Mastering Process and Presence
What investors can learn from a Sunday at Augusta National
The ball rolled down the hill and into Rae’s Creek.
Tiger stared.
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Augusta National
Host of The Masters, Augusta National is the most recognized golf course in the world. The Green Jacket, presented to the winner, is the most sought-after prize in professional golf.
Known for its breathtaking beauty, the land on which Augusta sits was once the site of Fruitland Nurseries, a large-scale horticultural operation that specialized in importing trees and plants from all over the world.
When club founders Clifford Roberts and Bobby Jones first set eyes on the property in the mid-1920s Jones remarked, “It seems as though this place has been waiting here for years to be turned into a golf course.”
Today, Augusta National features pine and magnolia trees more than 150 years old and showcases more than 30 varieties of azaleas.
Inside the ropes, Augusta is known for compelling risk/reward choices on almost every hole.
Well-placed tee shots tempt pros to reach par fives in two – where eagle prospects beckon and two-putt birdies await. Generous landing areas on par fours allow for aggressive approach lines to tucked-away pins. The short par threes lure the daring to fire directly at the flag instead of aiming for safety in the middle of the green.
Immense slopes and well-placed water hazards serve as Augusta’s first line of defense. Missed approach shots often retreat fifty yards back into the fairway. Delicate pitch shots can end up further away from the hole if not executed perfectly.
Yet, Augusta’s magnificent greens and enormous bunkers deliver its primary and finest defense. Three-putts lurk everywhere. When pros are asked which hole they are most likely to four-putt, they say, “All of them.”
So severe are the undulations that lag putts are often aimed more than ninety degrees away from the hole to have any chance of getting close. So fast is the speed that during Masters week, pros rent historic homes to practice putting on hardwood floors that break.
At any course not named Augusta, a sought-after birdie gone awry, or a brief lapse in concentration might result in a bogey. At Augusta, the cost is often worse. Far worse.
Which makes for high drama.
Particularly on Sunday.
Especially at Amen Corner.
Amen Corner
In 1958, journalist Herbert Warren Wind coined the phrase Amen Corner to describe holes eleven through thirteen, an intimidating stretch at the far corner of the course.
“If you could make it through holes 11 and 12 with pars, and get off the 13th tee in fine shape, it was best to say ‘Amen’, count your blessings, and move on.”
Pros don’t even try and make birdie at eleven, playing their approach to a safe area short and right of the green, and then attempting to chip close and save par.
So terrifying is the approach, Ben Hogan once said, “If I’m on the 11th green in two shots, you’ll know I missed my second shot.”
The theatre then turns to the short par three 12th where Rae’s Creek takes its position to protect the front of the green. A long-held certainty at Augusta is if a shot lands short on 12, it will roll down the steep hillside and into the water.
In 2016, cruising to a second straight green jacket, Jordan Spieth knocked not one, but two balls into Rae's Creek and saw a one-shot lead turn into a second-place finish.
In 2019, after going 5-0-0 in the fall Ryder Cup, Francisco Molinari led playing partner Tiger Woods by two. As Tiger looked on, Molinari’s eight-iron came up short. Right on cue, the ball retreated down the hill and into the water.
Molinari made a double bogey.
At age 43, after four back surgeries and five knee surgeries, Tiger won his 15th major and his fifth Green Jacket.
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Amen Corner 2020 - The Sequel
After a grueling 78 on Saturday Tiger stepped onto the 12th tee, three under par and well out of contention. Even without a Green Jacket in his sights, there’s no place Tiger would rather be than competing in the Masters, on Sunday, in the middle of Amen Corner.
Despite what would come next.
Suffering the fate of Molinari a year earlier, Tiger’s eight iron landed short.
The ball rolled down the hill and into Rae’s Creek.
Tiger stared. In a way only Tiger can.
Playing from the drop area, Tiger’s next shot landed on the green, spun backward, caught the slope, and rolled down the hill and into the water.
Two balls wet. Two penalty strokes.
Tiger’s fifth shot flew the green and settled into a bunker.
He thinned his next and watched as his ball flew back over the green and hopped into the water.
Four shots. Three penalty strokes. Tiger still wasn’t putting.
Tiger blasted his eighth shot onto the green and two-putted for a 10.
A septuple bogey – his highest score on a hole. Ever.
Man does not simply exist, but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become in the next moment. - Viktor Frankl
Walking off the 12th green, Tiger faced a choice.
He could call it a day and head to the clubhouse – a choice weekend golfers might make.
He could continue, but mentally pack it in, simply go through the motions on the final six holes.
He could continue, remain committed to his process, and approach each shot as he has thousands of times - as if he still had a chance to slip on another Green Jacket.
Tiger chose the latter.
Standing over his ball on the 13th tee, he drew the club back and laced his shot down the middle.
Whether he said “amen” we’ll never know.
What we do know is that Tiger’s next ninety minutes of golf was a sight to behold.
The very same process that yielded a septuple bogey just a short time before resulted in a near-perfect finish.
Birdie. Par. Birdie. Birdie. Birdie. Birdie.
Six holes. Five birdies. Twenty shots.
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Process and Presence
There is a lot to learn from Tiger Woods. And there is a lot not to learn from Tiger Woods. As is the case with all of us.
The primary lesson from Tiger’s back nine on this particular Sunday is the importance of process and presence.
Golfers cannot escape vulnerability. With clubhead speeds topping 100 miles per hour, every time a golfer draws the club back, they open themselves up to a wide range of outcomes – positive and negative. Spectacular and dreadful.
The litany of balls in the water at Amen Corner offers only a glimpse at how vulnerability nips at the nerves of the best in the world.
Elite golfers use process to counteract vulnerability. It is the bedrock of their being. They hone it, refine it, and adhere to it through thick and thin. Jack Nicklaus once said, “Professional golf is 90% process and 10% execution.”
Check the wind. Visualize the shot. Select the club. Pick a target. Go through the pre-shot routine. Initiate the swing.
Commit to the process. Surrender to the outcome. Leave the last shot behind and the future shots ahead. Be fully present.
Process and presence beget birdies. Making birdies is how professional golfers earn their living.
Successful investing is a lot like golf.
While investors don’t buy securities at 100 miles per hour, they are still vulnerable. Market drops are sudden and rapid. Inflation threatens to erode purchasing power. And the press traffics in gloom and doom.
However, over time process and presence beget positive returns, paving the path to retirement.
Process excellence is part strategic: Define goals. Choose the investment mix. Diversify broadly. Keep costs low. Avoid unnecessary tax friction. Rebalance. Remain patient. Revisit when warranted.
Process excellence is also part tactical: Ignore the news media. Remain invested. Disregard short-term outcomes. Remain invested. Don’t follow the crowd. Remain invested. Eschew investments du jour. Remain invested.
So simple, yet so hard. Our human brains are wired to seek safety.
Imagine if Tiger Woods was the stock market. Investor selling would have started when the first ball touched the water, accelerated on the second splash, and turned into a deluge by the time his sixth shot got wet.
Some investors may have had the fortitude to start buying when Tiger finally tapped in on twelve or stepped onto the 13th tee, but the vast majority would have stood on the sidelines and missed out on the unexpected bull market in birdies that came next.
If Tiger was indeed the stock market, the strategic process would ensure initial ownership, while the tactical process would assure continued ownership.
It is through continued ownership that patient investors earn the long-term returns they are entitled to.
Want to be an elite investor?
Master your process and stay present.
Amen.
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Great post. And not surprisingly, a favorite of mine. A fun yet important lesson often completely overlooked by those who recall his 10 only as the mistake that made him a little more like them.
James, I loved entering your two worlds here. I'm not into sports much, and not a golfer, but my partner is. Your words gave me a peek into his world that only watching TV for example doesn't quite convey. We are, though, both investors and have had the good sense to hang on when other signs were shouting Get Out Now.