Subtitled "A Caddy's Lessons in Life, Business, and Golf," Distance to the Green defies rigid classification. Book stores shelve it on their business/motivation stacks. Golf stores carry it because of its vivid golfing stories and tips. Even non-golfers enjoy its humorous and real characters and the true-to-life instruction it provides.
The book follows Scotty, a hardheaded and egotistical college golfer who is forced to spend the summer caddying at National, the most prestigious golf course in the country. While caddying for some of the most significant and wealthy men and women in the country, he learns important life lessons from its members. He learns how to set and attain goals for both personal and business success. He learns how to "wire the deal" -- a five step process for extracting the greatness within all of us. He learns the real steps of problem solving, how mentoring helps increase intellectual capital, what team building can mean, what is truly significant in communication -- and still more, all of it vital in achieving success as an effective human being and leader.
Woven into these significant life lessons are great golfing stories, humor, hints, tips, and pure, colorful descriptions of the "best golf course in America." You'll enjoy meeting Scotty and who he becomes, his mentors, and you'll like the fact that you can share in his excitement and growth as he learns some valuable lessons . . . and you won't even have to carry the bags.
Gary Abram is president of Partners Group, an international executive search company located in Kansas City specializing in the insurance industry. He is also the president of Scott O'Brien, Inc., an innovative consulting and training firm. Scott O'Brien specializes in books, keynotes and seminars generally using a golf motif or metaphor to express key business and personal growth concepts. He taught and coached at the high school and college level, worked in the insurance industry, and in the days before free agents, was a professional baseball player.
Bob O'Byrne was the Chairman of Robert O'Byrne and Associates, an employee benefits company. Founded in 1962, the company had grown to over 150 employees in 14 offices across the country and was named the 1995 Small Business of the Year by the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. Bob has been recognized as one of the Outstanding Alumni of the Bloch School of Business at the University of Missouri, Kansas City.
