Introduction to Business 101: Golf with THE Chuck
A Tribute to Enduring American Grit
This column is dedicated to the American service members killed in action by ISIS near Palmyra, Syria. They served with honor. They fell in duty. They will not be forgotten.
December 12–14, 2025
(Best enjoyed with an MB Roland Old Fashioned, a great Deployment cigar, and at least one spouse quietly questioning how you’re still allowed to publish weekly.)
Cold-Humor Opener
If leadership were a golf swing, this weekend proved President Trump doesn’t slice under pressure — he stripes it straight, even when the wind is howling out of Syria, the media gallery is chirping from the rough, and half the country is still arguing about who stole whose head cover.
As Chrisi handed me a perfectly balanced MB Roland Old Fashioned — smooth, strong, and unforgiving if rushed — I once again convinced myself I could negotiate an oil deal, run a ranch, and still make a 7:30 a.m. tee time.
Chrisi disagreed.
Firmly.
Again.
But that’s leadership: confidence tempered by reality — and someone willing to call your bluff.
Let’s tee up the weekend.
WEEKEND LESSONS TEED UP
(December 12–14, 2025)
Lesson 1 — Accountability Is a Contact Sport
(Friday, December 12)
Friday didn’t begin with spectacle. It began with paperwork — the kind that actually matters.
At the White House, President Trump conducted interviews, swore in senior officials, and hosted a bill-signing ceremony honoring the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, awarding them the Congressional Gold Medal. The symbolism mattered: grit, preparation, and execution beating a bigger opponent — values Washington has largely forgotten.
Then Trump reminded the room — and the country — what ownership looks like:
“I have personally reviewed over 9,000 contracts myself to ensure that they’re not only the correct contracts we should be signing, but that we deploy resources quickly and remain accountable to taxpayers.”
That’s not rhetoric.
That’s management.
In business terms, it’s reading your own contracts instead of blaming Legal after the deal blows up.
In golf terms, it’s walking your own scorecard into the clubhouse — no mulligans, no excuses, no “gallery drops.”
Leadership Takeaway:
If you don’t personally review the deals that matter, someone else will — and they won’t be protecting your handicap.
Lesson 2 — Strength Means Responding, Not Reacting
(Saturday, December 13)
Saturday was movement-heavy and message-light — the way serious leadership prefers it.
President Trump traveled to Baltimore for the Army–Navy Game, fielding questions from the press before and after Marine One touched down. Navy beat Army in a hard-fought contest — no NIL nonsense, no transfer-portal circus — just real football, the way it once was.
Midshipmen and cadets on the field today.
Navy and Marine Corps officers tomorrow.
God. Family. Country.
Protests outside. Patriotism inside.
A reminder that service doesn’t disappear just because politics gets loud.
But the real test came off the field.
News broke that ISIS carried out an attack near Palmyra, Syria, killing two American service members. These were KIA — not statistics, not headlines — Americans who raised their right hands and paid the ultimate price.
President Trump’s response was direct and deliberate: retaliation would come — measured, intentional, and decisive.
No panic.
No performative outrage.
No social-media war room.
At the same time, the administration continued advancing priorities that don’t trend but win:
• Border security
• Energy independence
• Regulatory reform
• National defense posture
In golf terms, this is recovering from a fairway bunker and still saving par — while your opponent is busy arguing with the marshal.
Leadership Takeaway:
Volume isn’t strength. Follow-through is.
Lesson 3 — Compassion Without Confusion
(Sunday, December 14)
Sunday shifted tone — and revealed character.
At White House Christmas receptions, President Trump addressed multiple tragedies:
• A mass shooting connected to Brown University
• An antisemitic attack targeting a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney
His words were direct and unfiltered:
“We’re here to celebrate Christmas… and today we can say loudly, we celebrate Hanukkah. That was a purely antisemitic attack.”
No hedging.
No talking-point fog.
No moral relativism.
This is where modern leadership often fails — mistaking compassion for retreat. Trump didn’t.
In golf terms, it’s pausing to console a playing partner after a blow-up hole — then stepping back onto the tee box and committing fully to the next swing.
Leadership Takeaway:
You can grieve without surrendering clarity. In fact, you must.
Lesson 4 — Fundamentals Win Championships
While headlines focused on speeches and travel, the machinery kept moving:
• Continued Nuclear Regulatory Commission reforms to accelerate U.S. nuclear energy
• A $12 billion farm aid package stabilizing American agriculture
• Executive orders restoring the Presidential Fitness Test and reestablishing the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition
These aren’t flashy initiatives — they’re foundational.
A nation that ignores fitness, energy, and food security is like a golfer who skips practice and blames the clubs.
(And for the record, the following day Trump declared fentanyl a Weapon of Mass Destruction — a reminder that grit doesn’t clock out on Sunday.)
Leadership Takeaway:
Strong countries, like strong golfers, don’t skip fundamentals — they drill them.
Golf Translation — Why This Weekend Matters
December golf is honest golf.
Cold hands. Empty fairways. No applause.
That’s leadership in December, too.
No campaign noise.
No election theater.
Just execution when fewer people are watching.
This weekend wasn’t about flash.
It was about control — of policy, tone, and direction.
Championships aren’t won on the range.
They’re won when no one’s clapping.
Wrap-Up — An MB Roland Finish
As Sunday night settled in, Chrisi poured another MB Roland Old Fashioned — balanced, disciplined, no shortcuts.
The Deployment Freedom cigar burned clean.
Land Man rolled on.
And the weekend landed where it should have:
Grit isn’t loud.
It’s consistent.
America doesn’t need perfect leaders.
It needs accountable ones.
And like golf — and bourbon — the real test isn’t how you start the round.
It’s whether you finish steady.
REMEMBER, PATRIOTS
• Review your contracts — personally
• Respond to crises with purpose, not panic
• Honor the fallen — and name the enemy clearly
• Invest in fundamentals: energy, fitness, agriculture
And never forget…
Life, like golf, rewards discipline under pressure —
especially when the wind picks up and the gallery goes quiet.
—
— Chuck Cordak
“Life’s too short for weak pours, weak swings, or weak leadership.”
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