Powergolf: How to Line Up the Boss, Important Clients

Don’t fling that five iron--it might cost you a sale.

And if your prospective client refuses to take a penalty stroke for losing his ball in the rough, let him. But remember the guy’s a cheat.

Such are the rules of Powergolf, the game of cutting deals on the links.

“Golf is not just a game--it’s a business strategy,” said Peter T. Braun, whose Powergolf seminars are aimed at corporate executives new to the game.

“We believe that knowledge of the rules and etiquette of golf are just as much good solid business tools as any negotiating skills or people-management skills that a person might have,” Braun said.

The National Golf Foundation says the number of U.S. golfers more than doubled from 11.2 million in 1970 to 24.7 million in 1989 and that nearly 12% of them play for business reasons.

“I decided I really needed it to help me in my business. I wasn’t able to participate in golf outings because I didn’t play golf,” said Mary Lee Montague, a sales and marketing executive for Chicago public television station WTTW, who participated in the first Powergolf seminar recently in Chicago.

Montague typifies the audience that Braun hopes to reach: novice golfers whose lack of knowledge about the game could undermine their ability to make an effective sales pitch or appear breezily confident while strolling down the fairway with a couple of potential clients and the boss.

“The overriding fear on the golf course is the fear of losing your cool under pressure,” said Braun, who also runs U.S. Golf Systems Inc., a Chicago-based, golf-equipment exporting company.

“Understanding the proper timing and proper ways to address business issues is going to increase their confidence and comfort,” he added.

Powergolf divides 18 holes of business golf into three parts: the first six holes to establish a foundation for a relationship; the second six to build a rapport, and the final six to strike an alliance that could lead to a sale or a choice assignment.

“We don’t emphasize trying to close deals on the golf course. The only thing you want to close is the date of the next meeting, the chance to show your product and continue the relationship,” Braun explained.

At the Chicago Powergolf seminar, exuberant instructor Troy Campbell led more than 30 participants through a review of the game’s rules and a series of lessons on how to size up business associates as they line up their putts.

Players who don’t repair ball marks or replace divots probably won’t tend to business details, either, he said. And those who hit out of turn may not be team players.

Braun even brought in Jack Nicklaus’ personal nutritionist, author Teri Fredericks, to give a lunchtime speech on “performance nutrition” (a low-fat diet and 10 glasses of water daily).

Braun hopes to bring his seminars to every major U.S. city at prices ranging from $199 for the basic one-day course to $499 for a weekend package that includes golf lessons and an 18-hole round.

By the way, Braun says, don’t bother letting the boss or client win.

“You should be concentrating more on your conduct,” he said. “When that round of golf is finished, I’m not going to remember your score, but I’m going to remember what kind of person you were on the golf course.”