. Practice and work hard to become one of the best golfers in your country. Or, just wait about twenty years for the spotlight to fade and the professionals to decide the novelty of the Olympics is not part of their regular goals.
If golf is about business, then Beman is the “patron saint”. Once described as The Most Powerful Person in Golf, former PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman’s contributions to today’s professional circuit are legendary: introduction of The Player’s Championship, the Tournament Players Club course network, Tour-logoed clothing and all the deal-making you would expect there to be to create today’s PGA Tour.
Deane Beman has had more influence on professional golf than any man in history. Among sports commissioners, he rates ahead of Landis and Rozelle. They built it; he invented it. If you care about the game, you’ll want to read this book. –Jerry Tarde, Editor-in-Chief of Golf Digest
Without Deane Beman, there wouldn’t be a PGA Tour, a Players Championship, or a TPC Sawgrass as we know it. This is an inside read on how it all came together where the bodies are buried, so to speak. This isn’t just Deane’s memoirs; the reporting and writing of Adam Schupak make it a history lesson about a pioneer and game changer. –Tim Rosaforte, Golf World/Golf Digest, Golf Channel and NBC Sports
Veteran instructors Nilsson and Marriott apply their collective wisdom to indentify ten essential skills for playing and practicing golf. Dubbed VISION54 it is a fresh approach to honing a complete game.
“The VISION54 approach is far more than just pure golf technique, it allows an individual to unlock their true potential by opening their mind and believing anything is possible to achieve.” – David Leadbetter, David Leadbetter Golf Academy
Pia Nilsson is perhaps best known as Annika Sorenstam’s coach. She is a PGA of Sweden Class A teaching professional. Lynn Marriott’s notable students include LPGA players Suzann Pettersen, Ai Miyazato, Brittany Lang, Minea Blomqvist. Lynn is a Class A PGA teaching professional.
Sirius XM Radio host and New York Times best selling author Matt Adams has assembled a compendium of inspiring golf quotes–and there are many. One reason for their quotability might be because they apply so well to the game of life.
You might say that golf runs in Annie’s blood. She had uncles who were captains of the Notre Dame and Georgetown golf teams and began her golf career as a tournament official for the Women’s Professional Golf Tour out of Palo Alto, Calif. She was the 5th woman in California to obtain her PGA Class A status–today only 500 women out of 22,000 PGA professionals hold Class A status.
Our guest interview today is with Tony Rosa, author of two books aimed squarely at today’s youth and written to address the kinds of moral challenges that many of us faced when we were young. 
