Yesterday I broke with an old pattern I had developed during half a century of work (if you include college, where I did work hard) and took the day off. I had always wondered what it would be like to attend a major golf tournament and I was fortunate enough to get 2 free passes to the U.S. Open practice rounds plus a parking permit. So I invited a friend and we had a ball, so to speak.
I won’t bother telling various highlights, other than that I love to see people being really competent at what they’re doing and so even the bad shots looked good to me. It reminded me of what a friend at the OMB said when we were talking about sports. He said that many people, when they see a major league baseball player flub a catch, comment on the player’s incompetence. My friend’s reaction, by contrast, was, “Damn, he’s good.”
Ok, two highlights:
(1) On the fabled 18th hole at Pebble Beach, Jim Furyk got to the green, on the left side, which, apparently, is the correct side to get to, in 2 strokes.
(2) When my friend and I were walking along, we saw a guy come along in a golf cart and he slowed down to the point where my friend could ask what hole we were beside. He answered (and I’ve forgotten his answer.) Another guy walking near us said, “Hey, slugger.” Slugger answered with a friendly “hey” and proceeded along in his cart. I asked the guy who had called him “Slugger” if the person was well known. He looked at me with eyes wide and said, “You need to watch more golf.” It turns out that Slugger was the legendary Slugger White. Here’s a great short video.
The whole thing got me thinking about my relationship with golf, which was entirely on the supply side. I posted here about some of the lessons I learned early in life.
READER COMMENTS
MarkW
Jun 13 2019 at 9:57am
Looking at your life lessons — the value of golf balls then vs now makes for an interesting economic comparison. 50 cents in 1959 is the equivalent of over $4 today. I recently bought a box of 15 news balls for $10 (not top of the line but not a no-name brand either). And I see you can buy 100 used balls on eBay for $20 with free shipping. That’s 20 cents a ball delivered free. A price difference of about 10x compared to 50 cents in 1959. When out playing golf now, it’s not unusual now to find abandoned balls not only in the woods or deep rough but even on the fairway. I assume they’re from somebody who hooked or sliced a shot from another hole and didn’t bother get it.
David Henderson
Jun 13 2019 at 10:36am
Great “relative price drives behavior” story, Mark. Thanks. Pun intended.
Mark Z
Jun 13 2019 at 7:20pm
I’m surprised you didn’t try to come up with an economic analogy for Jim Furyk’s swing. Maybe a reference to Austrian theory and how improvements are made heuristically rather than through planned optimization? Theory would predict his rather heterodox swing wouldn’t be good for much else but swatting flies, and yet he’s one of the best golfers in the world.
David Henderson
Jun 13 2019 at 9:01pm
You wouldn’t be surprised if you knew how little I know about golf. I knew nothing about Furyk’s swing. But I gather he didn’t do well today.
Mark Z
Jun 14 2019 at 4:44am
Well he has one of the most unconventional swings around, moves his club around in his back swing in a way that stands out compared to the rigidity of other pro golfers, and would bother a high school golf coach, but it works for him. I grew in playing golf so it looks weird to me, but then I’ll never shoot a 58 with my swing.
David Seltzer
Jun 14 2019 at 2:02pm
“I love to see people being really competent at what they’re doing and so even the bad shots looked good to me.”
Watching people do something better than anything I’ll ever do is so inspirational. Some years ago, I got to watch Muhammad Ali train in London. He was as perfect an athlete who ever boxed. His jab was faster than Sugar Ray Robinson’s and his defense was impenetrable. The second example, Gene Fama teaching finance. The board was covered with mathematics. By the end of class he was smiling nearly to the point of laughter. I’ve never seen a person get so much joy from teaching.
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