Networking is the key to smart business golf
Women in the world of business are figuring out what the good old boys have long known – golf can help them create a network of professional contacts to advance their careers.
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Seventy-three percent of women executives polled in a 2004 Golf For Women Magazine survey said that golf has helped them develop new relationships through networking. Fifty-four percent said golf has helped them to be more assertive, and 22 percent of women executives polled said they have closed business deals on the golf course.
“Times have changed,” said Nancy Chaffee, president of Chaffee Communications in Barrington and an accomplished amateur golfer. “Women are now starting to play the game better, taking lessons, because they know it can have a big impact with a client. It’s taken a while, but it has occurred.”
For women who work as senior executives at Fortune 500 companies, being comfortable on a golf course has become as valuable as it is for their male counterparts, said Doreen Studley, vice president for marketing at Cox New England.
“There’s a lot of opportunity now for women to get professional training, and it’s something they should do in order to participate in what used to be exclusively a man’s sport,” Studley said.
Carol Nieckarz, a financial consultant for Smith Barney in Albany, N.Y., said her ability to play golf has played a role in finding new clients and increasing her stature in the community.
Women who want to impress prospective clients or close a deal on the green need to have a thorough understanding and familiarity with the game, Nieckarz said.
But Nieckarz, who plays to a 24 handicap, said women shouldn’t become so preoccupied with their game that they fail to relax and connect with clients and associates.
“I don’t hit it as far as a man does. I focus on my own game, and any experienced golfer understands that’s the nature of the game and appreciates that,” Nieckarz said. “You can’t be intimidated, you just have to play at your own level.”
Chaffee, who began doing business on the golf course years before most other women commonly played with men, said she plays golf with clients and business partners to bond with them and learn things she might not otherwise.
“Golf is a great judge of character,” Chaffee said. “You learn a lot about a person by whether they kick it out of the rough or whether they hit it out.”
Perhaps because many are newer to the game, Chaffee said that in her experience women tend to play a different brand of golf than men do.
“Men are more likely to pat you on the shoulder and say ‘good job,’ ” she said. “Women will make you put in a 2-inch putt.”
