The unsexy things

I was able to watch the end of the The Open championship this morning over my breakfast. I was somewhat surprised to see Cameron Smith outduel Rory McIlroy down the stretch. It seemed like Rory had a commanding 2 shot lead going into the back 9 and he was going to run away with it.

Rory played well enough to win. He hit 36 putts and 2-putted every hole. He made virtually no mistakes. But the difference was that he wasn’t able to make any birdie putts down the stretch. He came close… a lot but they didn’t fall.

Contrast that to Cameron Smith who was money with his putter all day. He had only 29 putts and that became the 2 shot difference down the stretch. It was epic to watch.

Golf is an interesting sport. Everyone talks about long hitters, powerful swings and shot shaping abilities. Like most, I think that’s the most fun part of golf. But as saw today, it was the unsexy part of golf that won it for Cameron Smith.

Like sports, I’ve come to realize that in the business world, it’s almost always the unsexy and inglorious things that make the world of a difference.

Today, I’ll spend couple hours practicing my chipping and putting. As I begin my work week tomorrow, I’ll be focusing on the unsexy things that I’ve been putting off for some time.