GOLF LESSONS by Greta Muller
Many a business deal is made or broken on the golf course… you
may shake hands and iron out some details over cocktails at the 19th
hole, but your conduct on the course can determine your entry to the clubhouse.
You can tell a lot about a person by the
way he or she conducts themselves on the golf course. I played a lot of golf
this summer and I was reminded again that actions speak louder than words. Not
just in presentations, but anywhere, including the links. On the course, it is
not simply what you say, but what you DO that speaks volumes.
I learned this as a young girl, playing golf with my
Dad.
I was in 6th grade when my father bought me my first set of
clubs- they were used, bought at a garage sale, back in the day when “woods”
were actually made of wood! He signed me
up for lessons and I was immediately hooked. I loved the game, the challenge, atmosphere,
and mostly I liked that it gave my Dad and I this one activity that was just
ours. For years, Dad woke me early one morning
every weekend and we’d be the first ones on the course. We’d tiptoe around the house getting ready,
have our coffee as the light barely touched the trees and head to the club. It
was the one morning I actually didn’t mind getting up. The sprinklers sometimes
caught us and the mowers moved around us while we played and talked.
I learned not just the game, but the etiquette of golf. I learned about life and the art of
conversation, human nature and business.
The etiquette I learned on the golf course has served me well in
life.
So in honor of this remarkable and frustrating game… and my
Dad, one of the finest gentlemen I ever knew, I’d like to share a few life lessons
from the golf course:
1. Unsolicited advice is rarely appreciated.
Believe me, no one who has just tried for the 4th time
to get out of sand trap wants to hear what you have to say about why he can’t
get out of that sand trap, while standing up to their neck in sand! Sometimes holding your tongue is the best move
you can (not) make!
2 Everyone is nice to the Golf Pro; a true Gentleman (or
Lady) recognizes the significance of the person who cleans your shoes and acts
accordingly.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve played with someone who seemed like
the consummate gentleman or woman- charming, gracious, shaking hands… only to then
turn around and curse out the guy carrying his clubs. This, my friend, is not a true gentleman, nor
someone I would want to trust with my finances.
3 Cheaters cheat and braggarts exaggerate- on or off the
course.
The great part about golf is that you only play yourself. Your priority
should be to best your last score. Same is true about what club you use to do
what. It shouldn’t matter to the next guy if you use a 3 iron or a chipping
wedge to hit the green. Just play your
game. I shudder to think about doing business with someone who “embellishes” on
their score, or “competes” on the club length.
When it really counts, how will this person conduct themselves?
4 Throwing your golf club in the lake is stupid.
That’s all. It’s just stupid. Now
you have to go buy a new club, unless you really want to look like an idiot and
try to fish out the old one. And chances
are you aren’t going to play any better with the new club. The club is only as good as the player
gripping the handle. How does this person handle anger in the business world?
5 How you treat the greens is representative of how you
treat your business.
There’s a simple rule in golf, “clean up the damage you’ve caused.” If you take a huge chunk out of the earth,
put it back! If your ball creates a divot in the green, mend it. This takes maybe
10 seconds. I find this lack of etiquette especially amusing from someone who gripes
about the condition of the greens! Really? What effort do you put into
repairing any damage you do in life or business?
6 R-E-S-P-E-C-T is not just an Aretha Franklin lyric.
There are NUMEROUS ways to demonstrate respect, but it all comes down to
be cognizant of the other guy.
Whispering or standing still while someone is putting…giving your
attention to the person on the tee box…congratulating another player on his or
her personal victory… these are signs of respect but they are signs that
demonstrate your awareness, ability to listen, and be attentive to others. (Didn’t
we all learn this in kindergarten?)
If you can’t drive a golf cart, I don’t want you
driving me home.
In closing, Talk is cheap.
I believe all of the above speaks to the fact that while someone can
focus on saying all the right things, it is what you are not saying that often
speaks the loudest. Dad taught me to
assess someone’s character by his actions, but more importantly, in our time on
the golf course he showed me the kind of person I wanted to be.
For my Dad, Robert E. Muller (November 4, 1918 – August 2,
1994)
For my Dad, Robert E. Muller (November 4, 1918 – August 2,
1994)
