As anyone who has played the game can attest, a round of golf can be a lot of work. Often, a swing out of the bunker resembles the chopping of wood, and a series of misadventures on the greens can create rising levels of stress that are tantamount to a bad day at the office.
But for Bill Patterson and Steven DiCarlo, it really is work. Honestly.
Patterson is employed by Norfolk Southern in New Jersey, while DiCarlo is the manager of a coal-fired power plant there that ships a million tons of coal a year via the transportation company, from south of Pittsburgh. For several years now they have hooked up on the golf course for “service meetings,” at the invitation of Norfolk Southern.
Recently, they met up at Eagle Creek — for a chance to pursue both business and pleasure. Patterson has been with the railroad for 35 years, but when he switched over to sales and marketing eight years ago, his duties took him from inside the office to outside, including entertaining clients. “People think this job is glamorous.
Yes, there is plenty of golf and travel, but it isn’t all fun and games,” he said. “You’ve got to make the deal.” But on this day, there seemed to be more pleasure than business. Patterson is touting to his partner the benefits of his new “rescue club,” sort of a hybrid between an iron and a wood. Meanwhile, DiCarlo lauds the condition, and playability, of the Eagle Creek course.
“It’s an open course where you can be a little off and not be hurt too badly. It can be forgiving,” he said. The two business associates laugh and joke around, enjoying everything the day, and the game, has to offer. Golf, with its leisurely pace, has allowed their relationship to evolve into a friendship. In the four hours it takes to complete a round, you can learn a lot about a business partner.
As the old adage goes: “Golf doesn’t build character, it reveals it.” They came to the Eagle Creek Golf Club because it was an easy connection from the airport and they had heard, through the golfing grapevine, of the course’s many attributes, including its long fairways and the large, inviting greens. “There’s a lot of collection area around the greens,” said DiCarlo, who added that because they are often up on a hill, they can also be demanding.
“It’s a challenge to reach them and a challenge to stay on them.” The Eagle Creek Golf Club offers two distinct draws. For golfers, it is a 7,198- yard, par-73 championship golf course that features five par-5’s, five sets of tees and over 90 bunkers and dramatic bulkheads that are reminiscent of those found in Scotland and England. The European influence can be seen in the wide-open, rolling terrain of this “links-style” course.
Also, while navigating the hazards aplenty, there is time to observe the many different birds shouting encouragement from the gallery. For business, the course and its facilities provide an arena for companies to build up the bottom line. Tony Crawford, Eagle Creek Golf Club general manager, said companies come from all over the country to do business on the course and within the 14,000- square-foot New England manor-style clubhouse.
Corporate meeting space includes both a 10-seat boardroom as well as the Emerson Room, which seats up to 150, with WiFi access anywhere in the building. The facilities accommodate both smaller groups, perfect for team-building sessions within an organization, as well as larger networking groups, vendor appreciation events and other business- related functions.
“You want to get people of different realms together,” said Crawford, who noted that Eagle Creek plays host to a variety of golf outings sponsored by professional associations and corporations such as Lockheed Martin and Sherwin Williams. Meanwhile, team-building events allow regional managers a chance to go over national and corporate directives, making sure everyone is on the same page.
Eagle Creek’s David Collins works with companies to arrange golf outings, ever-mindful of the business connections that follow. As a former PGA golf professional, he is also well acquainted with the game’s unique allure.
The two perspectives complement one another, he said. “In order to build better relationships your clients they must trust you, there must be credibility, they must be comfortable with you and, most importantly, they have to know you have their best interest at heart,” he said.
All this can be accomplished by subscribing to a few simple guidelines when it comes to business golf, he said, including inviting along beginners and novices, since they make up the majority of golfers. The business rewards are immeasurable — introducing new connections, exchanging ideas and separating yourself from the competition, in commercial enterprise if not in golf.
For a business looking to generate new clients, he suggests organizing once-amonth golf outings geared toward local consumers, creating a networking league that allows members to get to know each other, or joining a league yourself if you’re not the organizing type.
If you are in the retail business, give gift certificates to players in any league or event taking place at a local golf course as an inexpensive way to drive traffic into your store. Collins, who estimates that 35 percent of the rounds played at Eagle Creek involve business of some sort, also wants to set the record straight on golf business etiquette by debunking a couple of myths.
“Yes, you can talk business on the golf course and, no, you don’t have to let your client win,” he said. “The main thing is just to get out, enjoy the day, and have fun.” DiCarlo does not have to be convinced of the merits of this last point. “I enjoy the camaraderie. Every day is a new challenge,” said DiCarlo, who has played golf his whole life.
“It’s a very challenging game. It’s all about you. “But no matter how bad it’s been, it only takes one good shot to bring you back tomorrow.”
