Arnold Palmer on golf and business.

• Author: Palmer, Arnold
• Position: Reprint from Directors & Boards, Winter 1983 - Putting In Place the Right Board for the 21st Century

I DON'T THINK there's ever been a golf course built that hasn't had some business conducted on it, whether it s a public golf course or a private country club such as Oakmont, Winged Foot, Augusta, or Olympic.

Sometimes people ask me what I consider correct business etiquette while playing golf. I don't think there's any line to draw beyond correct business etiquette in general. Most of the time people really don't mind getting a little business conversation going. What starts on the golf course usually finishes in the clubhouse, where you can discuss things freely at your leisure.

On the golf course itself, I think the most important factor is that you can start a conversation and get to know a person. That's where golf has an advantage over every other situation -- on the golf course you understand how a man reacts better than anywhere else. You find out about his personality, right then and there. If he throws clubs and uses a lot of foul language, then you know what direction you want to take in your business dealings ... By the time the round of golf is over you may decide that a man who kicks the ball in the rough will do things in business that you consider unethical. (I don't think I would want to do business with him.) So the golf course is a place to think about strategy, not just a place to make a deal.

Actually, agreements don't necessarily happen right on the golf course itself, but the round creates a relationship between the players that carries over to the 19th hole with a drink or dinner. They feel more free to discuss things than they would if they were walking into an office with their white shirts and their ties on. In the office they're usually very stiff and trying to understand each other's language. They're thinking about what they're going to say next.

On the golf course, the same two people have an almost immediate relaxed attitude that continues right into the cocktail time and dinner. One of the most useful results is that it's easier to say a definite yes or no in a golf atmosphere than it is in an office.

One of the wonderful things that happens in golf relationships is that a third or fourth person can accidentally be drawn into a whole new business relationship by being in a foursome where people have different businesses. For example, one man can be in the insurance business and another man in the textile business, and one who runs a charter flight service. All of a sudden one man is buying an airplane to...