Women's Golf
Ten Secrets Every Female Executive Needs to Know
to Successfully Host a Round of Golf with Clients.
by Cherl A. Leonhardt of golfonthego.orgYou've worked on your short game all season long, played in the company's evening league and in half a dozen charity outings with colleagues. There are several clients you feel you could do more business with if there was just some way to get to know them better. You've noticed that quite a few of your clients have offices that display golf paraphernalia, from photos taken at exclusive courses to a collection of putters in the corner. It could be that the best way to boost your bottom line begins on the first tee of your favorite golf course. But before you get to tee off, you have some ground work to establish. On your next sales call, introduce golf into your conversation. Find out how much and at what level your clients play. This information will help you to determine the kinds of courses to book when you host your clients. In other words, if your client is a new golfer, suggest an easy course. If your client is a member of a private club and an avid golfer, a highly-regarded public course would be more appropriate, or a charity event at another private club might be enticing.
Before you extend the invitation to play, here are ten tips to ensure that your business round of golf is a complete success.
1) Extend your invitation two to three weeks in advance. Make sure your client knows the location of the club. Fax him directions to the club, the phone number of the Pro Shop and the tee time, along with any special rules like "soft spikes only". Suggest that he arrive at least 45 minutes before your tee time. If you are filling out a foursome, include the names, titles, companies and handicaps of the other guests, so he can review that in advance.
2) Reconfirm your tee time with the club the day before your round. Call your clients and reconfirm with them as well.
3) Bring a supply of dollar bills, $5s and $10s as you will be tipping the course staff throughout the day. A good rule of thumb: $2-3 per bag at the bag drop, $5 for the locker room attendant in case spikes need to be changed, a tip for the beverage cart driver and the attendant at the snack shack. If you are using a caddie, plan on a $25 tip per bag over the caddie fee.
4) Have a system to protect your valuables. Buy a velvet-lined pouch with a zipper to hold your rings and bracelets if you take your jewelry off to play. Store it in your handbag on the cart. NEVER put your rings in your pocket when you play.
5) Make sure that your guests know to meet you in the Pro Shop. You are then responsible for showing them to the locker room and getting them to the driving range and the practice green. You also should make sure they have water, tees, balls and a ball mark repair tool (all of these could have your company logo for good measure), and then, lastly, present your foursome to the Starter at least 10 minutes before your tee time.
6) Use this time to determine the order of play (who tees off first), what kind of game you want to play such as a Nassau, Skins or whatever, and announce the kind of ball you will be playing.
7) If your guests have never played the course, you might want to give a brief description of each hole on each tee during the round.
8) Be mindful of the pace of play. If the course is busy and you have a hole open in front of you and people waiting behind you, let them play through at the next tee.
9) Be generous with mulligans and gimme putts if your guests are newer golfers. Play your best, but be considerate when others are having an off day or seem to be struggling.
10) Do not talk about business during the round - especially if your guests don't bring it up. However, you should take a moment during your time at the "19th hole" to remind your clients how much you value their business.
Understanding Pace of Play
by Cheryl A. Leonhardt of golfonthego.orgWe hear more and more these days about the woeful state of the pace of play during a round of golf. Here are some suggestions to help you to be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem.
First, let's make sure we understand just what is meant by the phrase "pace of play". It refers to how efficiently players move around the course to complete 18 holes in 4 hours and 15 minutes, which, give or take 5 or 10 minutes, is the national standard.
You can be mindful of the pace of play beginning at the first tee by agreeing with your playing partners to play "ready golf". Ready golf simply means whomever is ready to tee off, regardless of who had the lowest score on the previous hole, should just step up to the tee box and hit. To get off the first tee, let the lowest handicap player go first, then finish with the highest handicapper going last.
Ready golf applies to being ready to hit through the green, as well, as long as you are not in danger of hitting someone with your golf ball. For example, if your drive is in the fairway, but your playing partner went into the deep rough, somewhere behind you, it is acceptable for you to hit your next shot, and then return to where she is to help in the search. The search, by the way, should be limited to 2 or 3 minutes.
You can judge your pace of play by making sure you are just one shot behind the group in front of you. If there is a hole open ahead of you and a foursome on your tail, your group is playing too slowly. Finish the hole you're on, hit your tees shots on the next tee, then stand aside and let the group behind you play through.
Another exercise a new golfer can use to help speed the pace of play is to pick up when you reach double par and move up to the green to putt. For example, if you are on a Par 5 hole, and you lay 10 at the 150 yard marker, pick up your ball and head for the green. Until you are making better contact with the ball, be less concerned about scoring and more concerned about not holding up the foursome behind you.
As you get closer to the green, try to get the cart parked near the next tee as soon as possible. Take a few extra clubs with you and walk back to your ball if it is 50 yards or less to the green. We don't have to ride to every shot and developing the habit of taking extra clubs with you will help to speed the pace of play.
Once everyone has holed out, do not record scores on the green. There may be players waiting to hit behind you. Instead, head for the cart and take care of recording scores at the next tee.
Finally, develop the habit of watching the shots of your playing partners. While the USGA official rules allow 5 minutes to search for a ball, if there are people waiting behind you, limit the search to 2 or 3 minutes. Having an idea of where a ball landed will make it easier to find and allow your group to move more quickly around the course.
