Golf is much like business: you spend a lot of time with people you don't like while having to deal with obstacles, disappointment and unpleasant arithmetic.
But the world's most frustrating sport can help you to succeed in your business life. Eighteen holes in your opponent's company will tell you more about his character than you will learn in a lifetime of board meetings. Nobody can keep their guard up in a game where disaster is only one slice, hook or shank away.
While deals are rarely sealed on the course, relationships are formed that can lead to profitable business relationships. The shared suffering of dealing with 20-foot downhill putts or impossible bunker lies can create a bond between those addicted to a sport that even fails to provide Tiger Woods with enough birdies. A round of golf will raise red flags around those people with whom you should never do business. Here are the ones to avoid:
BANDITS: If your opponent claims to have a handicap of 24 and then hits all greens in regulation, he will have more tricks than a circus pony in his business dealings. Likewise, if he is far worse than his handicap, he is probably more concerned with image than achievement.
CHEATS: All golfers will have come across players who 'forget' penalty strokes, improve lies, move their ball or ground their club in bunkers. If a potential business ally is prepared to rip up the rule book against someone he is trying to impress, you know he cannot be trusted.
WHINGERS: Golf balls are attracted to water and sand by the same laws of physics that draw British MPs to expenses claim forms. There is nothing anyone can do about it. Golfers who blame the weather, course or even their caddies are looking for scapegoats for their misfortunes. Delete them from your business contacts.
FAVOUR SEEKERS: A 'gimme' is a short putt conceded by an opponent. If your partner persistently asks you to concede six-foot putts on a sloping, pockmarked green, you can be sure he will also expect unreasonable business favours.