subject: How to Play Golf With Your Boss [print this page] How to Play Golf With Your Boss How to Play Golf With Your Boss
As more and more business deals are done on the golf course, what do you need to know to play corporate golf? Here are five tips to get you through a round of golf with your boss.
1. Getting Prepared
Use the Boy Scout motto and "Be Prepared." Start with the obvious. Make sure your rain gear, clubs, golf shoes and clothes are clean. In addition, grab some extra cash in case the Boss wants a .friendly. wager. John Landsbaum, V.P. of Case Holdings suggests "Without bothering the boss, get accurate directions to the club as well as have a sense of how formal the dress code is." Tiger Woods likes to wear a mock t-shirt however wearing a collared shirt is always a safe bet. Plan to arrive early and have plenty of time to grab a bite to eat or warm up with or with out the boss.
2. Chatter
Just because the boss has asked you to play a round of golf, this does not mean that you are now best buddies. Stay professional and stay away from telling questionable jokes. You know where the line is. Remember, you are building a professional relationship and you need to keep your foot out of your mouth. On the morning of your tee time, be sure to catch the current headlines from the newspaper, online or the morning news.
3. The Round of Golf
As far as the betting goes, let The Boss decide the format of the game as well as the size and nature of any bets. The Boss will expect you to know the rules and do not take a mulligan off the first tee unless it's offered to you. Do not go back and replay a ball off the tee if you did not play a provisional golf ball with Ping K15 irons. The right thing to do would be to concede the hole.
4. Post Round
Following up is the key to be invited to play another round of golf. "A handwritten note will set you apart," says Landsbaum. Make sure it references something that you liked or appreciated without sounding fake.
Most of the people I've worked for were always on the job, they were taking care of their business. Some of the supervisors I've worked for golfed but they would say that they only went out a couple of times a year because of work, being so busy they had no time for pleasure and recreation. But my present supervisor is the exact opposite; he has little time for work and quite a few rounds of golf in already this year. At the rate he is playing he will have over one thousand rounds in by the end of the season. My boss is a good golfer; he gets four to five over par on the average when he plays golf.
He goes out every year for the club championship; some years are better than others, so far no win of the cup yet but maybe some year. When it comes to buying golf clubs my boss is a champ. I have bought some clubs from him for next to nothing, his friends are the same. They are constantly buying and upgrading to the latest clubs from the best brands, I always check with my boss to see if his friends have any golf clubs for sale before I go to the store and buy them there.
He has been golfing quite often this season. It is nice not to have the boss around all the time; I find I get more done. I am sure one day soon he will get that ace in the hole and we will never here the end of it, or at least for a good week. My plan is to get the ace first and then see who is having the last laugh. I wouldn't have worked any other way though; I love golf and who could ask for more than a boss who also loves golf.
