A New Game Perspective

The good news is that 2-1/2 million people take up the game of golf each year. The bad news is that 2-1/2 million people also leave the game of golf each year. We’re losing players as fast as we gain new ones, so what can we do to stem the flow from the game? I think the answer lies in looking beyond golf as a game and a score, and emphasizing the game as a pathway to self-discovery for career and personal development.

When players become frustrated with the game because of their score, they stop playing golf. But people don’t remember us for our score, they remember our character on the course. Why not change the goal of the game from that of score, to being remembered as a great playing partner? This new game perspective relieves pressure, enhances fun, and as a result lets you play better.

Golf is a wonderful metaphor for life and a great way to learn to deal with challenges we face in every facet of our lives. As M. Scott Peck states in his new book Golf and the Spirit, in golf, you experience more emotional turmoil yard for yard than in any other endeavor. If we use this turmoil to develop emotional intelligence—character-defining qualities like self-management, communication and interpersonal skills—we acquire skills that transcend the game of golf; that are also vital in business. In fact, according to Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, these skills account for over 80% of the abilities that distinguish average leaders from high performers.

There’s a natural opportunity to blend golf and business teachings to a) shift the focus of the game away from the scorecard and toward golf as a learning experience, b) build on the generally-accepted practice of conducting business around the game of golf, and c) use golf to help develop ‘emotional intelligence’ that allows participants to become more inspired leaders and enrich all facets of their business and personal lives.

It’s no secret that you can learn more about a person’s character in 18 holes of golf than you could in several years of other circumstances. But understanding a person requires an exploration of playing styles and how they affect our personal and professional relationships and attitude toward golf.

Nearly 20 years ago, I had the pleasure of collaborating with Peter Kostis on an article for Golf Magazine that introduced the idea of playing styles to the game of golf. With foundations in social science, we described four basic styles and attributes that are exhibited by players. Briefly, the styles and some updated example players are:

The idea of playing styles is important for several reasons. First, by identifying our own style, we can adjust our expectations and hence raise our personal performance as a playing partner. Second, by understanding our partners’ playing styles, we can make accommodations to reduce potential friction and increase enjoyment. Third, and perhaps most important, it presents us the choice to switch from an internal to an external focus, so we can ask ourselves “how can I make this a more enjoyable experience for my playing partners?” and hence raise everyone’s enjoyment level.

The tie between golf and business is a natural one and represents a place where I think we can experience tremendous growth—and retention—in the game of golf.

Beginning January 24^th through a new alliance with PGA Golf Properties and Going For The Green, my new Learning to Become a Great Playing Partner clinic will debut at the PGA Golf Learning Center in Port St. Lucie, Florida. In this two-day seminar, we’ll work with business professionals in a mix of facilitated instruction, casual roundtable discussion, and interactive practice exercises. In addition to expert facilitators helping participants strengthen their interpersonal skills, the seminars will include valuable instruction from PGA Teaching Professionals to provide them with sound fundamentals to enhance their enjoyment of the game, regardless of skill level.

It becomes the true win-win experience: improved mechanics and mindset for business people that will strengthen their resolve to stay with the game of golf.

Groundbreaking work is already being done in the nation’s top business schools to introduce students to the game of golf. A good example is GOLF: For Business and Life, part of PGA of America’s Growth of the Game program run through the PGA Community Relations Program.

While it’s generally accepted that more deals are signed on the golf course than the conference room, it is important to prepare these new business entrants with some simple ideas and perhaps radically different expectations of how to approach the game for ultimate success.

By showing business school students the importance of the game in a business context, and by providing them with sound fundamentals that prepare them for success on the course from a PGA perspective, we have an opportunity to strengthen the role of golf in the business environment and open the doors to millions of new golf and business enthusiasts who will enjoy our game for life.

In his 30-plus years of worldwide sales, business and training experience, Doug Peterson has become a respected authority on successful business relationship development. His personal journey has taught him “that before people or organizations can do things differently, they have to see things differently.” Empowered by his hands-on concept, Peterson has developed Going for the Green and its distinctive Learning to Become a Great Playing Partner business/golf clinics. Doug is also the author of Going For the Green: Selling in the 21^st Century, a book that uses the game of golf to motivate salespeople to transform the “sales game” of product and price, to one of helping the customer achieve their business goals.

President and CEO of Leadership Technologies, Inc., a leading sales training and consulting firm, Peterson has been host to thousands around the world who have attended his business development and leadership workshops.

Those interested in more information on the Learning to Become a Great Playing Partner clinics at the PGA Learning Center may contact Doug by calling toll-free (877) 244-5664 or visiting www.going4thegreen.com, or by contacting PGA Golf Club at (800) 800-4653 or visiting www.pgavillage.com.