Wealth… Health… and Santas

Wealth... Health... and Santas

Greetings Golfers,

You know you’re getting old, when 30 years ago feels like yesterday.

 
So … 30 years ago … my wife and I went with her family for a Christmas shopping and eating (and drinking) weekend in Chicago.

 
The highlight was walking down Michigan Ave and running into about 50 Santas. We thought it was really funny (yes - we had been drinking).

 
On a more sober note … I brought along Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations” book. I don’t sleep well - especially in hotels - so that’s when I read.

 
At the time … I was really impressed by the book … and I thought that Smith made a moral case for his ideas of wealth and Capitalism.

 
Well … 30 years later … I’m not so sure. I think he equates wealth too much with money. Hear me out:

 
What if I declared that we had a record year at DRGC because we made record money? But … in order to do that … we skimped on fertilizing the greens and fairways so that they were unhealthy … and that we used-up the maintenance equipment .. and the Clubhouse was falling apart … and Staff quit and hated us.

 
In that case … we are not wealthy … we’re poor.

 
Health is wealth.

 
Health matters if you’re going to keep living. If the goal is to have a pot of money then die … then money is the only goal.

 
But … what about the continuation of life? If all those scenarios I said about DRGC had happened … what happens next year?

 
When people run their lives or businesses or countries for money only … everything becomes short-term at the expense of everything else.

 
This is not the fault of Capitalism. This is the fault of seeing money as the goal instead of seeing money as a tool to reach goals.

 
Just read an article about Scottie Scheffler … here’s the title “Although it’s unlikely, Scottie Scheffler would love to stop being asked about money” … here’s the LINK

 
Here’s the first sentence of the article “However, like other golfers, most of the questions Scheffler has faced over this span have little to do with what’s going on inside the ropes.”

 
What’s going on? I want to know about what’s going on inside the ropes. I’m interested in what the best golfer in the world has to say about playing golf. I have a million questions for him about golf. I don’t care about his money.

 
We’ve gotten too into quantifying everything. Quantifying is a tool. Years ago, one of my former assistants was interview in a magazine when he became a Head Pro. He said that one of my mantras to him was “Know your numbers”.

 
Yes. Know your numbers. Know your number when you’re hitting into the green. But that knowledge is a tool for doing what matters.

 
Adam Smith put too much emphasis on numbers. I’ve read that he had almost zero common sense. The stories are incredible. But I’m not surprised. It’s easy to sit on the sidelines and judge things … and then nitpick. Numbers are an easy tool to use to nitpick success … and overlook the rest of the picture.

 
Well … I hope I have another 30 years to keep learning … and doing. And I hope our country starts looking at wealth in a healthier way.

 
Wealth without health doesn’t last.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com