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Tommy Armour on Investing

Golf, like life, has complexities and challenges comparable to investing, and the secret to success in each is self-discipline. We have been wisely advised to learn models of thinking in one area and apply them to problem solving in others. From Scotland came the origins of golf and investing, and from Scotland came a fine player and great teacher, Tommy Armour. His lessons are universal. We have been wisely advised to learn models of thinking in one area and apply them to problem solving in others. Thus, we can take some lessons from golf and apply them to the investment game. Scotland gave us the game of golf, and Scotland gave us a fine player and great teacher, Tommy Armour. I discuss his lessons as they apply to investment management, but indeed, his lessons are universal. Tommy Armour was, during his era, the greatest teaching pro in golf. After turning pro in 1925, he won every major golf championship. Then, starting in 1929, he taught golf. His 1953 book—still in print—is one of the very best books on playing golf and has the best, most encouraging title: How to Play Your Best Golf All the Time. Investors would benefit greatly from being able to study with a teacher like Armour and learn his “golf” lessons-which are so applicable to investing. A primary lesson would be to learn to play within the limits of our capabilities. Armour summarized his advice as follows: “Simplicity, concentration, and economy of effort have been the distinguishing features of every great player's methods.” Armour would want us to understand that the shrewd way to go forward is to take more time, have more knowledge and understanding, play to our strengths, invest in the ways we do best, and make investment decisions that make the next decision (or our long-term investing) easy. Some of the ways we can follow this advice are keep portfolio turnover low, index when appropriate, think more and take less action, before acting, focus more attention on reducing the “bad” stocks, recognize that success is relative to that of others and that in today's market, as in golf, we have little margin for error.