The new to town 802 Golf Academy, as featured recently in the Journal, makes it clear that golf is changing to welcome any and all who are interested to learn and play. This is refreshing because, usually, golf is portrayed as a sport for the privileged few.
I first swung a golf club when I was in my 40s. It did not go well as far as making contact with the ball, nor hitting it far, straight or strategically. Tennis had been my game since childhood. I loved it and was good at it. My athletic skill in tennis or other areas did not translate to golf.
Fast forward and now golf is more conducive than tennis to my older but still energetic body. Thank goodness I can play golf on courses in the Green Mountains where, no matter how well I play (or not), the air always smells good, the scenery is spectacular and my partners are good company.
In just the last fifteen months, two national publications have written about the role that golf can play in the business world. Per the Wall Street Journal, if you are a male, scratch golfer, you will be heavily recruited to be employed by corporate America. On the other side of the divide, an opinion piece in CNN – written by a female business professor – highlighted new studies showing the disadvantages women often face in the working world by not knowing how to play golf.
One friend of mine, recently retired from a C-suite job on Wall Street, told me her firm had ended golf events years ago because it made a variety of employees feel left out. A different friend, currently working in hospital administration in suburban New Jersey, told me that when she mentors young women she always advises them to learn how to play golf.
To my mind, golf is not a determining factor in whether one succeeds in the business world. I think that working hard, doing a good job and being nice to people are still the pillars of success. Extracurriculars like being tall, pretty, funny, athletic or well connected can all help, but won’t guarantee getting ahead. We all know exceptions do apply; work is not always a meritocracy.
In closing, permit me to reminisce about one of my best days as a young summer law associate when I played softball in a league of firms that held their games near the picturesque National Mall.
I had started work just a few days earlier. Practically no one knew my name. I was assigned the outfield. My team was ahead but now it was the bottom of the ninth-inning with two outs and bases loaded.
The male lawyers surrounding my position all crept closer, hoping I wouldn’t notice or mind. The batter swung. The ball came barreling straight toward me. The sun was still blazing. I put up my glove where I thought the ball was going to be. I caught it. Celebration and relief ensued.
The next day at work everyone was calling my name and praising my miraculous athletic prowess. Then, the socializing ended. We all went back to our desks and to work, toiling into the night.
