So You Want To Learn Golf Quick???

First of all, there is no way to quickly learn to play golf.

Back in my corporate days there was an up and coming junior exec that was invited to one of the golf outings where all of the executives will be in attendance. This guy did not know which end of a golf club to hold, much less anything about what he just got himself into with playing with the ‘Big Boys’.

So, searching for how to deal with this situation he went to his mentor. His mentor, not being a golfer himself, told the kid to go into the Pro-Shop before the outing and tell the golf instructor he needed to learn as much as he could before that afternoon’s golf outing.

He did this and the golf pro immediately dismissed his wish of learning everything because there was just no way. After a line of questions asked by the Pro, he hit on the fact that the outing was going to be a ‘Hit & Giggle’ Scramble. Knowing that the pressure for individual play would not be as high the pro took aim at teaching the rookie the full swing with the thought that the others on his group will cover him with a better shot.

So out to the range they went and the Pro knowing he only had an hour told the kid that the main thing to remember is “to use the same swing with each club”. This resonated through the young man’s head like an echo… The Pro showed him how to set up to the ball, how to grip the club, how to aim and then how to hit the ball.

Now if you are a golfer I am sure you have fond memories of your first golf swing. Over 50% of all new golfers first swing either misses the ball or digs the club in the ground about a foot behind the ball. Well that happened with this guy’s first two swings.

So, with some words of wisdom the Pro got the guy to hit a few shots by only making half swings. Then here came the call to the carts. The Pro could only watch as the kid took off with his clubs to where the carts were staged.

In this kids group was some very high level executives and officers of the corporation. And, yes, these guys were players. The kid kind of slinked into his cart just as his cart partner arriving from a little area next to the cart that had a bunch of holes punched in the finely mowed grass with little flag sticks sticking up. The kid just stared at the greens and knew not to ask what that area was for since he wanted to keep his secret as long as he could. Which was for about three more seconds when his cart partner stuck out his hand and provided the kid with the handshake that would have made a gorilla cringe while asking ‘what’s your handicap?’.

Not knowing what a handicap meant the kid had to cave with ‘sorry, I am not sure what that means’. Well, the look on his partner’s face told the story that starts with…’SO, you have never played golf, right?’

And from that point the story pretty much went the way you are thinking it would. As the kid and his cart buddy arrived at the first tee the Alpha Dog of the group immediately barked out the side bets and the side games that will be played. Which brought an immediate remark from the kids cart partner ‘Hold on Chief, we have a rookie in our group.”

Fortunately, the Alpha Dog was cordial with remembering his first outing with the group and him being a rookie. A little comfort for the kid, but the story keeps going…

So the Alpha Dog let the rest of the pack take the tee and the kid’s cart partner advised him on what club to hit by handing him the driver with the remark, ‘don’t worry kid we will have one in the middle, you just relax and have a good time.’

That was the first and the last time the kid got to relax. Naturally his shot went about 50 feet and the group got their first of many chuckles. But the big one was just about to come.

The group made it to the green from the stellar play of the Alpha Dog. As they drove up the green the kids saw the others taking out the funny looking short club that had a flat face. Wanting to not look totally out of it, the kid looked through his bag and found that he had the same club as the other and he pulled it out and took it with him.

The ball was sitting about 20ft from the cup and the Alpha Dog barked out, ‘Go ahead kid, show us the way.”. Not knowing exactly what that meant he asked his cart buddy what he was to do. His new fiend said to ‘line the ball up to the hole and swing the club to hit the ball into the cup’. Just then the echo of ‘remember to use the same swing for every club’ went through the kid’s head…

and the kid stepped up to the ball, lined up the ball to the hole and…

Now, here comes the most horrific thing that could ever happen to a golf green and to a kids business career…

As you suspected, The kid took the putter back like a five iron and stuck down on the ball ripping a one foot divot out of the green, and never hit the ball…

Needless to say, this story has been told for more years than I can remember and I have no idea where that kid is now. I heard about six years ago that he left the company and was running marathons or something like that…

I think you get the point, that there is no way to learn the game of golf in a short period of time.

I write in my book, How To Play Business Golf, that depending on how much practice you put into what you have learned from a golf professional, will determine how long it will take to learn to play golf at a comfortable level. There is not a golfer out there, professional or amateur, that is ever satisfied with their game and will never say they have learned it all. So, my suggestion is to be patient and the game will come to you…

Read more about this and all you need to know about golf and why you should learn to play golf to improve your business.

About The Author: As President of Innovative Business Golf Solutions, Scot Duke provides over 31 years of corporate management experience to helping small businesses improve their marketing strategies.

Author of: ‘How To Play Business Golf’, From The Boardroom To The Fairways…

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