In addition to being an amazing mind-body game, golf is truly “The Business Sport.” Last week I co-presented a webinar entitled “What Playing Partners Can Tell You About Business Partners.” Wearing my hats of LPGA golf pro, psychologist, and corporate speaker, it was really fun and helpful to explore all the ways we reveal who we are and what we learn about others during a round of golf.
No other places come close to the importance of the golf course and clubhouse for starting conversations, opening business doors, establishing rapport and relationship-building, and promoting sales calling as well as deal making. The ability to play golf enhances careers, not to mention fitness, well being, and just plain good times outdoors with friends and potential colleagues.
So if you’re a woman golfer, or are contemplating becoming one, I’d like to invite you to join in the inaugural Every BusinessWoman Golf Retreat, at Chardonnay Golf Club in Napa, April 10–12. You’ll be treated to the finest in holistic and business-golf instruction, practicing and playing on a gorgeous golf course winding through the vineyards of the valley, good food and wine, a great spa, networking with other businesswomen…plus a rare opportunity to work with LPGA Tour legend Renee Powell.
Renee is a true trailblazer. She was only the second African-American woman ever to play professionally, and recently became one of the first 7 women ever admitted to the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews in Scotland. We’ll be teaming up in Napa to offer all women—novices, average and serious players—three chock-full days of golf instruction, along with everything you need to know to capitalize on the business opportunities of the game.
It used to be that golf wasn’t seen exactly as a sport, or golfers as athletes. All of that has changed, with the advent of Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam raising the bar through powerful physical and mental conditioning regimes. Other changes are needed as well in golf, beginning with getting more women and more people of color out on the links and into the business game.
The days are done when golf, even jokingly, might have meant Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden. The PGA of America dropped its “Caucasian Only” clause in 1961, and the game is now becoming global in scope. Cultivating diverse women in the sport and in leadership can make real inroads into the way things are done in business and the world, so that things start working for everyone!
It really is remarkable how much goes on while golfing, as we valiantly go about trying to steer one of the tiniest balls in sports across miles of green grass, through all kinds of hazards and ‘rough’ on one of the largest playing fields in sports, to proportionally the smallest target. Standing over a golf ball you’re confronted with…yourself! Self-talk and emotions are right there as you prepare to take a big swing, or finesse a short shot or putt into the hole. And then there is all the time between shots, to manage your mind, keep your body relaxed and energized, take in the scenery, and socialize with your playing partners.
Sometimes I hear non-golfers say, “Maybe I’ll take it up later, when I’m older, it’s so slow and boring.” But getting people interested in golf actually isn’t very hard, once they realize what they might be missing out on business-wise, not to mention all of the challenges, pleasures and joys of the game. I consider myself a true “jock,” having always loved baseball, football, tennis, etc; training in the martial arts since college; and having been everything from a runner to a river raft guide. So I feel qualified to say that golf is not only not boring, but also it’s an endlessly interesting and wonderful game that you can play for life. It’s never too soon to at least gain the basic skills and ability to be in the business game.
There is still time to be part of the Every BusinessWoman Golf Retreat. A great group is gathering, including a woman who is a veteran of 2 Iraq wars and is now a decorated police officer. She will be coming as a representative of Renee’s groundbreaking Clearview Hope golf program for female vets in East Canton, Ohio. Together with my new business partner Kim R. Jenkins, I am deeply excited to offer new EBWG peak performance trainings and programs. Kim co-founded Jenkins, Taylor & Associates and is VP of The Emerald Agency, a woman and minority-owned company that has been a leader in executive legal recruiting for the past 3 decades.
This her-storic EBWG Retreat in Napa is coming up fast, and we’re happy to extend the Early Bird rate to San Francisco Bay Times readers. We also offer a special Commuter discount for Bay Area residents who choose to stay at home rather than partake of the full Retreat package with hotel.
In closing, I’d like to share one of my all-time favorite quotes. It comes from Shivas Irons, the fictional golf mystic in legendary Bay Area author Michael Murphy’s classic work Golf In The Kingdom (think Scottish brogue as your read!):
Golf is “an odyssey, an adventure from hole to hole…World upon world, all the heavens and hells of our daily lives…Golf is a way of makin’ a person naked…An x-ray of the soul…A projection of our hopes and fears…A vehicle for training our higher capacities…The game is a mighty teacher—never deviatin’ from its sacred rules, always ready to lead us on…A good stage for the drama of self-discovery.”
See you in Napa!
EBWG Retreat information and registration is available at www.everybusinesswomangolf.com, or contact Jamie directly: jamiesensei@thekiaiway.com, 760-492-GOLF(4653).
Jamie Leno Zimron is an LPGA Pro, Aikido 5th Degree Black Belt, and Corporate Speaker-Trainer. Please check out her website: http://www.thekiaiway.com
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