Golf remains a popular worldwide sport, offering many benefits to its participants. It provides an escape from the stresses and strains of modern urban life, offering fresh air, pleasant scenery and a temporary return to seemingly rural surroundings. Furthermore, many people find themselves deskbound throughout the working day and the lack of exercise can lead to health problems. Golf provides moderate exertion, with even a 9-hole course offering a walk of 2 miles.


Much modern business is conducted by fax and e-mail. The Internet is an important part of successful business, but client knowledge, realisation of their needs and the meeting of those needs with individual attention has tended to be overlooked. Companies have come to realise the appreciation of traditional human contact and personal service. More businessmen are using to facilitate personal contact with clients and potential customers. Playing a 4-5 hour round of golf can prove vital in building business and retaining loyal customers.

Golf can be a valuable business tool, but as with any other sales technique, requires an effective strategy in order to succeed. Business golf can involve playing with potential clients, sponsoring golf outings for prospective clients, hosting a golf tournament or even just a simple gift of golf balls. No matter how golf is incorporated into a strategic plan, there are steps to ensure that business golf is a success. Business golf provides an opportunity of several hours to get to know clients and establish trust. Behaviour on the golf course says a great deal about a person and how they conduct business away from the course.

While golfing ability has little to do with a successful round of business golf, good preparation, in terms of knowledge of the game and the rules of golf etiquette should not be underestimated. Apart from the competitive aspect, golf is a game of courtesy, respect and consideration. The rules of golf involve many informal intricacies that can signal where you fall in the rating scale of all of these aforementioned qualities. Regardless of skill level, it is vital to act as a professional businessman.

The most important thing to keep in mind is entertaining business partners and ensuring that they have a good time. Business golf can expand networks, establish an image as a team member and help build relationships and trust more effectively than most other activities. Many executives underestimate the value of golf as a business tool, to the extent that it is never even considered. Others damage business relationships and even lose business because they lack business golf skills.