How golf enables business relations

Golfers must constantly contend with people who believe golf is boring. Some even criticise them for striking deals between shots. And then there are those who call it a game for the retired.

But as the last decade has shown, it’s the sport that’s grown the fastest in India after the country’s number one obsession, cricket. It’s been lapped up by executives and promoted by their companies. By their robust defence of this game, they make for its ambassadors.

First, golf lets you spend a lot of time with the ones you choose to play. From employees to clients, golf gives you plenty of time to talk shop, share business ideas, discuss collaborations and build future relationships.

Over the weekend, Deutsche Bank hosted its main championship on the PGA Tour. Tiger Woods was paired with New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, Deutsche Bank co-CEO Anshu Jain with John Lundgren of Stanley Black and Decker.

Over the years, the popularity of a pro-am (a match between professional and amateur golfers) has brought some of the best together. “Golf is an enabler of business relationships and has yet retained the principles of fair play,” says Richard Fiddis, head of strategic markets at Experian.

Shashi Kiran Shetty, self-made entrepreneur and executive chairman of Allcargo Logistics, says the game has never intimidated him. “Golf teaches us that even though you probably don’t have a shot at being the best, you do have a shot at being the best you can be.”

Second, golf is a great leveller. You could be an intern in the company and yet play a great game of golf with your boss. The game depends on the handicap system and so people of widely differing abilities can compete against each other.

Three, unlike football or basketball which make for great team sports and are energetic, golf gives you more time to spend with people to get to know them better. This makes it a fine test of character.

Four, golf is a great source of focus and patience. And these are most handy in a boardroom. There is no exaggeration when people say golf grows you into a better executive. You learn to keep your head down, like just you need to when you tee up your shot.

“You learn to play in the present,” says Ajay Srinivasan of Birla Financial Services. “Similarly, in business, the opportunity may be around today but gone tomorrow.”

While golf can make for a great executive assistant, it can also inspire timely decisions. It can become a good reason to retire at the right time, says K P Singh, chairman of DLF. For, in golf, once you break 100, you must watch your game; in life, once you break 75, you should let your business be handled by younger people.|

Shaili Chopra is an award-winning business journalist and founder of www.golfingindian.com