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Why I Consider My Golf Club an Essential Business Tool
By Andrew Horsfield | July 3, 2009
Call it an age thing.
I realized the other day that I spend an inordinate amount of time playing golf, or attending golf tournaments, or talking about golf, or organizing my own golf tournament just so I can play golf. And I don’t even golf all that well!
But when I look around at a lot of the clients and business friends I have met over the past few years, our paths seem to cross most often at charity golf tournaments.
Golf can be an extremely frustrating game. It’s the only game I know that starts out by telling you what is perfect ahead of time, and then penalizes you for each mistake you make. It’s not like hockey or football, where someone is trying to crush you so you are forced to rush a play.
In golf, unlike baseball, the little ball isn’t even moving. It just sits there saying “hit me.” So you have no one but yourself to blame for a bad shot. On some holes your play is perfect, and on some holes it’s particularly bad. And it all counts towards your final score. Just like life.
Golf is like a little mini-conference happening outdoors. Golf allows you to spend quality time with people learning all about the various aspects of their personality and business—you spend four or five hours with someone, and get to see how they handle various situations.
When you play golf with people, you observe them at their best and worst. Are they too competitive? Do they scream and yell when they miss a shot? Do they throw their club across the fairway, trying to blame the club for the bad shot? Or do they accept the fact that they are not PGA pros, and allow themselves to do better next time?
Do they cheer for you to succeed, or do they concentrate on beating you regardless of the score? Do they count an honest score at all times? And do they offer to be generous to you when it comes time to count your score?
In the four or five hours it takes to play a round of golf, golfers can talk about a lot of things. Often the subject of business comes up. That’s just the way it is. And when you are talking business with people you like, business has a tendency to get done.
So I admit it, I enjoy golf. I enjoy the people I meet on golf courses. I enjoy walking around the course chasing the little ball. I enjoy the feeling of a good hit. I hate it when I blow a simple shot, but I try to move on. Nobody’s perfect, not even Tiger Woods.
It may be old-fashioned, but I still like meeting people face to face. That’s why, for me, social media like Facebook or Twitter will always be secondary to meeting real people in real life—on the golf course or off.
Topics: Business Issues, Meetings ROI, Other, Social Media, Virtual Meetings |
Comments Feed
July 21st, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Andrew, you are totally correct! I was just having a conversation with a friend who is giving a speech on networking on the golf course for a Chamber of Commerce function.
Golf is like a first date. If I want to get to know someone (personally or professionally), I’ll go golfing with them. It’s true. The best and worst of people come out when they golf. Are they ethical (do the cheat the score)? Are they talking about themselves, or do they show an interest in the other members of the golf party? Are they out to enjoy the day, or are they a fierce competitor?
All of these things let me know if I want to continue building a relationship with them. Let’s face it. Golf is game played against ourselves. If we lie about our score, or if we’re so competitive that it’s no longer fun, we only cheat ourselves (and screw up a perfectly good golf day).
Isn’t playing golf about having fun and building relationships? Getting business from it is just a side effect.
July 28th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Perfectly said, “but I still like meeting people face to face. That’s why, for me, social media like Facebook or Twitter will always be secondary to meeting real people in real life—on the golf course or off.”
I’m also a firm believer in the fact that real meetings, face to face will never be replaced with social media. We all “need” face to face human interaction it will just take some of us longer to admit it!
Here, Here, for a great article!