Episode 357: Focus on What You Need to Do Today with Golf Legend Bobby McIver

Welcome to this episode of the Million Dollar Mastermind.

I'm Larry Weddell. And before we get started, if you.

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Of Million Dollar Mastermind. This afternoon I'm talking with golf coach, legend in the industry, Bobby McKeever. Hello, Bobby.

How you doing, Larry? Good to be with you today.

Yeah. And I just wanted to give everybody a chance to hear from Bobby. His experience of, I think, what, 28 years of coaching, being a pro, a golf pro and coach.

Well, actually, I started in 71, so how about 50? But I have not had a club job since 2000. But, but I still, I've still coached.

Yeah. And now was any of that college or all. Was all that pro?

I graduated from college 1970. Well, actually January 71. And then got in the goth business in the spring of 71.

But coaching, that's club pro. That's, that's, that's pro. And you know, when you got a college job, you're employed whether you're any good or not because, you know, you're on tenure, you know, but when you're a club pro, they're gonna pay you, you know, and so you got to be good. You gotta, they gotta be getting value or they're not gonna keep coming back to you. And you had to know your stuff. And so for that kind of career, the. As a result of that, somewhere along the way you wrote a book of your experiences. And maybe that's a good place for us to start called the Heart of the Game. Did I get that right?

That's right. Coach's Journey. It was an autobiographical.

And talk about what the main point you wanted to get across on that because that's where we want, you know, because the idea, you pick up experience from the golf world, life dealing with people up close and personal on a regular continuing basis and going through the highs and lows with them. And just like any kind of coach or person in management, you're, you know, you want, you want to help them get ahead and you want to help them see things they can't see and think about things a different way and make breakthroughs, you know, and perform up to their potential. And so part of that was behind you writing the heart of the game. And what would you think, like when. What did you have in your mind the main thing you wanted people to get from that?

Well, I Think before we go there, I think that I had a number of my students that kept on me about, Bobby, you need to write a book. And they kept on, and one in particular, and he would very politely say, Mr. McKeever, you need to write your book about how you coach. And so finally I decided to do it. And I wrote about 150 pages. And I realized I was writing an instruction manual. And the only way to make it higher Coach. It had to be autobiographical because I was growing as a coach, I was starting out, and all my players were different, and I couldn't coach anybody the same way. And so the only way I could get to how I coached was to start in my childhood and then go all the way up. If, you know, I wrote the book in 2011, I think, and got published in 2013. And it was. I wanted to be a. Actually a love story. I wanted it to talk about people that influenced me going back to my childhood and coaching tips that I learned from them when I didn't even know it. And. And just, you know, I wanted everybody to get to know my players and people in my life and. And, you know, I didn't want to be about me, though. I just wanted. I didn't take the ego out of it. And it turned out pretty well. You know, I'm very pleased with it.

Well, following this, you know, plus, it gave you the excuse to go in and approach it from a story standpoint. You'll understand them better and you retain them. But what were the thing when you look back? I know when I look back on my early days, there were things where people were telling me, taking an interest in me, you know, putting things in my mind that I didn't realize how powerful they were until 30, 40 years later. When you look back on your formative years, what are some things that you remember that were important to set you off on this track of being such a success in the coaching arena?

Well, that's a good question. I didn't go through college or high school with a career in mind, and I majored in general business at University of Mississippi. And I got out of college. And, you know, golf had always been a passion, but actually, growing up, basketball was more my sport. And I don't know, I just had this interest mainly in helping children and kids and. And once I got going, I just, you know, I've never. I never really had a golf ball as a mentor. But, you know, I just got started and, you know, these little kids, you know, 12 years old, just showed up and And I asked them did they want to be great, you know, good players. And they all said yes. And I said, well, let's don't work. And it started that was in 71 and I think when I was about 24 years old, I think in 71, I was 22 at the time, getting ready to turn 23. A guy at the club asked me to participate in a roundtable discussion that was going to go on about six months about development of human potential. And I didn't even know what that meant, but I accepted and. And it was a six month series of listening to tapes of motivational speaker named Earl Nightingale. And I know from some of the things I've heard through Primerica that you were big on tapes. And this was a real life changer for me, mainly from those tapes is I got, is that attitude is the most important thing and your goals and for people. A person knows what he wants to do and he's passionate about it and internalizes it. And your dreams really can come true. And they did for me. And that was one big part of it.

You talked, you know, you talked about earlier when we were talking earlier, we were talking about, you listen to that thing for like months or weeks or something like that. Now I couldn't do that, you know, I'd blow my brains out, Bobby, if that was me, you know, if I'd had that assignment. Because once I hear something once I just can't or see some movie, I've got friends, I've got friends that are making millions and millions of dollars a year and they can watch the same movie 50 times.

Well, I have my movies that I can watch number of times that just.

Shows different personality type. Because if I had to watch five minutes of something I've already seen, I'm getting up and moving around, I've already seen this story, I gotta move on. But people are different.

I mean this is what we, I got in the thing and this is what we were told to do. Listen to it once a day. Well, actually said, you know, five times, you know, then we'd meet and then discuss it briefly and then talk about the next one. But it's the repetition, repetition, repetition in coaching, you know, is over learning things. And I think that for this course the repetition was very important. And I've seen that in my coaching. You just, you just keep repeating it and over learning things.

Well, that's what you do in coaching. And so what you found one of the. We already heard the phrases, you know, when you even got the 12 year olds like, let's go to work, you know, we got work to do, let's get after it. And then repetition. I've heard nobody, and I've heard it associated with golf, actually. Nobody escapes the repetition. But it's true in anything, you know, to be elite, you're going to be doing those repetitions and keeping that fine edge, developing and maintaining that fine edge. And so you got to any course, you got to be reminded, you know, so you, you gotta have the environment to where these things can come back to you. When you were. One thing you and I talked about was Rory McIlroy and the fact, you know, you see these things played out on television in sports teams, you know, basketball teams, football teams, college pro. And they're interviewing people before and after the game. But after the Ryder cup, the Americans, of course, were fantastic, and the Europeans got trashed and they'd had a good run. So it was kind of humiliating for Rory McIlroy to be the goat. He thought he was the goat of the team. Nobody else really said that, but he was the only one in tears on the European side, the golfer team, and he took it personally. Basically. He took it personally. And then two weeks later, he's winning. He's winning a major tournament, not a major tournament, he's winning a PGA tournament. And obviously he got himself reorganized one way or the other where he could get back on a winning track. And you said you had noticed that he'd made some changes. But it's not what happens to you and how it tears you up is how you respond and talk about your observation on that. Because one of the great things about your experience is you see things playing out in front of you that other people don't see. You see it on television, you see it in interviews, you see it. If we were, if we were to go out to the golf course today and look at a couple people swinging the club, you'd see 50 things that I didn't see, you know, and just because of your experience. And what you'd be seeing would be things in relationship to what's going to work and what needs to be fixed. Talk about, you know, that example or some of these other things that you see playing out in front of you that those instincts, once you get them, and that knowledge is with you forever, it may take you a while to get it, but it really helps you self coach yourself and continue to improve. Hey, listen, there's a lot of information.

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Yep, you're exactly right. You know, I think every one of those players in that Ryder cup, you know, they all had a lot of ability. I think the United States team was actually, you know, they were a little stronger. For the first time in many years, the European tours, the players seem to be much closer. They spend more time in the locker room. And back in the old days, the PGA Tour R. Palmer and Billy Casper and all these stars, they used to pull trailers and, you know, now that players have these, the private jets. But, you know, you can't maintain your edge all the time. And, you know, Roy just wasn't on his game that week, and he wanted to play well. And sometimes trying too hard is the biggest hurdle that you have to face. Shortly after the Earl Nightingale thing about the same year, a good friend of mine who was a good player, a real strong amateur player, said, you got to go get this book. And this was said, he said, it's called the Inner Game of Tennis. It's. And I said, what do you want me to read a tennis book for? He said, it's not about tennis. And what I read was the greatest sports psychology book that's ever been written, is still in print today. It's by Timothy Galway. And I realized then that winning, when players at the level of Ryder cup winning has more to do with the mental side of it than actual physical. And, you know, there's the United States just had a really good week. I mean, those guys played well, and who knows what's going to happen next time. But Roy had a lot of heart and soul in that, and he wanted to play well, and somebody just played better. The guys just played better than he did, and he just showed his emotions. And you made the good observation. A few weeks later, you know, he's playing atop his game. Well, that's not unusual. Somebody played on top of the game one week, and then three weeks later, they can't make the cut. So it happens all the time.

Have you that had to drive you nuts as a coach trying to get players to peak for tournaments? And if they get on a winning streak to keep it going and things like that. And when things just went haywire and, and you couldn't help them or you couldn't help them avoid it, that had to drive you nuts as a coach.

Well, the interesting thing about golf coaches is, you know, I would train my players and get them ready, and I never would go to the tournaments with them, you know. You know, I went to some, but very few because I had to stay at the club and work. But we would practice and, you know, we would practice pretty intensely. And then as we got closer to the tournament, you know, you know, I quit talking to him and I said, yeah, I think we're ready. And, you know, and I even convinced my guys on the day of the practice round to rest, you know, the day before the tournament. I'd say, you guys are ready, y'. All, you'd be better off just to lay around the room or go swimming or something, and y' all are ready to go. And I would tell them that even if their game wasn't that sharp. I don't believe in the last minute stuff. I think it does more harm than good.

And, you know, a guy who had a little bit of success in coaching basketball kind of coached the same way.

John Wooden, yeah, he's one of my heroes. And I started reading his stuff about the same time. And, you know, I figured if I wanted to learn how to coach, that I'd to try to read as much as I could. And I think I read a lot about a lot of good coaches, but there's more material out there, even today, you know, from John Wooden. And I was along the same lines about the practice, John. The Wooden practices were short, intense, and they. Everything was real fast, actually faster than doing the games, you know, running plays. And he would say, that's good, but do it a little quicker. And he always said quickness is more important than anything. But he and his assistant coaches would spend two and a half hours planning a one and a half hour practice so they knew what they were trying to accomplish out there. And they ended their practice because Wooden put such an emphasis on them making good grades. And, you know, one and a half hour practice session in athletics is, that's long enough. I don't know what Nick Saban does in Alabama, but I doubt there's issues that these practices run four or five hours long could be wrong.

I remembered Dean Smith up in North Carolina, his practices well, and Roy Williams is basically his protege that followed him same way. Players would come in and there'd be a sheet Right there by their locker. And the whole practice would be planned down to the minute, highly organized on that practice, because that's where they made or break their season right there.

You know, another one that Lou Holtz was good, and I was really big on goals, even when children, 12 years old. What do you want to accomplish? Let's write them down. And what do you think about trying to qualify for the Masters when you're, you know, out of college or something? You know, made them think bigger. But Lou Holtz used to ask his teams, you know, you know, what do y' all want to accomplish this year? You know, I just need. Give me five things you want to accomplish. And team would tell him. And then every day for practice, he said, okay, guys, these are your goals. And he read them to him and he said, let's just go out there and work on them. And I don't know, they did it every day, but the story, you know, was printed that way. But anyway, he let the players decide what they wanted to do, and he just reminded them what their goals were. He's a good coach, great motivator.

What would you pass on to people? People listen to this, and they're, you know, they're all wondering, what do I need to do? What do I need to do? What can I learn to move up as fast as possible when I say things like that? When people come to you in golf, the same with the same kind of thing, you know, they got to listen with you, and they want to learn how to win the Masters, have to have that lesson, you know, and, yeah, you have. You have to communicate certain things. And so what were. What would. What do you. What would you say to the people? They're listening to this. They want to get better. They want to move up. They want to know what to do. You've been talking to people about this for a lifetime. Well, and different from different walks of life and with different ability levels, too.

So actually, I didn't think it was hard. I think I just naturally inclined, you know, to want to help. I like to get these kids before the teenage hormones kicked in. And I often said that I wouldn't make a good college coach because I'd end up probably, you know. You know, they too frustrating to deal with. They've gotten too headstrong. But I just didn't. I didn't find coaching hard. I found that it came pretty easy to me. And I was doing the same thing. I was reminding myself every day that, you know, that I wanted to try to get a little Better at this. And that's another thing is you just want these kids to know and even as a coach you just like to learn and try to get, see if you can't get a little better every day. I think one thing any coach needs to be cognizant of is it's real easy to overcoach. And I think we talked about that. You know, you can talk too much when you're coaching. You need to give them one or two things to work on and then just that'd be it. And they don't need to, you know, coach in their ear all the time. It's knew what they wanted to do and I would tell them, you know, I didn't have to stand over them. Golf's a game you can they learn self coaching pretty early. Football, basketball, different. But you know, golf is, his approach to, Golf's a little different.

Really. It's how well you can self coach yourself is how you're going to turn out in life. You're not going to have somebody go through life right at your side, whispering your ear, going through all the situations you're going to go through. You're going to have, you know, in parts of your life, you're going to have that kind of person around. But by and large you got to work these things out yourself. You know, your focus on what you got to do today. You know, you have the long term focus, write down your goals, what you want to accomplish out of the thing. But then what are we going to do today? And then try and get a little bit better today, you know, see what we can improve today. You know, we can get better at something today. So let's see if what we can get better work at a little bit today. And that gives you the framework to evaluate what you're doing and what's happening to you, you know, so you can make those adjustments.

You're exactly right. You know, and part of this is we're human beings and we have emotions and even coaches and players, they have to learn to deal with setbacks and discouragement because there'd be times you get discouraged and you might need to step away from the game for a week and you know, reevaluate and you know, and come back stronger. You know, Royce McElroy stepped away from the Ryder company, put it together three weeks later, like you observe and he was, he would come to tears at the tournament. You know, part of that they stick in a microphone in his face, you know, right immediately after the event.

Yeah, you don't get a chance to recover.

You don't get a chance to. You know, he should have had. He might have had a good crowd before he got interviewed, but he. They put in his face so fast, he got to show the most motion on tv, which I think is great. I think it's great to see a player care that much.

If you enjoyed what you've heard and are dead serious about finding out for yourself exactly how this works in the real world, I've taken the most valuable business lessons I've learned over 40 years and put them into something for you to watch. Go to whiteellawinning.com webinar now. And in order to move up as fast as possible, I'm Larry Wydell, and I run the Million Dollar Mastermind. Go, go, go.