For the Love of Golf

Fore the Love of Golf

For Labor Day weekend my family went golfing Sunday afternoon. The sun was out, the breeze was blowing and I loved being outdoors on such a beautiful day. If you have ever played golf, it can be fun, relaxing, difficult and frustrating all within one hole. It takes a lot of skill, talent, metal strength and endurance to be good and consistent at golfing. However, as we went through the game of golf together, many of the skills needed reminded me of the mental abilities needed as a professional in the business word. Here are four pillars of a mentally fit mind for golf and how they coincide with a business, professional mindset.


Mental tip #1: Strength

Also known as mental toughness, strength is performing when is matters most. You need to have a strong mind in both golf and business to achieve your goals. In golf, you will never score par if you get the ball on the green from your drive, but have to putt three times to get it in the hole. Similarly in business, you can’t just plan for a new marketing campaign and then not complete things because another company has started something new of their own. You need to build up a mental toughness around competition, high stakes, possibilities of failure or any outside failure that tries to knock you down.

Mental tip #2: Flexibility

Just like you stretch out your body before going on a run, you must have a limber mind just as your body. The best golf players, “adapt to different courses and conditions.” Even as a golfer, you must be creative and accept what comes your way. In a business setting, you need to be flexible in all kinds of situations. When your competition rolls out a campaign against your company, you do not have 10 weeks to respond and change your entire message. In that moment, your company is relying on you to be flexible and make the necessary changes. Flexibility can come into play when meeting with co-workers, creating new plans or even changing your plans due to politics, environment, culture or social movements.

Mental tip #3: Balance

Stay in the moment. That might be a cliché, but the reason we have them is because they work. In golf,  you have to keep yourself very focused on the task ahead. Driving a ball is very different from putting a ball. Each hit takes very specific skills and a great amount of concentration to achieve a great hit. In business, you have to keep a mental balance. You don’t want to get too excited, but you want to keep yourself aware and on your toes. Finding a good balance in your workplace is very important to the vitality of your work and environment.

Mental tip #4: Stamina

As a golfer, there are many emotions throughout the day from stressful swings and emotional moments. Doing your best to minimize those emotional switches can help conserve your mental energy for the game. When working for a company, you need to learn when to push your mind and when to minimize the energy being used on stress and frustration. Keeping a mind that is ready for the next task and not worn down by too much can help you achieve a higher level of success on a daily basis.


I hope you enjoyed reading and I would love to hear about the mental tips and tricks of either golf or business!