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Planning the Off-Season at Sugarbush
Every golfer knows the feeling. The round is rolling along, the ball is in play, and then you reach a stretch where the fairways tighten and the birdie chances thin out. That’s when planning matters most. You don’t wait until you’re in trouble to make a decision. You play ahead. At Sugarbush, the calendar works…
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Learning To Spin A Chip Shot
About 25 years ago, I was struggling on the Asian Tour. I had Q-School coming up in a week and was grinding on the chipping green. I grew up in the Midwest, and I thought I was a good chipper—until I got to Malaysia and Thailand. The native grass there had broad leaves and loose…
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Operational Flow: Lessons from the Sugarbush Kitchen
When I first stepped into the kitchen at Sugarbush Golf Club, I didn’t just look at what we were serving. I looked at how we were serving it. Running a restaurant inside a golf club means more than turning out good food. It means keeping pace with tee times, serving members who expect both speed…
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Two-Month Check-In
Two Months, 52 Posts, and Still Swinging I started this blog on June 28 with one quiet story about burnt toast, tempo, and the power of small things. At the time, I didn’t know if I could keep up the rhythm. Now, just two months later, I’ve written 52 articles. By the end of August,…
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How a Stormy Afternoon (and Spaghetti) Started My Culinary Journey
It was almost 20 years ago. I was a struggling mini-tour player, grinding through events out in Phoenix, Arizona. My game wasn’t in a good place. Every round seemed to bring more frustration than progress, and the pressure of trying to make it wore me down. Back then, the only thing that brought me any…
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How a Better Fish Fry Helped Us Honor Tradition and Improve Service
When Tradition Meets Throughput When I first came on board at one operation I managed, one thing caught me off guard. There was no Friday fish fry during Lent. For a place built on Midwest hospitality, that didn’t feel right.So I asked why. The answer wasn’t about taste.It was about flow. The Constraint No One…
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How the Smash Burger Helped Our Kitchen Breathe
When One Menu Item Controls the Whole Kitchen When I first stepped into the kitchen at one operation I managed, I did what I always do when inheriting a system. Watch closely.Ask questions.Listen for the pinch points. It didn’t take long to find one. Nearly 8 out of every 10 orders were for a single…
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Solid Putting: The Basics of a Scoring Artist
Summary:Putting isn’t just about reading greens or choosing the right line. It begins with something more basic: hitting the putt solid. Without solid contact, even the best read putt can fool you. In this lesson, I explain why consistency starts with strike, how technology has changed our feedback, and one simple way to train yourself…
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A Different Kind of Leadership Moment
Trust, gratitude, and a team that showed up when it mattered most What Happened This past weekend, we faced one of those situations you don’t see coming. A serious septic backup disrupted the clubhouse. Twice.Once on Saturday, again on Sunday, right in the middle of peak traffic. Dining rooms were full.Events were in motion.Stress was…
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A Cheesesteak Smashed Burger, the Sugarbush Way
Sometimes, inspiration doesn’t come from within—it comes from a YouTube short. I was watching a clip the other night of a burger spot in NYC layering up a cheesesteak smashed burger. It was over-the-top, loud, and looked like the kind of thing you eat with both hands and a few napkins. But more than that,…
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Habits in the Golf Swing and Life
Habits don’t disappear. They wait. In golf, as in life, the same patterns have a way of resurfacing when we stop paying attention. In this post, I reflect on lessons from my mini-tour days, Xander’s swing correction, and a simple journaling practice that helped me see the game—and myself—with more clarity. The Swing Change That…
