BOOKS & INSIGHTS
THE BOOK
The Elements of
Golf and Business
Drawing on the Big Five personality model (O-C-E-A-N), this book maps five core traits (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism) onto the classical elements of Fire, Earth, Air, Water, and Aether. Through decades of golf history, colleague case studies, and a few phenomenal stories from the 19th hole, it shows how the instincts that reveal themselves over eighteen holes are the very same instincts that shape a negotiation, a project delivered on time, a leadership decision, or a client relationship.
Fire
Openness. Imagination, curiosity, the appetite for high risk/ high reward shot.
Earth
Conscientiousness. Discipline, routine, the plan behind the swing.
Air
Extraversion. Energy, talk, and the pull of the gallery.
Water
Agreeableness. Empathy, cooperation, and the generous concession.
Aether
Emotional stability. What happens to elements under pressure.
MY INSIGHTS
Case Studies: The Stories Behind the Swings
The case studies range from Ben Hogan's silent discipline to Scottie Scheffler's eerie consistency, from Lee Trevino's gamesmanship against Jack Nicklaus to Rory McIlroy's eleven-year wait for a career Grand Slam. A few borrow from film and television, using characters like Tin Cup's Roy McAvoy and Ted Lasso to make an element instantly recognizable. And some are personal: real moments from the author's own career, names changed, showing the same instincts playing out in a boardroom instead of a fairway. Every story, whether it's a major champion or a disguised former colleague, exists to answer one question: what does this element actually look like when it shows up, and what happens to it under pressure?
Every Element, Both Arenas: Learn Your Growth Edge
The book breaks down what Fire, Earth, Air, Water, and Aether look like on the course and in the conference room, from the instincts that drive each one to the specific habits that give it away under pressure. More importantly, it identifies each element's growth edge: the one blind spot that, left unchecked, keeps a strength from becoming a liability. Fire needs grounding. Earth needs flexibility. Air needs depth. Water needs boundaries. Aether decides which of these plays out when it actually counts.
Find Your Element
The appendix includes an eighteen-question assessment built entirely around golf behavior rather than abstract personality questions, so the answers come from instinct instead of overthinking. Structured across three "acts," from how you prepare on the tee to how you handle a rules dispute in the clubhouse, it maps your responses onto the five elements to reveal which one actually drives you, and which one you lean on when the first cracks under pressure. Most readers come out as a blend rather than a single type, which is the point: the real insight isn't the label you land on, but the gap between how you'd answer on a relaxed Saturday and how you'd actually behave with something real on the line.
The Aether Game
The book closes with an original golf game built specifically to test everything it argues. Played over eighteen holes with a small real wager on the line, it isn't won by whoever drives it farthest or sticks it closest to the pin; that only earns the right to convert. The actual payout depends on what happens next: par or better collects, anything worse means paying out instead. It's a deceptively simple structure that does what a hundred practice rounds can't, separating the player with real composure from the player who only looks good when nothing's riding on the shot.