OK, you just spent a large portion of your life and funds being fitted to golf clubs and going to golf schools.
You even took the extra step of retaining a personal golf instructor to keep your golf swing fine-tuned.
You may have even played dozens of rounds of golf or even played in a charity golf tournament or two.
Now what?
This is the question many people ask once they have made a commitment to learning whatever it takes to playing golf and have gone through all the processes of learning to hit a golf ball.
I spent my first few years of playing golf hacking around the local municipal golf courses testing my golf game and meeting a lot of soon to be golf friends. However, there was this question that lingered in my head.
What else is there to do now that they know how to play golf?
There are a few directions an Avid golfer can take to keep the enjoyment of playing Golf fresh. Depending on your interest and how much time and money you want to spend, Golf can lead you in many directions.
Tournament Golf
Tournament Golf is fun, but not for everyone. There will be this question you ask yourself before entering a golf tournament…Am I Good Enough?
Tournament golf can be rewarding in the fact that it does test your golf skills. Finding out how well your golf game compares to others can be interesting. Especially if your golf skills are better than others.
As long as you are able to keep your mind focused on the commitment you made to compete with others and not get all hung up on winning and losing, tournament golf can be a very worthwhile activity. Just remember…competitve golf can be brutal to your ego so you may want to check it at the door.
Golf Travel
Playing the same golf course over and over can quickly get boring. To break the ho-hum of playing the same courses try taking a golf vacation or a day trip out to a golf course you have never played.
Playing a strange golf course not only allows you to hone your course management skills but also can produce some wonderful breathtaking views of some great golf course landscaping.
The tangible benefits of golf travel are many. Gives you time to relax, get some ‘Me Time’ in, keep you active and learn how your golf game fits the golf course or courses you play during your travels.
I recommend picking up a souvenir and take a photo or two from each course that will trigger a reminder of the time you spent playing the course. These memories come in handy when one of your golf friends asks you for a recommendation on a great place to take a Golf Vacation.
Business Golf
I left for the last the more probably direction a golfer should take once they get comfortable with their golf game…Business Golf.
Business Golf has been played for centuries. Business Golf is a purposeful round of golf played amongst business people receding a casual chat about business.
The biggest mistake golfers make when they take this direction is thinking that Golf is a six-hour sales tool. Believe me, I have seen business relationships explode on the golf course when someone….usually not that committed of a golfer…will deliver a sales pitch to his golf partner the entire round of golf. No matter how hard someone well based in Sales Tactic tries…it just is not the way play Business Golf.
The business part of a round of traditional Business Golf is always done after the golf. Sometimes it is immediately after the round while enjoying after golf refreshments or days later in a meeting room where there is an agenda.
I’ll leave this with a plug for my book I wrote in 2006 on How To Play Business Golf. Hope the short read explains more about the advantages of using golf as a business tool.
There are some many things that develop from playing golf. Golf is a great form of exercise…good way to feed a competitive spirit…great way to meet people…fabulous focus for a golf vacation…and can help develop solid business relationships. I know all of these directions lead to a positive result…I have traveled down all of them. Golf is just a great game, activity and/or sport. Get involved.
Let me know how I can help.
