It’s often said that golf is “the game of business.” Men and women play the game for recreation, to talk money or do business. It’s that simple. Conversations on the green can net you green.
But you’ve got to be in it to win it and if you’re not learning how to play you just might be missing out on the deal of your life.
With the high golf season coming this summer, now might be a good time to start working on your swing and polishing up your etiquette.
We asked Tiffany Fitzgerald who founded Atlanta-based Black Girls Golf and Rodney Green, former director of golf at the Innisbrook Resort (owned by African American billionaire Sheila Johnson) to give some tips on teeing up and the right ways to grow the game for those seriously thinking about cashing in on the business opportunities playing golf could open up for potential entrepreneurs.
They both agree that when it comes to making deals, for some, connecting on the links can be a hole in one.
“The boardrooms used to be indoors,” Green says. “They are now outside on the golf course. That’s where a lot of business is done. It’s a great opportunity to be able to network. I preach that to women in particular. They are missing out on these business and networking opportunities. You don’t have to be Tiger Woods. Just learn how to play the game and reap the benefits it offers.”
Fitzgerald says, “Golf allows you to do more than network. It allows you to connect. To create a genuine relationship. If you’re going to play 18 holes of golf, that’s about four plus hours of really intimate time with another person.”
But just walking out on the green as a newbie can be an intimidating experience. So what’s the right way to swallow the intimidation and bring out the swag and A-game?
Read more by by Richard Spiropoulos at Black Enterprise
