Are Golfers More Successful?
Must I Play Golf To Get Ahead? is an article from Anne Fisher on Yahoo Finance from a few days ago. I think that’s a really good question.
I’ve read in business books before, that some of the best business relationships are made on the golf course. I’ve also witnessed it first hand to an extent. I see people move up the ladder, who are generally considered good golfers. Obviously, playing the game of golf is not a prerequisite for being successful in business, however it is a great tool, and that’s a fact.
I used to play golf, or played at golf may be a better way to put it. It is an enjoyable activity, leisurely playing the game surrounded by beautiful scenery. However, I felt that to really improve, I needed to devote more time to it than I had to give. I also felt that if I wasn’t going to actively try and improve, that the time and expense wasn’t worth it. That may or may not have been the best decision.
There’s no doubt that golf can bring new opportunities your way. Especially if you’re fairly skilled. The better you are at the game, the more people are interested in setting up a tee time with you. Golf is the game of the successful, and the successful like to congregate on the golf course.
I see one way that golf could actually hurt your career. If you wore those silly plaid pants to your job, you’d quickly become a laughing stock! Can you imagine this dude to the left showing up at the office looking like that? Can you imagine this guy trying to sell you an insurance policy or managing your portfolio? Personally, I’ve never understood why so many golfers dress so goofy…..
The last game I played, I had two clubs … both up in the same tree.
I like to play a little par 3 once in a while with some friends. It’s too much of a gong show for me to take that “expertise” out with business associates.
But anything like golf that you can do to build connections and relationships is always huge. You’re selling confidence. Everybody wants to do business with people they have confidence in.
“The last game I played, I had two clubs … both up in the same tree.”
Ha! That sounds like me on one of my better days! That’s a good point about the “selling confidence”. Showing confidence in any action wins the confidence of others.
I can laugh at it now. And luckily I could laugh at it then too, because the whole damn golf course was laughing.
The tree was right over the 8th green. I had to go to the clubhouse and get 2 telescopic ball scoops and a roll of tape to make this 20 ft long contraption to get them out.
I was famous for a day! haha
That is funny! It gives you a great story to tell also. The game of golf can be one of the most frustrating things in the world!
I know someone who became so frustrated, they through their whole bag of clubs in one of the ponds!