If you spend enough time on the course, you might begin to notice the many similarities golf has with running a business. Perhaps this makes the game appealing to you – it’s unlimited lessons you could learn and apply to your career.
Over the years, I have picked up a few tips and tricks from playing the game I now use in my business. Here is what I have learned so far.
1. Course Management Is Key
Navigating a golf course, picking the right club, and picking the right shot all require a strategy. The last thing you want to do while on the course is aimlessly hit the ball.
This applies to every business. You want to have goals. Then you want to have a step-by-step plan to achieve them. This allows for accountability and efficiency and increases the chances of your business’s success.
2. Learn the Course
Before you even think about picking up your club, it is important to spend a couple of minutes researching the golf course you’ll play. Look up the course online, go with a partner who is familiar with the course or ask for a course book.
If you do this, at the least, you will be aware of hazards and how to avoid them.
For instance, you could play executive golf courses, which are smaller than standard golf courses, so your expectations for your score should differ from regular rounds. The same could be expected of your small business.
Every business is going to have its “course.” You need to understand the market’s terrain and your customers in the same way you read a green.
Ask for advice from multiple people who have had experience in that area, and learn about your clients, the equipment you might need, and the skills you may need. If a task can help or hurt your business, it is your responsibility to learn about it.
3. Improve Your Skills
The beauty of golf is there is always something new can learn. From understanding the fundamentals so you can control your shots to fixing your inevitable struggles, it’s a learning curve that sees us gradually improve our skills.
The best players are the ones who are constantly working on improving themselves.
This also applies to business. Whether it is your employees or yourself, the best thing you can do for your business is to invest in improving your skills. On the golf course, the more types of shots you master, the easier it becomes for you to lower your score.
Similarly, in some businesses, the more skills you have, the easier it becomes for you to achieve your goals. Quality, competitiveness, efficiency, and productivity are all increased by effective upskilling. This will enable your business to adjust to changes in the industry and rising demand.
4. Learn From Mistakes
Not picking the right club, not warming up, taking shots with no target, not spending time getting to know the course – the list of mistakes you could make while playing golf is endless.
However, mistakes can also be an opportunity to get better.
Similarly, in businesses, mistakes are inevitable. This is especially true in new companies. The key is turning them into lessons.
Very often, we may accept that we have made a mistake, and sometimes we may also manage to rectify these mistakes. However, if we do not learn from them, we may repeat them. And this can cost us money and time.
Always remember that the key to making fewer mistakes in the future is learning from the present ones, not solving all of them.
5. Of All Hazards, Fear is The Worst
Pro golfers realize that anxiety can often cause you to tense up and ruin your swing. Other times, it can cause you to make bad decisions.
Whenever you are on the golf course, no matter the circumstance, it is advisable not to let your fear control you.
When it comes to businesses, this can be especially true when making decisions. Sometimes, for whatever reason, whether it be a risky decision or just going into an unknown market, we may be afraid. Keep on walking despite the fear. Take the shot. And then another one.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, there is so much you could learn from playing the game; the beauty is that you don’t have to spend much time taking in these lessons. Think about the resilience golf requires and how you can take that with you into your professional life.
All in all, keep trying to learn something every time you go golfing.
