Business Golf For Women - Tips And Advice For Getting The Most Out Of Golf, For Business, Executive, And Career Women
Read our articles, tips and guidance on how to play golf for business and leisure purposes, learn about the best golf equipment,etiquette, fashion, apparel, resorts and courses.
Did you know golf as a business tool and for fun is on in the increase. In fact the fastest growing group of golfers is women.Business and executive women are using the game as businessmen did before them - for networking, for entertaining clients, and for making business deals right on the links.
Golf is the only sport that gives you four or five hours of uninterrupted time to talk to a potential business client or buyer and get to know him or her. That's why golf is such a useful skill for any businesswoman to acquire.
Any women who is serious about getting ahead in business needs to look at incorporating golf into her strategy for success. Playing business golf for women offers beautiful settings that are conducive to developing and deepening business relationships. You'll have the time to learn information and characteristics about each other that you might otherwise never have known.
As a woman who loves the sport of golf and who has worked in the golf industry for nearly a quarter of a century, it is gratifying to see the golf industry set a clearer course of action to reverse the fall in U.S. golf participation
By Trish Joyce, EWGA Managing Director of Strategic Initiatives
As Gene Yasuda wrote in his May 20th “Inside the Ropes” Golf week column, this “segue into action” comes “after years of talking (and little else)”. To be fair, there have been efforts and programs over the years aimed at juniors, women, new golfers, etc. I concur that by understanding it is going to take more than introducing people to the game, the golf industry is off to a good re-start.
Since Golf 20/20, I’ve been reading and hearing a lot of good things that give me hope. There is one thing, however, that concerns me so I wish to offer a word of caution. It has to do with the topic “how to market to women” (or any specific group) which is often spoken about.
Business golf for executive women
A common concern for the woman executive is the pressure of being the only woman in an office golfing event. Advancement when the glass ceiling is pressing her down may well be at stake in this obligatory golf game. Our executive is expected to be professional and controlled and yet show enough competitive juices to satisfy her male teammates. She may be a women executive back at the office but not on the golf course.
In this business/play setting, a women executive needs to bring to bear all of the professional skills that got her to her position. While participating in her first golf event, she is expected to be competitive. She's not necessarily expected to be in charge. She needs to be controlled, but not necessarily controlling.
The Teen Years – Other Sports Rule
By Patricia Joyce
Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives, EWGA (Executive Women’s Golf Association)
I grew up the only girl in a sports-minded family. But it was not a golfing family. In my youth, my perception was that golf was played by those who belonged to country clubs. Thinking back I can recall some Dads who played but not any of the Moms.
Another impression I recall: My bewilderment over the fascination of watching televised golf with people hushing other people all the time. To a child, who preferred “action” sports, this was right up there with watching paint dry.
I did play miniature golf and didn’t see the big deal in putting a ball into a hole. And when my brothers and I did venture to the driving range, our style was more about swinging for the fences than anything resembling finesse.
As the Voice for Amateur Women Golfers
Much has changed since one July afternoon in 1991 when 28 women gathered for a golf clinic to begin learning business golf in order to enhance their careers. That small group quickly transformed into a nationwide movement that became the Executive Women’s Golf Association.
Now known as the EWGA and celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, this international organization starts its third decade with the launch of Fair Way Forward™ to advocate for more positive golf course experiences for women.
This advocacy initiative is designed to give golf facilities the insights needed to become more “women friendly” so they can attract and keep more women golfers. For as long as the Executive Women’s Golf Association has existed, the golf industry has considered women as a key growth market for the game of golf. And while some barriers have fallen – such as greater access to Saturday morning tee times – much of the dialog has not resulted in the positive changes women want.
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Golf for Business
Engaging your customers through social media is the latest mantra of every business guru.
Yet long before the age of Facebook and Twitter, smart business people were using golf as a valuable way to build customer relationships. Where else can you spend four uninterrupted hours with a client or colleague and the only appropriate use of a smart phone is to measure the distance to the green?
In today’s fast paced world, golf as a business tool is often overlooked or considered a sport for an older generation. Yet smart business men and women who want to get ahead, should add golf to their career skill repertoire. Just like building your company’s social media strategy, business golf requires planning and focus. Here are some tips to get the most out of playing golf for business.
