The best handshakes often happen on the 18th green.
There’s a reason so many deals start with “Let’s play a round.”
For those of us in mid-life—somewhere between our kids’ carpool schedules and the ache in our backs—golf offers more than just a chance to play a game we love. It’s also one of the last great spaces where business and relationships naturally intersect. No Wi-Fi, no presentations, no conference rooms. Just four hours of walking or riding, talking, and seeing how someone handles a double bogey after they chunk a wedge from 80 yards.
That tells you more about a person than any LinkedIn profile ever will.
The Original LinkedIn
Before Zoom and email threads, golf was the original business social network. And the truth is, it still works. Unlike the transactional feel of a conference or a cold call, a round of golf allows conversations to unfold slowly. There’s no need to force small talk or pitch decks—there’s space to let things breathe. You learn a lot walking or riding alongside someone for 18 holes: how they think, how they treat others, whether they’re steady under pressure or the kind of guy who slams a putter after a missed tap-in.
Those moments—authentic, unscripted—are where trust is built.
And trust is the currency of business.
You Don’t Need to Be Good, Just Real
One of the most common myths is that you have to be a scratch golfer to use the course as a networking tool. Nonsense! Most people you’ll play with aren’t pros—they’re just like us. Their swing’s a little rusty, they’re battling a slice, and they’d rather talk about the new wedges than launch angle.
What matters isn’t your score. It’s your attitude.
Play ready golf. Compliment good shots. Don’t keep bringing up your short game woes. Be the kind of partner people enjoy spending time with. Because if someone enjoys a round with you, they’re far more likely to take your call on Monday—or remember your name when an opportunity opens up.
The Club Without the Blazer
Not everyone belongs to a private club, and that’s okay. Municipal courses, public tracks, even a twilight nine at your local spot can be just as effective. You don’t need a $200 green fee to build a business relationship—what you need is presence, authenticity, and follow-through.
So invite that colleague you’ve been meaning to connect with. Bring a client out for a casual scramble. Offer a tee time to someone who helped you out on a project. Don’t overthink it. Just tee it up and let the game do what it’s always done: reveal character and create connection.
A Mid-Life Advantage
We’ve been around long enough to know when someone’s full of it. We also know how rare it is to find space for real connection. Golf, in mid-life, offers both the time and setting to skip past the posturing and get to the stuff that matters: Are you someone I can trust? Work with? Recommend?
At this stage, we’re not building a rolodex. We’re building a legacy. And that makes every round count.
So the next time you’re eyeing a weekend tee time or planning a weekday round, don’t just think about yardage. Think about opportunity. You might not shoot your best score—but you might walk off 18 with a new ally in your career journey.
And that’s worth more than a birdie.
– Kurt
MidLifeGolf.com
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