Your company cell phone rings.\u00a0 The caller ID says it’s The Boss.\u00a0 You answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want me to do \u2026\u2026whaaatt?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The dreaded call you knew would come someday.\u00a0 Heavens no, you\u2019re not being fired, laid-off, or demoted.\u00a0 Much worse:\u00a0 The Boss wants you to play golf with clients and you don\u2019t have the first clue as to what to do because you don\u2019t play<\/em> golf.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen?\u00a0 Next month?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n You panic and think ‘Why me?’ <\/em>There is no way you can learn to play golf in a month.\u00a0 Or can you?<\/p>\n Actually, you can become proficient enough if you concentrate on the right aspects of the game and learn some fundamentals\u2026..properly.\u00a0 Now is not the time to ask your brother or your boyfriend or some other friend who brags about how great they play.\u00a0 Chances are they aren\u2019t as good as their claims nor can they teach you, a neophyte, to play.<\/p>\n Here is Part One of a primer to help you play competent business golf in 30 days.<\/p>\n This may sound like a difficult undertaking but if you concentrate your skills learning in the proper areas, it could be easier than you think.\u00a0 Many times your business golf invitations will be in the form of team play known as a scramble.\u00a0 If you want to contribute to the team score \u2013 and be a hero on any team on which you are asked to play \u2013 there are two skills that will go a long way:\u00a0 a good short game and a strong tee shot.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 An excellent short game, especially putting, is hard to beat in any form of competition and secondly, you most likely will be playing from the Forward Tees, which will give your team an advantage on certain holes if you make\u00a0solid contact with the ball.\u00a0 These two strengths will make you an invaluable asset to your team and will net you return invitations.<\/p>\n Now, a few words about accepting invitations.\u00a0\u00a0 Generally you\u2019ll want to accept ANY invitation that comes your way to play golf with business associates, potential clients, and bosses IF:<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 you have played before and can consistently hit the ball every time you swing<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 you feel comfortable playing in the company of men<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 you feel comfortable playing in the company of women who may be better players than you<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 you have some knowledge of the rules of the game and its etiquette<\/p>\n If not, it is wiser to ask for a Rain Check and re-schedule for a later date when you know you can be a proper golfer.\u00a0 Then, go and become that proper golfer.\u00a0\u00a0 You cannot procrastinate forever.<\/p>\n So, how do you go about doing this miracle performance and become a decent golfer in 30 days?\u00a0 \u00a0Very simply:\u00a0 by learning the fundamentals from a qualified teaching professional.\u00a0 Where to go?\u00a0 To find a good teaching professional you can:<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ask your golfing friends for recommendations<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 call your state\u2019s professional men\u2019s or women\u2019s golf association or professional organization (PGA of America or LPGA)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 go to your local driving range and watch the pros as they are giving lessons and pick one you believe you could relate to<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 go to your local public course and ask who among their staff is a top instructor for women;\u00a0 or try a private club because sometimes the club will allow the pro to teach non-members<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 visit a few golf mega stores and inquire about the pros there;\u00a0 many have staff members who are expert club fitters as well and can recommend proper beginner clubs for you to use\u00a0 (Note:\u00a0 Do NOT spend a lot of money on beginner clubs.\u00a0 Your swing will evolve quickly and those clubs will become outdated in no time at all)<\/p>\n Do NOT ask your significant other to teach you, no matter how good or willing the other person might be.\u00a0 It may save you money but it will cost you in other ways, including sanity and matrimonial loss of bliss.\u00a0 If, after you learn the fundamentals and want to take some pointers from your \u2018other\u2019 go ahead.\u00a0 At least this way you\u2019ll have some experience under your belt.<\/p>\n When you select an instructor, tell him or her exactly what you want to do and why.\u00a0 If you have a big golf event in 30 or 60 days, say so.\u00a0 Say that you want to concentrate on the two aspects of the game mentioned above, especially the short game techniques.\u00a0 That way, the pro will know exactly what to do.\u00a0 Women are adept at learning the short game, as it does not require a lot of power to execute properly.\u00a0 Driving from the Forward Tees, if you can learn to hit a consistent shot about 150 yards off of a tee, you\u2019ll be in the \u2018Driver\u2019s\u2019 seat \u2013 pun intended.\u00a0 And, in learning the swing fundamentals enabling you to hit a good drive, you\u2019ll also be learning full swing techniques that will help with all the rest of your shots as well.<\/p>\n Take the time to practice, even if it is as little as 15-30 minutes per day.\u00a0\u00a0Grab your putter and a couple of golf balls when you head to work and find a short-napped, level carpet to putt on.\u00a0 Put a coffee cup or glass down and try to sink 5 or 10-footers.\u00a0 Or, put a yardstick on the floor and use it as a guide for your putting stroke.\u00a0 It will teach you the desired \u2018straight back \u2013 straight through\u2019 stroke.\u00a0 Watch golf tournaments or The Golf Channel.\u00a0 Observation is an excellent teacher……and check out my article, ‘Putting Is Not Rocket Science’.<\/p>\n Part 2 of this series will explain ho to get ready for The Big Day, your business competitive debut.<\/p>\n Most of all, enjoy the journey!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How in the world can you prepare to play client golf in 30 days? Read on….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,9,1495],"tags":[4851],"class_list":["post-106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-instruction","category-golf","category-what-do-women-want","tag-business-golf"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/janinajacobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/janinajacobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/janinajacobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/janinajacobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/janinajacobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/janinajacobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":968,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/janinajacobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106\/revisions\/968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/janinajacobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/janinajacobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/janinajacobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n