Golf is the sport of excellence and more. In exploring the
relationship between golf and business, we can take a closer
look at two themes of experience, two levels of conversation
that weave together and through each other.
The first is your personal experience and how golf is a pathway
to personal and business excellence. Secondly is the experience
with others to create relationship often referred to as Business
Golf.
Golf a trance of frustration or a powerful
meditation
Many people experience golf as a blend of a few moments of
elation and generally a whole lot of frustration without ever
knowing why.
A few have been fortunate or intelligent in discovering that
golf is another expression of any ancient art. That golf is a
magnificent meditation in the art of intentionality, blending
the use of mind, physiology and use of energy to create a clear
intention and outcome.
The doorway to high performance is through relaxation,
awareness, a decision, commitment and focus. To achieve this
there is some learning required at the level of principle, in
mind, physiology, language, emotion and skill, a cybernetic loop
where each one impacts the other, an integrated
whole.
Golf is a mind, physiology and skill game
We are creators of our reality every second of every day. Golf
is no different to life or business in this. Without the right
learning, Golf is a mystery where without knowing it you are
working against yourself, right down to your choice of golf
clubs and golf ball, let alone poor thinking that defeats you
over the ball.
Saying to yourself "don't hit it in the water, again" is like
yelling to children "don't run". You set yourself up. Having a
head full of swing thoughts will kill any shot.
Tiger Woods says "It is a thinking man or woman's game. The
psychology of golf entails mental toughness, self confidence,
intimidation, gamesmanship, conquering inner demons, instant
recall of past successes and being able to purge failures. It is
the game within the game".
Learn the mind game and you will transform your golf and much
more. I have found golf is a powerful metaphor with direct
transfer into how you think and do your role in
business.
Lessons from a Chairman
For instance, working with a Chairman from a reasonable sized
accounting firm in Sydney Australia recently, he got some
valuable lessons through 9 holes of on-course coaching. Firstly,
to be at your best you need to relax. The simplest way to do
this is to breathe.
Secondly, he got that the target is more important than the
ball. Which is more important? Where the ball is or where you
want it to land or finish up? It's a rhetorical question.
Yet where do most golfers focus?
From the ball your trajectory is infinite. The target is finite.
The third lesson was this - it's one thing to make a decision,
you also need to commit to it. Without commitment you only have
doubt and play to doubt or even worse still, fear. That's a 100%
chance of success to get what you don't want.
Golf
coaching may have mislead you
As golf stands today Chuck Hogan puts it beautifully, "it isn't
golf that is such a difficult game, it's how it is taught that
makes it quite impossible".
Golf coaching in the last thirty years or so got caught up in
focussing on swing, technique and technology. Problem is, golf
professionals didn't mention in their pursuit of excellence that
they still work on golf as a mind, physiology game. The average
golfer saw only part of the territory and thought it was the
map.
A path to excellence
Learning the mind/body game is long overdue if you are serious
in your pursuit of high performance and excellence in golf or
business.
It's your choice, you can relax and find your natural golf game
or you can exhaust yourself through frustration and working
against yourself at every level. Golf is a great leveler and
reveals who people are.
Mind game mastery is certainly something that can transform you.
It can help you lower your score, enjoy your golf, change your
level of being in business, and build
relationships.
Business Golf - building relationships
beyond you
Another side to golf is that it is a great tool for meeting
people, discovering who they are and creating intimacy. You can
discover how people think, how they make decisions, their
strategy, and get to know them under pressure.
There is no better way to get to know someone than out in nature
surrounded by negative ions recharging the mind and
body.
Meeting Key Influencers
Playing golf with another person or in a group is a great way to
network, to create relationships beyond business.
You might go to a networking event that is designed for key
influencers to meet and get to know each other. It could be a
one day golf coaching intensive or a five day networking event
under the banner of Business Golf.
Building value in
key relationships
There is an important lesson in business beyond knowing who your
market is, who your key clients are and how much they are worth
to you. It's to get close to your key clients and stay close to
them.
Business Golf has now become a serious means of creating client
intimacy beyond crude database driven CRM. This is hands-on
client relationship management and building.
The best part is, it's personal.
Conclusion
If you truly want to be at your best in business, relax more and
get some balance. You need to be at your best in mind, body and
emotions to make good decisions, to contribute and to fulfill
your role with integrity.
It's not about working ridiculous hours, exhausting yourself and
running on empty.
Business is about being your best, to do your best and building
strong, long lasting relationships. Golf is a great conduit for
business excellence.
About the author:
Roderick Fraser is a Golf Mind Coach and Master Practitioner of
NLP, who is based in Sydney Australia. Roderick's firm Golfing
Excellence works with entrepreneurs, executives, business owners
and those committed to personal, golfing and business
excellence. He works with individuals and small groups. Roderick
can be contacted through website
www.golfing-excellence.com. ©
Copyright Roderick Fraser, Golfing Excellence 2006