Golf: Your Career’s Secret Weapon

In a conversation with a group of young adults about career aids and business advancement techniques, all the normal tools were mentioned. A good college education, highly developed computer and technical skills, communication skills, a positive and winning personality, personal courage, the ability to take a chance, perseverance and expansive and creative thinking were all rattled off and instantly affirmed. Then I mentioned the ability to play golf and was hit with story after story—including some of my own.

The first item to come up was college scholarships. There are literally tens of thousands of high school football and basketball players vying for relatively few scholarships. Even the lucky ones who get them all too often have to shortchange their academics because of the enormous amount of time spent on the practice field. Then, when school is over so is your sport. Let’s face it. Have you ever heard of a business having a football tournament at a convention or conference? With the exception of some softball leagues, the vast majority of major sports are kaput after college.

This is NOT the case with golf. Almost every college and university in the country offers both male and female golf scholarships, and the number of high school students fighting for them is considerably smaller than those seeking scholarships in the major sports. So if you want a free ride, or at least a partial scholarship, pick up those clubs and hit the links. Believe me, your parents will thank you for it.

Amazingly enough, golf may be one of the single most helpful tools in a woman’s career. Like it or not, women are still facing a glass ceiling and bumping into that “old boys’ network.” In addition to talent and merit, golf is a superb way of tackling this problem.

For example, my daughter Kate was a high school all-district golfer and continues to sport a very modest handicap. She worked for awhile as the assistant marketing director for the St. Louis Post Dispatch, then as marketing director for the Jefferson Banks in Jefferson City. She will tell you that once the “old boys” in both cities found out she was a good golfer, she suddenly was invited to every business and charitable tournament in town. It seems a good lady golfer hitting from the forward tees in a four-person scramble is pure gold. Pure gold for the other players, but for her it opened untold doors and business opportunities.  It afforded her the chance to network with individuals that, absent golf, she would never have had the opportunity to meet in a relaxed, nonprofessional atmosphere.

These entrées are not limited to women—they apply equally to men in the business world. If you have a good golf game, your chances of hobnobbing with the movers and shakers improve dramatically. The opportunities in sales are boundless. It is often said that more deals are made on the golf course than in the boardrooms of the nation. If you want to be a part of that scenario you absolutely must play the game.

Golf permeates every aspect of the business world, even the military. It is a fact that every good golfer who enters the military will be snatched up by an officer for his foursome, and the better the player the higher the rank. It’s often joked that the West Point golf team will all become aides to a General’s staff upon graduation.

One need only look at the convention and meeting schedules at the Lodge or Tan-Tar-A and note that no matter what the group, there is always a golf outing scheduled. As a lawyer, I learned early on that more cases are negotiated to a conclusion on the golf course in a casual atmosphere than in the contentious setting of a courtroom. Furthermore, there are bench and bar conferences that feature a “play golf with a judge format.”

Everyone I know in the business world recognizes the importance of the role of the golf course in advancement, networking and deal making. The question then arises: What happens if you don’t play? Start! This applies to everyone of any age. Buy or borrow some clubs and take a lesson before you frustrate yourself and develop bad habits.

If you already play but not very well, take a series of lessons from a good instructor. Obviously not everyone will turn out to be a scratch golfer, but according to Arnold Palmer everyone is capable of playing bogie golf if they practice. And when you think you are really playing poorly, remember that the average weekend male golfer—if he truly counts every stroke and penalty and takes no mulligans—shoots an average score of 122.

So, when you look at all those dudes acting like pros in all those events, smile in the knowledge that they are more than likely just an average duffer.

Remember, it’s a game you can play into very old age, and it affords exercise and both business and social opportunities not found anywhere else in the community.

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Category: Blog, Featured, Sports & Toys