September 29, 2010
Golf Practice-zine Newsletter for September 2010
Thanks for signing up to receive the September 2010 issue (#25) of the Newsletter. What a season this has been! Tiger Woods a mere sideline act. So who cares!. Good on Jim Furyk for a great year and super FedEx Cup. Now, with the Ryder Cup on deck, let's focus on this pre-eminent tournament for this issue. Paul Azinger published a book on his experience as captain for 2008. 'Cracking the Code', highlights his bold moves and audacious stand as team leader for the Americans. His book is a guide to future captains, players and leaders in all walks of life. He took radical steps to bring the U.S. back from the brink of their sixth Ryder Cup loss in the last seven tries against the Europeans. It is a great read and gives insight into the upcoming outlook for Corey Pavin and his edition of the U.S. side.
Here is the outline of how Azinger achieved his victory:
- Ryder Cup 2008: Zinger's New Approach
- The Pods
- The Picks
- Player Buy-in
- Controlling the Controllables
- Azinger Interview Video
- Ryder Cup 2010: Expectations
Back to Contents
1. Zinger's New Approach
Paul Azinger is a born leader. He is outspoken and not afraid to speak his mind on any issue he feels strongly about. His strong will, evidenced by his successful battle to overcome cancer during his pro career, and solid international experience in the Ryder Cup made him a sure thing for the captaincy at some point.
He sought out the PGA of America but he had an agenda for change before he would accept the leadership role:
- Break team U.S. into 'pods' or teams of four players each
- Group players in the pods according to common 'personality profiles'
- Change player selection to a system that allows 'hottest' plyers to win a place on the team
- Control 'controllable' factors (i.e.,course setup, gallery involvement)
- Trust and empower coaches and players to buy-in and participate in team strategy
- Communicate what is expected of each player in a effective manner suited to his personality type.
Azinger was surprised when the PGA accepted his preconditions.
I think, too, that other factors played into Azinger's favour. For example, Nick Faldo was pretty dumb in the way he conducted himself as captain. Faldo made the story about him and carried a chip on his shoulder with the way he carried on a grudge with the European Press who were out to get him from day one. The press caught a glimpse of a draft pairings sheet and exposed his blatant lie that it had been created when they replayed the tape. Faldo then made things worse by refusing to answer questions at all and behave like a complete jerk during mandatory press interviews. European players spent half the time covering for Faldo as interviewers peppered them with questions about Faldo's conduct. Faldo became a distraction to his team.
Worse, Faldo's refusal to pick Darren Clarke, a perennial anchor to the Europeans, was a shock to Azinger and the entire U.S. team. Clarke and Lee Westwood have one of the best team records in Ryder Cup history, and Azinger admits it was a huge relief to the Americans not to have to face them.
Third, there was no Tiger Woods. Azinger was spared the obligation to pick Woods since he was recovering from knee surgery and unable to play. If anything, this made Zinger's introduction of the Pod system simpler
Whatever you think about Azinger, when you read his book, you have to admit he had guts to push his strategy onto a system that represented a huge battle to overcome in itself. Breaking the Code illuminates as much about the Ryder Cup as it does about Azinger and his teammates.
For starters, lets look at the overall team concept. Azinger applied a 'Pod' approach he became aware of while watching a documentary on television about U.S. Navy Seals training techniques.
2. The Pods
If you've worked in business or in government -- anywhre with a large HR department -- you've likely run into Myers-Briggs Type Indicators. M-B indicators are used to identify personality traits and behavioral types amongst employees so that HR people can help managers group people into more productive teams or make individuals more productive. Zinger invited Dr. Ron Braund, a licensed therapist and team builder for corporate America, to become part of his team. Dr. Braund's main role was to develop profiles of and identify personality traits of prospective Ryder Cup players in the years leading up to the 2010 Ryder Cup. As the tournament drew closer, Braund and Azinger refined their assessments and how best to partner players.
When the selection deadline arrived Zinger, Braund and the coaches grouped players who qualified on points into mini teams or 'Pods' determined by three general categories or personality types as defined by Braund's profiles.
Pod Members
Three pod groups were defined by U.S. team managers:
- A. Agressive: players who took charge of a situation and used a systematic approach to solve problems
- B. Relaters: guys who generated enthusiasm and easily interracted with others; emotional; cheeleader types
- C. Supportive: solid, stable; seldom rattled when the pressure is on; never too high or too low.
The make-up of the pods is shown in the table below:
| Pod | Player | Pick |
|---|---|---|
| A | Phil Mickelsen | |
| A | Anthony Kim | Hunter Mahan |
| A | Justin Leonard | |
| B | Stewart Cink | |
| B | Ben Curtis | Chad Campbell |
| B | Steve Stricker | |
| C | Jim Furyk | C | Kenny Perry | J.B. Holmes |
| C | Boo Weekley |
Face it, this chart could only be a guide to Azinger and his coaches. Zinger admits in the book that on any given day, with players this good, any pair of players could beat any other pairing on any given day. But at this high level and with this kind of pressure, Zinger was looking for any advantage. If a guy played better with a certain player or type or player, Azinger was trying to make it so he, as coach, could help him gain that edge. The chart was a difference-maker.
3. The Picks
The chart breaks the pods out clearly. The column on the right reflect the picks -- the players on the team who did not make it on points but were add-ins at the discretion of the coach. Even though Azinger gained a huge concession in delaying the picks and the number of picks, he went even further.
He knew he had to sell the players on the pod concept. The first nine guys were sold and so were his coaches. Azinger shines as a communicator in my opinion. Golf is known for its conservative culture. Zinger's changes were pretty radical and out of the blue. Players might go for the concept in the name of team spirit, but that doesn't mean they've gone beyond the point as anything but a B.S. factor.
To take the concept further, Zinger said to the nine point-leaders that, now that they knew their groups, they were to conduct themselves accordingly. They, not he, would make the discretionary picks to make up the twelve team members of the 2008 Ryder Cup. He gave each pod a short list of names to draw from ( a limited list because the coaching staff had determined these were appropriate personality types for the respective pods). Each pod would pick a fourth member based on what they determined was the best fit to enable them to win the Ryder Cup. Limited freedom, yes, but unprecedented discretion for any Ryder Cup on either team. The pods deliberated independently and announced their three picks to Azinger and he accepted them without exception.
The picks:
- Steve Stricker (consensus pick)
- Hunter Mahan,
- Chad Campbell and
- J.B. Holmes
Mahan, Campbell and Holmes were welcome players but Azinger admitted that he would not have picked them himself if left alone to do so. Steve Stricker was such a consensus pick that Azinger took that choice on behalf of the team. He delegated player selection to the pods and took responsibility for accepting the result. He was accountable as captain but the players took ownership of their pods and the team bonds grew stronger as a result. This was a brilliang team building move by a cagey captain.
If there was a theme that guided Azinger's thinking, it was, "Relationships Trump Assets". The strategy of the past was to pair players based on the strengths in each players game. Match big hitters with good wedge players, for example. The new strategy added the factor of similar personality types. Complementary abilities matter, but performance is likely to be better if players as people, with similar personality styles, values and backgrounds, are able to adapt in their relationship to a team member that is compatible to themselves. Similar personality types are more likely to bond as teammates, communicate better, adapt better in competitive situations and empathize better with one another under the heat and stress of Ryder Cup competiton.
The best example I can think of as a bad pairing is when Phil Mickelsen and Tiger were paired together (2004, by Hal Sutton). They were awful and it looked like they hated one another. Their personalities could not be more different.
4. Player Buy-in
Look at the table. Kenny Perry dedicated is whole year toward making and playing on the Ryder Cup team. The venue at Valhalla in Kentucky was a course on his home turf. Boo Weekley as another 'good 'ol Southern boy' meant that motivation was sky high at tournament time. Picking J.B. Holmes, another native Kentuckian was a match made in heaven for the Pod. Jim Furyk had mentioned to Azinger before he was a guarnteed pick, that he hoped he could get paired with somebody who could 'bomb it' off the tee got his wish too.
Beyond picks, the Pods were self-contained to determine practice pairings, team strategy (such as who's ball to play in Foursomes, pairings in Fourball and Foursomes). The players were granted and welcomed ownership of the whole Pod concept. Team strategy and motivation was spread around. Azinger and the coaches coordinated the action, made final decisions , took care of administrative details and overall team organization.
A high degree of team involvement and player participation in every aspect of the competition guaranteed a huge level of motivation and high team morale. Azinger and his coaches had the players up for the matches, there was no doubt.
The only remaining details were those that framed the competition as a whole. What Azinger called the 'controllables' played another key part in the U.S. victory at Valhalla.
5. Controlling the Controllables
Practice Schedules
The Europeans were granted only two days to practice (Monday & Tuesday) before the matches. Azinger made sure that the greens were not mowed and ran at about six on the stimpmeter, about half what they would run at during the tournamnet.Course Setup
Every captain of the host team has the opportunity to work with course Superintendents to determine the conditions on the field of play. Valhalla was no different. Azinger left no stone unturned when addressing this aspect of the tournament.
When J.B.Holmes remarked that a limb of a tree on a par five might be in his way when driving long, Azinger phoned the Superintendent and the branch was cut down.
During alternate shot competition, Azinger guessed that the Europeans would have their long hitters tee off first on the even holes. So, he instructed the ground crew to have the tees moved up on the even holes and back on the odd holes. On the second hole, for example, the tee was moved up 80 yards ahead of where it had been placed during the practice rounds.
Landing areas on fairways were adjusted according to how far U.S. players could hit it. Tees were set so that well-struck balls by U.S. long-hitters would carry most of the trouble. Rough along the fairways was cut into two tiers. The first tier was just one-inch high to favour U.S. players who, as good iron players, could control fliers from this short cut to the greens.
The Fans
The Americans did everything they could to encourage vocal fan support. They made 10,000 lapel pins with the U.S. flag and Ryder Cup logo. Players were instructed to sign autographs, make lots of direct eye contact and hand out pins to as many fans as possible leading up to the competion. Embrace the crowd. The fans were their "thirteenth man". They even had a public pep rally on the Thursday night before competition started and players passed out T-shirts with "13th Man" printed on them.
Azinger's results speak for themselves. A home field victory was a much-needed tonic for the Americans who are now two out of the last seven Ryder cups. It will be interesting to see the approach taken by Corey Pavin as he is passed the torch with Azinger's improved pick allocation and delayed selectioin timing. What strategy toward team building will Pavin take. Tiger is back, thanks to fan, sponsor and peer pressure no doubt. We will see soon how this drama plays out for Ryder Cup 2010.
6. Azinger Ryder Cup Interview
Paul Azinger discusses his Ryder Cup experience in an interview at Hillerich & Bradsby Co., which owns Louisville Slugger. Azinger promotes Bionic Golf Gloves and was there to speak about his Ryder Cup experience to H&B employees:
If you have trouble viewing this embedded video, visit the Bionic Gloves website for direct access.
7. Ryder Cup 2010: Expectations
My expectations for the Ryder Cup in Wales, 2010 are as follows:
- European Team inherent advantage is in the nature of their tour. Players are often paired by nationality. Witness Seve and Olazabal over the years; Poulter-Rose, McDowell-McIlroy are other examples. Europeans play more match play events and have dominated the World Cup. In 2010 they have the brothers Molinari (Eduardo and Francesco) who are reigning World Cup champions to runners-up McIlroy and McDowell. Their bonding is out of the box and requires no engineering by team captains. The European Tour is much more collegial as players socialize and even travel together between tournaments. In the U.S. the tendency is to be individualistic. Tiger is cloistered and remote. Everybody travels by private jet.
- Corey Pavin is old school. Expect pairings to be similar to 2008 but based more on player game attributes. Pavin will depend on player emotion and patriotic pride to counter the European crowd. On paper, Europeans are stronger but we'll see how the singles play out. Singles will tell the tale.
- Tiger is the big unknown. Already the press has played on his personal difficulties and are dredging up remarks McIlroy (stupidly) brought up about being eager to face Woods based on the way he was playing before the FedEx playoffs ended. Woods has not looked like he wanted to be anywhere near a golf course since being picked by Pavin. Now, McIlroy's remarks are something he can focus on. Just what Europe needs, a fired-up Woods; motivated to humiliate a key EU player in singles -- another Stephen Ames wannabee. This is just what Woods needs.
- Why did Montgomery leave Justin Rose off the team? Rose has had a great year; he was second-leading point-getter for Europe in 2008 at 3-1-0? Instead he takes Padraig Harrington who has changed his swing and disappeared from leaderboards all over the world. Not a good decision, but Harrington is great when focused.
- Hunter Mahan should be a solid pick for Pavin's squad. He was the point leader in 2008 and is a very solid ball-striker.
Conclusion: European Victory. The Europeans are just too strong plus their home field advantage should bring the win. They have more major winners, better team chemistry and better players.