“Networking and Camaraderie”
Three minutes into the meeting and the very first words out of my mouth to the golf outing committee were, “why are you having a golf outing”?
It was Earl, sitting opposite of me who proudly chimed in with what he had believed was the only reply necessary. “It’s about networking and camaraderie, that is why we hold a golf outing each year” he said.
Now I am perched on the edge of my seat, ready to make a point to Earl not even knowing the man, but based off 44+ years in the PGA and in the golf industry, I felt more than comfortable formulating a few opinions in my head during his one sentence remark. “Let me guess Earl, your Chamber outing is about 8 weeks out and I’m sure that you will be playing in it, am I right?” Earl said “I am and I have played in the outing each year for the past five years.” “Awesome” I replied. “I bet you already have your team picked out”. He said, “same team each year, it’s a no-brainer.”
I couldn’t stop, I said “let me guess, this is the same group you play with every week, right”? Earl said, “every weekend, we have a permanent tee time at 8:52 am”. I said “Earl, knowing that and knowing that you are on the golf committee for this outing, I am going to guess that you guys play the same course that the outing will be playing in August, am I right”?
Earl confirmed my suspicions and I said, “So, to summarize, you are playing with the same three players that you have played in this outing with for the past five years. You are playing with the same guys that you play with every weekend, and are doing it on the same course that you have played forever… only now, you are getting a worse tee time, as the outing starts at 1 pm, which is a tee time your group would NEVER even dream of playing, and you guys are going to pay $125 each to play it when it normally would cost you $42 each. Tell me about the Networking and Camaraderie thing again”.
I went on to explain to Earl and the group that golf outings should only held to make money. They are really kind of terrible for “networking and camaraderie” as you are stuck with the same 3 people all day and more often than not, one guys leaves before the dinner anyway. That means you have lost 33% of your networking possibilities within your very own foursome, let alone the entire field.
Every task the committee undertakes should be handled as if you had to report to only two people, your accountant and your banker.