Salesandcoffeedude

Business Development Representative

How do I start golfing

Don't have too many friends who golf.

Nearest golf course is an hour train.

I've heard it's essential to do business and I want to learn before I move out of the SDR role.

Should I start with classes (Don't have money for this) or should i go to a driving range 1st?

I can afford a 2nd hand golf club set.

Is the best way to start to find friends to golf with or can I learn as an individual?

Help so I can close big deals on the course when I'm 27

🐱 Off-Topic

🏄 Personal Life

🏀 Sports

34 comments

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Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Never golfed a round in my life, and have a great career.

That said, if you want yo golf, go for it, but absolutely spring for lessons. There’s some serious etiquette to golf, and knowing those rules will keep you from doing the equivalent of wearing a hat at the dinner table or putting your elbows on the table as you eat with your mouth open. Being an inconsiderate golfer will cost you more business than not golfing at all and falling for the hype of the good old boys network.

CaneWolf

Politicker

Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract

I was typing out my reply and then saw that you already did that for me.

Ditto on having never played but that if OP wants to play golf, do it. But I’m going to clear $300k as an IC this year and golf didn’t have a thing to do with it.

RealPatrickBateman

Politicker

🔪Amateur Butcher🔪

I started about 8 years ago, just tagging along with friends who golfed, I literally just drove the cart, drank beers, and smoked cigars. They would occasionally try to get me to walk up and hit one off the tee box, most were terrible misses or crazy slices... Until one fateful day, I PIPED one off the box and from then on I've been hooked, chasing the illusive dragon that is a "Pure Swing".

Golf is worse than heroin, mostly because heroin will actually kill you. You will chase the high of hitting that perfect shot forever and be tormented the entire time. But much like everything else worth having in life, you keep at it, take a few lessons, get some critical feedback and keep swinging, you'll love it.

Also, 8 years in, I'm a 15 handicap and getting my first lesson next week to tighten up fundamentals and gain some additional distance on drives. Lessons aren't needed right away, just get some shitty clubs and go hit balls. You'll figure it out.

The "Networking"/"Good for your career" thing is pretty situational, but does come in handy if you're dangerous on the course.

Bateman, out.

CaneWolf

Politicker

Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract

First sentence of the second paragraph might be the greatest sentence ever written in the WR.

TheRealPezDog

Notable Contributor

Account Manager

Just wanna chime in and say congrats on getting to 15. I've been playing for 29 years and I am a 16, so you should feel good about that progress in 8 years. (although in my defense there wasn't nearly as much information out there when I started playing and MOST of that information was actually wrong, lol)

RealPatrickBateman

Politicker

🔪Amateur Butcher🔪

Appreciate that PezDog 👊 it's tough, the majority of my friends I golf with are pretty much scratch golfers, they all shoot +2, +3 on the regular. It's devastating to play with them, but it's made me better for sure.

LasVegasLyle

Fire Starter

Senior Account Executive

You are an absolute wordsmith my friend

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

YouTube videos? Friends that golf that will teach you? Lessons from a pro?

JohnnyDamone

Opinionated

AE Inside Sales

Get a set of clubs, a bag, some balls. And literally watch a few youtube videos on the fundamentals. Rick Shiels has a sick youtube channel for fun but also you can find the basics there.
Then really just practice swinging the clubs (even at home) and then go to the range once a week and just focus. Its like sales, so try and be consistent and focus on 1 thing to do really well.

Also make sure you use a tee for every shot until you get pretty good.

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

Also, watch Happy Gilmore

SalesBeast

Politicker

Sales Director

Hit driving range. Crush a few beers in the bar. Talk to people. Learn from people
Watch few YouTube videos. Eventually go to play a round mid week late day so don’t pay much or piss off the serious people.
Second hand clubs are fine nobody cares about that unless a real asshole. Yes golf eventually will be needed if you plan to stay in sales. Get putting mat for your home. Practice practice practice.

GDO

Politicker

BDM

recently started golfing and my putting mat is on the way. I always laughed at people putting in th eoffice. Now I´m one of them

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

They're awesome. Forget the haters.

Salesandcoffeedude

Valued Contributor

Business Development Representative

Can't wait to be one of you

sketchysales

Politicker

Sales Manager

If you are on a very limited budget, hit the driving range and rent clubs when you go. Make sure to practice which every type not just the driver and focus on the path of your ball and work on distances not just how far you can smack it. Move onto a low par pitch and putt course and just start doing rounds, first few may seem discouraging but just keep doing it and most of all enjoy it and don't get hung up by the numbers. As for coaching, nothing YouTube can't tell you

sketchysales

Politicker

Sales Manager

That said I have never used golf for any of my business and this hasn't held me back in the slightest but maybe that's different from industry to industry. Reading into your comments it sounds like you might be at a company which has a strong golf culture in sales

E_Money

Big Shot

💰

Definitely not essential to anyone's career anymore. It's a good time (I am awful at it, but I go to drink and drive the golf cart around anyway), but certainly not as much part of sales as it was back in the day.

GottaSellEmAll

Big Shot

Sales Manager

Lol golf is not essential to do business, it's just an incredibly fun sport.

Don't pay for lessons, you can learn everything you need on Youtube. If the closest course is that far away I would take the money you would have spent on lessons and buy a net to hit into and a cheapish SkyTrack launch monitor and you can dial in your swing, your club distances, and get pretty dang good.

For clubs you can hop on FB marketplace or Craig's list and grab some used ones for pretty cheap.

Lastly, don't plan on closing big deals on the course. Playing a round with one of your prospects can definitely help get comfortable with each other and build some good rapport and help them to like you, but not closing deals there.

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

hahah I love this.

I got into golf hard core after i graduated college.

For sure find a set of clubs on facebook marketplace or a second hand store. it doesnt matter what you get.

Then watch some youtube videos to get the basics of the swing down.

then hit the range.

once you feel like you can keep it somewhat straight,

hit the course.

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

Worry about hitting the ball towards the hole, not in the hole.

You should pick up some decent clubs on Black Friday/Boxing Day - this will allow you to get a set you can actually grow with and not break the bank.

Then, as others have said, hit the range. Have some beers and loosen up. I find my golf game improves a lot with a bit of green and/or beer. (though it's never good)

Concentrate on form and not power when it comes to driving.

Plus work on your short game I had a putting mat until I got cats and then sold it as it just didn't make sense.

Thatsalesdude

Politicker

Account Executive

Grab Club. Grab Ball. Hit Ball. Putt Ball in Hole. Dont Hit Ball Lots.

IYNFYL

Politicker

Enterprise SaaS AE

Don't buy nice clubs is lesson one, then second go to the driving range to start wacking balls

DungeonsNDemos

Big Shot

Rolling 20's all day

Lol are you me?

Salesandcoffeedude

Valued Contributor

Business Development Representative

<<insert Spiderman meme>>

Gasty

Notable Contributor

War Room Community Manager

Step 1

GDO

Politicker

BDM

i recently started golfing. I love the sport. It´s also just a 15m drive.

NotCreativeEnough

Big Shot

Professional Day Ruiner

you can pick up a set of clubs, watch some YouTube videos, and hit the driving range to get decent enough you won't be obnoxious on the course. But by no means you won't be good. If the plan is to get into it for networking, taking clients out, etc, I would highly recommend lessons. Otherwise they'll probably just find you annoying to play with.

fidelcashflow

Catalyst

Account Executive

Gonna be tough if you're far.
Best bet is to hit the range about 10 times before booking a tee time. Start at an easy course.

As far as the business aspect, fuck no. In SaaS most likely hell no let alone as an SDR. This is common in construction, big 4, basically old industries.

Hoopnip

Politicker

Commercial AE

Love how some people say “I’ve never golfed before but you should do this… “ If you don’t have a range / course close, go buy a golf net and mat and put it in your garage / yard. Buy a used set of Ping irons and watch you tube videos of Adam Porzak & Alex Elliot. Once you have more money you can get a live lesson or a virtual lesson from your phone while hitting into your golf net. Golf takes practice , patience , money and a lot of alcohol. .. it’s the best way to get out of the house from your spouse / partner and hang with your friends for 5-6 hours. Good luck!

Pachacuti

Politicker

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

Golf is not needed to make it big.

LTN

Associate

Your goal would likely be to break 100. Fast enough to play with. Learn it right from the start. It’s certainly a large investment of time and money.

Lots of other things you could do. Sailing, horse racing, knowing your wines/cigars/coffee, trap & skeet/duck hunting, skiing, boating, top mba…

YoursTruly

Politicker

Account Executive (SaaS)

you don't need to golf to be successful in business. I love to golf and golf regularly but can't think of a time that I closed a SaaS deal on the course. Being that you are a SDR, probably not making a ton of money and the nearest course requires you to haul a set of golf clubs on a train an hour each way, I would recommend picking it up later in life.

TheRealPezDog

Notable Contributor

Account Manager

First off, bravo. Like Sales, Golf is a mind-fucking challenge of a sport. I would suggest buying a used set of irons (old irons are still good, aim for good brands like titelist and mizuno) Then I would spend your money on a nice drive and a nice putter, driver will set you back 400 and putter will be 200. Then get over to a practice green and practice chipping and putting. I would also watch a lot of youtube videos and I recommend some folks on there like Mike Malaska. If I was to start off new to golf I would work on your swing backwards (learn to putt, then chip, then pitch, then wedges, then full irons, then woods, then driver. All of these swings are different but all of them are also similar. Good luck out there shooter!

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

Sales Rep

Just go to topgolf, people who love golf like and it’s not a big deal if you aren’t food

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Salesandcoffeedude

How do I start golfing

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