Don’t most business people like to golf? Is it vital to one’s success? I am not a golfer, nor do I entirely understand the appeal of chasing a very small ball around a very large grassy slope. Wouldn’t my time be better spent hiking or biking? However, business is my beat, and the Grand Valley business community loves to golf — so I set out to discover what I’m missing.
Diane Schwenke of the Grand Junction Area Chamber is an avid golfer and says it can’t be beat for building business relationships. Diane enjoys spending two hours (nine holes) or even four or five hours (for 18 holes) getting to know someone on the golf course. It’s not all business all the time. (She also said something about beer and popcorn.) Diane strongly believes in the value of golf relationships. Is it mere coincidence that the GJAC puts on an annual golf tournament in September to promote this networking tool? This year will be the 17th of these events.
Norm Franke of Alpine Bank plays golf almost exclusively for personal enjoyment. He comments that golf can be competitive or not, and if you are someone who likes to improve, it can be good for you. I laughed when he commented that if you are easily distracted, you might find it frustrating. Norm enjoys many outdoor sports, including skiing, and says that, as with many sports, golf is what you make of it. Golf can be fun or competitive. Golf can be pricy and take you to resorts all over the world — or not.
Ann Driggers of the Grand Junction Economic Partnership does not golf; she uses all her outdoor time for training. She gets a special pass because few can keep up with her on backcountry skis, mountain biking, or trail running. Although Ann does not spend her Friday afternoons wandering in the sunshine with bank presidents, she does use her recreational interests to promote the outdoor lifestyle that attracts so many companies to our community. See her Outdoor Junkie blog for the Daily Sentinel (See Ann Driggers’ blog at www.gjsentinel.com/blogs/outdoor_junkie/). It’s probably a good thing that Ann doesn’t play golf. Who knows what heights of athletic performance she might bring to the sport?
Greg Schaefer of Bray Real Estate Commercial told me a few months ago that he needed to get his hip replaced because it was affecting his golf swing. I wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. Greg has been playing since he was 12 years old and finds the game a continuous and constant challenge. He is drawn to golf because he is forever trying to improve what he did before. He notes that if a golfer is not trying to improve, that person is moving backward. Greg reads golf magazines and feels he might know the magic secret to shooting par but needs to play every day to get to that level. Luckily for Greg, several years ago the folks at Hilltop got his wife Sally hooked on the game. Sally uses golf as a business tool, seeing it as a different way to interact with staff and customers and good for team building. For Greg, it is an opportunity to relax and get away from work. The better you play, he notes, the more you like it.
After all this research, I conclude that I might give it a try. Discussing a business plan in the sunshine on a golf course doesn’t sound bad at all.
