Ten years ago, Esquire Magazine started to publish an interesting approach to interviews called “What I’ve Learned.” Instead of writing regular articles after interviewing newsmakers and celebrities, or presenting the interviews in a “Q & A” format, they simply presented a running list of thoughts from the interview subject.
To celebrate this feature’s 10th anniversary, Esquire presented highlights of the best of “What I’ve Learned” in its January 2008 issue. And it turned out that over the years, many of the interview subjects had “learned” something of relevance to clubs, resorts or (of course) golf. I thought I’d pass on some of their thoughts on these subjects, in case you think they might also be good food for thought—or serve as good instruction—for your members, guests or staff:
• Create the best. The best hotels and clubs and airlines never go bankrupt. The best always succeed. (Virgin Airlines founder Richard Branson)
• Holding back is the hardest thing for a cook to do. (Chef Mario Batali)
• Caddying teaches you how to behave in society versus how to be a jackass. You see people throwing their clubs. You see people go crazy. You see manners. You see respect. (former General Electric chairman Jack Welch)
• Not long ago, I was playing golf and I said to my partner, “Let those old geezers tee off first.” And my partner says, “Kirk, those old geezers are 15 years younger than you.” (actor Kirk Douglas)
• I like to play golf, but I don’t play like Jack Nicklaus. I’ve been playing about 25 years. It’s a difficult game to learn. You can’t care too much. If you try too hard, you blow it. There’s too much and too little. That’s a good metaphor for a lot of things. (singer Willie Nelson)
• I started golf in my forties, which is the ultimate optimism. (actor Michael J. Fox)
• I used to play golf. I wanted to be a better player, but after a while I realized I’d always stink. And that’s when I really started to enjoy the game. (comedian Don Rickles)
For more to learn, we hope you find the content of the rest of this issue (our biggest ever) to also be of value. And we’ll look forward to being with many of you as we all try to soak up new wisdom at this month’s upcoming shows.
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