Golf is a very important game for Scott Hartman.| Photo: Scott and Chris Hartman
If the Hartman father and son duo aren’t running the 91-store chain, they’re probably golfing. In fact, Scott and Chris Hartman are the first father-son pair to complete the Top 100 Golf Courses in the world.
“We’ve been able to travel the world, and that golf quest took us to every corner of this Earth, it feels like,” Chris Hartman says. “And we’ve seen things that a lot of people wouldn’t see or wouldn’t even think about seeing because of a couple golf courses.”
Over the course of their 17-year golf quest, the Hartmans were rarely alone on the green. The Hartmans have shared their golf journey with many friends and colleagues over the years—and once even found themselves teeing off just ahead of former President Barack Obama and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York.
“[Golf] teaches you that it’s you against yourself. I do have a lot of competitive passion, and that’s what everybody in my company knows, we are competitive people,” Scott Hartman says. “And yet, when you play against yourself, if you don’t apply it right, you’re just going to beat yourself up. So you apply it in the right way to try to improve, try to learn, try to show good manners.”
It’s clear that for Scott Hartman, the journey was as much about the people as it was the courses. Golf is a bridge for Scott Hartman—connecting work and life, family and friendship, competition and camaraderie.
Nearly everyone who’s spent time with Scott Hartman on the course seems to have a story—some funny, some heartfelt, all memorable.
Pat Cordle, retired vice president of field sales at BIC, Shelton, Connecticut-based BIC, recalled a trip to Scotland where the group played more than a dozen courses over two weeks, switching hotels almost nightly and capping each day with “great conversations over a glass of wine.” Craig Panter, CEO of Cullinan Group, joined Scott and Chris Hartman at Japan’s top courses—amid a typhoon, no less. “It was an interesting but hairy golfing experience with the two, and I’ll remember it forever,” he says.
Over the years, Scott Hartman’s golf journey took him to courses across Ireland, the Dominican Republic and even an unexpected ferry ride to a course in Indonesia. Whether he was focused or selectively trash-talking mid-round, Scott brought a competitive spirit, quick wit and a love of the game.
“He’s extremely competitive, whether he’s on the golf course playing against Chris or colleagues, he likes to win,” says Frank Gleeson, president and CEO of National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), starting in January. “And I think that winning mentality sets people apart. You’ve got to have the resilience, the fortitude, the grit to push through the obstacles, overcome things that are challenging and then build one percent at a time to make your business better.”
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