We’ve all heard the saying “business is done on the golf course” before, but is that just a classic business stereotype? After working in wealth management for a few months now, I want to share my take on the saying.

The entire reason why I wanted to get into golf was because I knew I would be working in the finance/business industry. I knew it was an easy networking skill, and I also didn’t want to embarrass myself on the course with a client, so I knew I needed to learn the game. All of that thinking was based on the stereotype, I didn’t actually know whether or not me learning how to golf would pay off in the business world.

I forced myself to learn golf in my second year at school. I had no prior knowledge or experience with golf, none of my close friends played, and I definitely couldn’t afford lessons or going to the range every day. I would open my closet doors and put my blanket over top of them, and I would hit balls of my carpet into the blanket, just to get used to the feeling of swinging a golf club. I spent hours and hours in my room rewiring my body to think that the golf swing felt natural (the golf swing is probably the most unnatural feeling, even for an athlete). I eventually became good enough where I had the confidence to play a full 18 with others, knowing I wouldn’t embarrass myself too badly.

Fast forward to my first interview at the job I currently have, one of the biggest topics of conversation was golf. Why I got into it, how I got into it, what I think it has taught me? These were all questions I got during the interview. Golf is a great sport which exposes peoples’ characters and mental resilience. When I told my interviewers about how I started my journey from nothing with no support, but my closet doors and blanket, they were amazed. They could see the dedication I had to learn something new.

The first thing the advisor I currently work for asked me was “do you play golf?”. She wanted someone on her team to be able to take her clients out in the future for rounds of golf, since she herself doesn’t play. Hearing her ask me that made me know that all my hard work and dedication to golf had paid off already. She told me that clients enjoy golfing with people they work with, especially the people who are managing their money, because it allows the clients to see what kind of people we are. They can see how I handle hitting a bad shot, or getting a bad lie, whether or not I move my ball into a better lie or moving it closer. They get to see your true character on the course, which plays into real life.

Clients want to know that the person they will be entrusting their money with is an honest, calm level-headed person who won’t cheat them. Golf is the easiest and most fun way to figure out whether or not we are someone the client can trust and can do business with.