Reaching in 2

Some people play golf, others just watch it and many do both. I haven't played in nearly 30 years but watch it pretty religiously every weekend. Over time you get to know the tendencies of certain players, certain courses...even certain commentators on the TV networks. I won't name names like Gary McCord or Johnny Miller, though.

Ordinary pro tournaments cover a four day period (usually Thursday through Sunday) and feature a field of roughly 150 entrants.

Thursdays are about not only trying to get off to a good start, but more importantly feeling out how the course is playing relative to the weather conditions. Fridays are all about staying above the cut line, as the field is reduced to about half its original size after the day's play based on cumulative score, and certainly nobody wants to go home at this point. Saturdays are known as "Moving Day", because it's all about moving up the leader board...or moving down if the fates are against you. Sundays are a fight to the finish...posting a 72 hole score and getting to the safety of the clubhouse, leaving the pressure on everyone still on the golf course to try to beat you. And then they get on a plane and do it all over again the following Thursday.

The more you watch golf, the more you appreciate its similarities to business. It requires patience, determination and a degree of risk taking. Talent helps too. But having the intestinal fortitude to take risks and ultimately bear responsibility for those risks...is what sets the money leaders apart from the also-rans.

A typical par-72 professional course is comprised of at least four par-3 holes, at least four par-5 holes and the remaining holes all par-4. Par-3's are designed such that the player can reach the putting green in a single shot from the tee. Par-4's are longer and require two shots to reach. Par-5's are even longer and often require three shots to reach the green. Regardless of which par, if a professional hits accurate shots of reasonable distance, he or she should have an attempt to sink a put for birdie (one under par). Birdies, and the avoidance of bogeys (one over par) are what make paydays possible.

Ask any golfer, be they professional or weekend duffer, and they'll tell you that par-5 holes afford the best opportunity for birdie, even though they are longest. That's because extra distance can often be had if you're willing to roll the dice with your accuracy and try to reach the green in two shots using longer distance clubs. Which means if you can keep your tee shot in the fairway and land the second shot on the green, you could even have a putt for eagle (two under par), and certainly a much better shot at birdie assuming you can get your eagle putt close enough. Cash in on the par-5's consistently and odds are you'll be cashing a nice paycheck on Sunday night (or Monday morning when the bank opens).

But risk is still risk. Slice or pull your tee shot and you could end up in the woods, or worse yet...out of bounds. Go a little wayward with your approach shot while trying to reach in two, and you could miss the green altogether, land in a sand trap or worse yet...a water hazard. A misfire on either of your first two shots could mean shooting well OVER par instead, and it could take you several holes if not the rest of the 18 hole round to make those shots up against the rest of the field. Assuming you make them up at all. Countless contenders have fallen from the leader board only to never make it back, thanks to a single shot gone wrong...and it snowballed from there.

In business, we don't always get as many par-5's as we'd like. Which is why we need to seize them when we can. Because if we play conservatively and take 3 shots to reach the green on a competitive opportunity, no doubt other players in the field may go another route and pass us. Most of our work days are made up of par-3's and par-4's, where we have little margin for error and have to play for par most of the time. Our birdie putt attempts are usually long and low percentage. Par scores keep the lights on, but they don't help us grow. So it's critical to take advantage of the par-5's and birdie whenever possible.

It won't always go our way though, so our business skills have to include weathering the storm of criticism for hooking a long tee shot into the woods when we could have played it safe with a shorter club. Not to mention how to shoot ourselves out of a jam in order to save par or escape with only a bogey. Damage control is an art form and it can save a career...or a company. Or more likely, a customer relationship.

Having a backup plan...or in golf terms...knowing how to navigate the rough or punch one back into play, is an indispensable skill. I saw a LinkedIn post a while back from some allegedly famous know-it-all millennial who claimed that if you had a backup plan, you were obviously planning to fail. Word on the street is that she failed anyway. But the fact is, Stuff Happens. The wind changes, you get a bad bounce in the fairway, or your ball doesn't grab the putting green like it's supposed to and rolls off into a bunker. Some of it's your fault and some ain't. Suck it up, buttercup.

Prior to the November elections, it seemed as though the USA was in the late stages of its great round of golf...as least as far as being the world's superpower was concerned. In a blog post, I referred to it as America's par-5 16th hole, the last real birdie opportunity on the course. Would the voters play it safe...lay up short of the green on their second shot...and elect the established politician to continue the previous President's agenda? Or would they swing for the fences to reach the green in two...and elect the businessman with no political experience?

As it turns out, they pulled out the longer club, rolled the dice and swung as hard as they could. The shot appeared to be going wayward for the longest time, but straightened out while in the air...got a couple of fortuitous bounces and managed to land on the front of the green in two shots. Supporters breathed a sigh of relief while the rest booed in protest and stormed the green, gouging it up and leaving divots in their wake.

The next four years will be all about lining up the eagle put, getting it as close as possible and ultimately sinking the birdie putt this country desperately needs. Unlike a pro golfer who is afforded a hush from the crowd, President Trump will have to fight through an incessant stream of cat calls and hecklers...even an occasional streaker running across the putting surface...while he studies the contours of the green and calculates the exact speed and trajectory of his next shot. All this while trying to avoid the divots left by his detractors.

We need this par-5 to end well. Anything less than a birdie here and it is likely the USA falls from the top of the leader board. And this time it's more than just money or FedEx Cup points that are at stake here. I'd suggest we stay outside the ropes, shut off the camera phones, keep quiet and let the man concentrate. He's putting for all of us now.