Forget everything you think you know about golf. The age-old pastime that once symbolized exclusivity and competition is undergoing a transformation, led by Gen Z and driven by the simple idea that golf is about more than hitting a ball.
“By the 14th hole, you can see deep into someone’s soul and understand their character,” says Mike Berland, author of the new book Not About Golf: The Life Changing Joy of Playing The Game and a longtime pollster who has advised Hillary Clinton and Mike Bloomberg. “They can’t hide from you.”
That insight is also reshaping how forward-thinking companies approach team building, networking and leadership development as younger generations become a force in the workforce.
Whole new legions of golf fans are rewriting the rules of the game, something people managers should take notice of. During the pandemic, 800,000 women picked up clubs for the first time while players under age 35 flooded courses. What’s more, some 17 million people are now playing in simulators located everywhere from bars to barber shops. What they have in common is the discovery that the game is a uniquely powerful platform for human connection and doing business.
That said, a traditional 18-hole round doesn’t necessarily fit the fast-paced lives of the young. So besides simulators, Gen Z is also embracing nine-hole rounds, Topgolf-style entertainment venues and night golf with LED balls. “For this generation, golf doesn’t have to be structured,” as Essential Golf reports. “It can be casual, social and fast — without sacrificing the joy of hitting a clean shot.”
The golf course has long been a laboratory for observing how people handle adversity and maintain integrity — something Gen Z, just starting out in their careers, is getting a handle on. “In golf, you’re not really playing against someone as much as you’re playing with yourself,” Berland explains. “You have to keep your score. You have to call rule violations on yourself. There’s an integrity to the sport that’s very important.”
“By the 14th hole, you can see deep into someone’s soul and understand their character. They can’t hide from you.”
Mike Berland,
author of “Not About Golf: The Life Changing Joy of Playing The Game”
Mike Doyle of Five Iron Golf has seen it firsthand: “This is where people are brave, because everybody watches you hit the ball,” Doyle relates to Berland in his book. “Do they judge you, or do they teach you how to get better? You put yourself out there, but you can learn as part of the team.”
All the while, newcomers to the game are helping to mothball its elitist reputation. “The biggest surge in golf is women, young women,” Berland emphasizes. “They’re really making their mark on the sport.”
Meanwhile, the intimidation factor that once kept people away from company golf outings is also disappearing. “When companies used to have outings, only the good golfers would go,” Berland says. “That doesn’t happen today. If you’re a beginning golfer, they have a program. Everybody’s part of the team. Golf is a way to bring people in.”
The game creates what Berland calls “forced human connectedness,” time together where phones stay pocketed — a challenge for digital-native generations, it goes without saying — and where authentic conversations happen. “You’re finding out about who they are, what makes them tick,” he explains.
Those lessons transfer directly to workplace dynamics, as golf teaches focus and resilience, Berland points out. “If other thoughts come in your head while you’re golfing, you’re going to have a really miserable experience,” he says. “So you have to engage on golf, and it allows other things to clear.”
Newcomers to the game are also embracing the networking benefits. “Most golfers want to know that you’re someone who’s interesting to talk to, who will contribute to their day and to their life,” Berland says. “They don’t care how you play golf. They don’t care if you shoot 80 or if you shoot 120. If you’re somebody they enjoyed being around, that they learned something from that day, then that is a successful golf round.”
As companies struggle with employee engagement and team building, particularly among Gen Z, perhaps the answer isn’t another workshop. Maybe it’s time to take to the green — or at least the closest simulator. As Berland puts it, “My worst day of golf with friends is still one of the best days of my life.”
