If one can’t be honest, whether in business, sports, games or life, one should at least know how to act it, especially when business is concerned, and even more especially so when it is combined with the gentlemen’s game of golf.
I participated as an invited guest in a tournament some years ago, and was in a foursome with a colleague of mine and two others from an industry that caters to ours. They were looking to land accounts with us, and getting together in such ways as this is a great way to establish a relationship.
This corporate tournament, being a competitive one, was not being played under a “scramble” format, familiar at charity and other informal events because of the relaxed rules resulting in a lack of pressure. As individual scores were going to be tabulated, and being principled anyway, I accurately counted each and every stroke of my own, along with the rest of my group’s scores called out to me as all holed out.
During the course of the game, it became apparent that although I’m not a good golfer – just average at best – the two that were treating us were having a worse day on the links than I was. Although I’ve never been one who is overly concerned with what the others in my foursome are shooting, it is also almost impossible for a golfer to not know among their foursome who is and isn’t shooting well. In the case of our group, my colleague was playing the best, with me well behind, but better than our hosts.
As the game progressed, I had some good drives, made the occasional decent approach shot and had a few fortunate putts, but not near enough to give me an even passable score. At the end of the eighteen holes, the tallied scorecards were handed in to the officials. From there, we showered, changed, then headed to the clubhouse for beers ‘n’ Caesars before sitting down for the dinner and awards banquet. Prizes were handed out for such categories as longest drive, closest to the pin and lowest score. Among these, is the “Most Honest Golfer” trophy, which goes to the individual with the worst (highest) score.
Looking back, I think the best part of this day for me was the real world lesson that played out in real time during the announcement of the first award of the night. It was for the aforementioned “Most Honest Golfer” trophy, which went to yours truly.
Imagine the surprised – then guilty – expressions on the faces of my two tablemates, as they processed what had just been announced. These so-called sportsmen, these “honest businessmen”, while attempting to ingratiate themselves to me, were looking to appear genuine by giving me props on those highlights of my day as well as condolences on the lows, while disingenuously giving themselves lower scores than they shot – for me to record!
They would have never known that I was going to win that award when we finished the round, nor do I suspect they even gave it a thought during the game or the activities after. Had I not recorded my score accurately – whiffed shots and all – or had played so poorly (or had others not also handed in false scores), I might not have submitted the worst scorecard of the day.
Here’s the thing. Never confuse having a good day of golf, or a good day of anything, with having the best score or results at the end of it. Much like the overarching theme of Make More Monie, which is to spread the word that you do not have to be in the top 1% in order to have a ‘fun’ancially successful life. All you need is to do something meaningful with your day by not wasting it, and then simply make progress in a positive direction beyond where you left off the day before. By doing so, no matter how far you make it in life, it will certainly be farther along than where you will end up if you do not.
Oh, and don’t blow an annual half-million dollar account opportunity by being anything but authentic!
Disclaimer: The information contained herein should not be construed or considered professional advice. Nonetheless, thanks for reading! If it resonates, there’s “plenty more where that came from” on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X ‘n’ YouTube