New York City may be a concrete jungle, but there are still plenty of nearby opportunities for busy businessmen to swing their ways to golf courses in the city.
You’ve probably wondered why businessmen always spend their weekends in golf courses. For one thing, it’s their way of keeping themselves healthy despite a busy workload.
In the hustle and bustle of New York city life, it can be hard to squeeze in a relaxing yet competitive activity like golf. But unlike other sports, golf offers a healthy yet tranquil outside activity. Each round provides a dynamic series of challenges and hurdles for the player to overcome, all of which help stimulate one’s physical and mental abilities.
Aside from boosting physical well-being, golf can also be an avenue to boost business. In fact, 1 in every 3 golfers is sure to be doing some kind of business. The sport's international appeal makes it an effective way to meet prospective business partners, develop customers, build rapport, and close business deals.
If you’re a businessman who loves playing golf around New York, maybe it’s about time to merge your passion for business with golfing to help bolster your health and business.
The Reasons Why Golf Is Good for Business
Golf Reveals Character
They say you get a better grasp of a person after four hours of golfing than a multitude of meetings.
This seems probable since 50% of golfers agreed to the statement “the way someone plays golf is very similar to how that person conducts business affairs.” When you think about it, golf is a game of ethics—it brings out the best and worst traits of a businessman. Likewise, it’s a sport that combines physical skills, mental abilities, good judgment, and self-control. The different situations arising in the course reveal how one responds to success, frustration, failure, and even pressure. Do your business partners play by the rules? Or do they get easily frustrated when they don’t get a hole-in-one?
By watching your business partners, you get a grasp of their behavior towards business matters. For example, if your prospect easily gets stressed with a challenge on the course, then maybe that’s not the type of mentality you deem fit for a business partner. Meanwhile, you see one colleague who seems to be calmer and more composed even after failing multiple swings—a trait that showcases resilience—then maybe that person can make a better business partner.
Golf Allows You to Spend Quality Time
In a world of hectic deadlines and competitive sports, some businessmen are already considered lucky if they can get an hour of relaxation time every day. Unlike team sports, golf offers a great amount of time for relaxation, as well as conversations about business, hobbies, and personal lives. And for busy businessmen, these moments are extremely valuable.
Golf Provides Relaxing, Quiet, and Tranquil Surroundings
Businessmen spend most of their weekdays inside the four corners of their offices and conference rooms, and too much time indoors can be wearisome. A golf course offers a relaxing and warm atmosphere for business-minded people. It’s the perfect place to unwind and talk about business matters without the pressure of deadlines.
In addition, the tranquil landscape helps put your mind at ease. So, whenever you’re playing with a potential client or business partner, golfing is a great way to get rid of anxiety and nervous jitters.
Golf Provides Networking Benefits
The golf course is the perfect networking environment for professionals from different walks of life. The course is all-inclusive, making it an ideal place to meet prospective clients and business partners. Are you running a catering business? Then you might just meet someone who runs an event planning company. Playing golf is the perfect way to break the ice, talk about anything under the sun, and create meaningful connections.
Golf also provides employees a chance to connect with their bosses. Since golf is popular among CEOs and executives, employees can invite their bosses to a fun, chill time outside and vice-versa. That way, they can foster a stronger bond and trust with each other.
Golf Is a Sport That Knows No Age Limit
Golf is one of the very few sports that can be enjoyed by people from different walks of life regardless of age. For instance, if you want to make friends with people older or younger than you, the golf course is an ideal place to create new, meaningful connections. Thanks to the sport’s handicap system, people from different backgrounds and abilities can enjoy the sport together.
Golf Provides a Great Opportunity to Close Business Deals
Business and sales deals don’t always happen inside the office. Sometimes, a trip to the golf course may be the key to your company’s biggest break. Take it from George Souri, owner of UltraPawn, networking expert, and “dealmaker extraordinaire," who has closed hundreds of business deals through golfing. According to him, “You should use your time on the course to develop the relationship, not to sell a deal. Being overly eager to ‘talk shop’ will likely annoy your partner, or worse, affect his focus and game. A day of bad play is not going to help your chances for closing a deal.” Accordingly, here are some tips to help you increase the chances of closing a business deal:
1. Arrive at the course on time. Your punctuality speaks a lot about you. You should build trust and rapport with your business partners from the very start.
2. Compliment your business partners on good putts and shots.
3. Ask about your business partner’s opinion about golf equipment. Golf could be a great icebreaker before diving into business discussions. For instance, ask him about the must-have types of golf accessories or who are his favorite pro golfers.
3. If your company offers logo golf balls, offer a sleeve or a box to your partners before teeing off.
4. Compose yourself and be your best self. Golf is probably the most revealing sport out there, and your behavior can make or break the trust of your partners. So be extra mindful of the reactions you demonstrate.
5. Don’t be overly competitive. Keep in mind our goal is to win the deal and the trust of your business partners, not the game.
6. Don’t delve into the business talk right away. Start the conversations with common, safe topics about life, family, or the weather. As the communication progresses, you can start digging deeper to know more about themselves, their businesses, and the challenges they face. Instead of promoting your business blatantly, think about how your service could help them.
La Tourette Golf Course Staten Island.
Bottomline
Golf is one of the best corporate leisure activities because it gives businessmen great networking opportunities. Likewise, it can be played by anyone—you don’t have to be Tiger Woods to start in golf. You can be in your twenties and connect with an investor in his forties over golf. So, if you’re looking for a sign to go to a golf course, this is it. A wealth of business and partnership opportunities await you on a golf course, don’t miss it out.
