I was recently asked to document how I came about writing my book, How to Play Business Golf. Following is part of the series:
My History of Business Golf
Where Business Golf Started For Me
For the sake of keeping this from becoming the epic version of the story of my life and keep in focus on how I came about to write my book, How to Play Business Golf lets me just start with that in 1995 my life changed and as a result I became a member of the Single’s Golf Association in Dallas.
Along with this change in life, I felt it was the time I gave back to the community and use my skill of organizing high-quality golf outings in organizing a golf tournament that raised funds for charity.
Tiger Woods had just hit the golf world which triggered a tsunami of kids now wanting to learn to play golf. Now that I had time to spend at the golf course I started to see junior golfers everywhere. However, along with those observations, I also saw the misfortunes of many of the kids who had dreams of playing golf but could not afford the amenities associated with playing golf properly.
Screen Door Open Charity Pro-AM
So, my mission was to spend the abundance of time I now found available to do what I had been overly trained to do…put on high-quality golf outings. However, this time they would have focused on raising funds for junior golf programs.
I found I was not alone. The singles golf community also shared my interest in helping the junior golfers of the area. From this organization, I was able to pull together a base of people who help launch what is today known as the Screen Door Open. This also brought about the next change in my life ..or the love of my life…my soul mate who also played golf as avidly as I did and who would soon become my wife.
Once I got the vote of confidence there was a solid commitment from the founding group of golfers my first stop was to visit with my friends at the PGA. Over the years of organizing very high quality focused business golf outings for top executives. I learned to depend on the members of the PGA and LPGA to help take care of the ‘Golf’ part of the business golf outings.
Next came the reality of there being literally hundreds of charity golf events for the SDO charity event to compete with. The solution again came from the PGA.
My reputation for producing well run highly organized golf events lead to the PGA to offer our now 501c3 Non-Profit with the coveted status of being a sanctioned PGA Pro-Am.
This meant the local PGA members of North Texas were sanctioned to play in this event as part of their community involvement. This included even the PGA Tour members.
This also allowed the SDO to officially carry in the title of the event ‘Pro-Am’. There were only two other officially sanctioned PGA Pro-Am’s in North Texas…the Byron Nelson Classic Pro-Am and the Colonial Invitational Pro-Am. The Screen Door Open Charity Pro-AM now was set apart from the other charity golf tournaments.
Along Came the Downturn in Golf
The beginning was naturally hard. Selling the SDO to business to become a sponsor of the event while also pitching golfers the opportunity to play in a Pro-Am was not as easy was thought to be. For four long years, the SDO struggled to build up a loyal following.
Keeping the quality of the event was made easy by the golf tournament being held at only private country clubs. However, in 2003, the economy started to rapidly swing back to a recession.
Golf, and the people who played golf, were treated like they had the plague. Charity given to golf events was frown upon by stockholders as frivolous spending. Golfers who supported the event by playing found themselves without jobs or forced to take retirement which placed them on a fixed income.
Time For a Change
It was during this time I found myself in the fortunate and unfortunate situation of being forced into retirement as part of my company’s downsizing.
The unfortunate part of this change in my lifestyle was it placed me in a situation of either finding another job or starting my own business. I chose to start my own business of consulting people on how to network their business services using golf was the initial purpose of my business.
This leads me to my friends in the PGA asking me to help them identify why so many people were leaving golf which as a result lead me to write my book, How to Play Business Golf.
Still, playing Golf, in general, was tough to afford by many.
Studying Golf
However, using golf for business purposes was still a possible business expense if the golf was played for business purposes…which meant it had to be done correctly. By 2008, the bottom had dropped out of the economy and the SDO Pro-AM started to rely upon business golfers to fill the event.
For five long years, the golf industry staggered through uncertainty. Private country clubs closed. Golf equipment companies failed. And many of the members of the PGA had to move on to other professions.
By 2012, the Screen Door Open Pro-Am was down to hosting private fundraisers for PGA members just to get through the hard times in their personal life. The SDO board of directors was down to two members who voted on December 2012 to close up shop and turn in its coveted Pro-AM status and non-profit certification.
Still, there was a bright side to the 12 years I spent as the executive director of an officially sanctioned PGA Pro-Am, I proved Business Golf…played correctly…was a viable resource to developing sound business relationships.
I was ready to face the next step in my life which was to take a break and deal with my health. Little did I know that would lead me back to helping golf by promoting business golf…again.
I’ll be back with more on My History of Busines Golf
