Learn everything you want to know about someone on a golf course.

If you don't play golf, you should. If you are in sales and you don't play golf, you really should.

Golf is an intriguing sport. It's the only sport where you penalize yourself. In an era where it seems most athletes will do all they possibly can to break the rules and not get caught, the idea of calling a foul on yourself seems silly. Can you imagine T.O. catching a sideline pass and telling the referee he was out? Better yet, can you picture any basketball player handing the ball to the ref and telling him that he palmed the ball while his back was turned? Of course you cant! How is this relative to sales? Let me explain...

During the course of 18 holes, here is what you can expect to learn about your sales rep, or your client.

1. Patience.
Golf is a sport that demands you take your time. If you hurry a shot without weighing the risk and reward you will soon find yourself out of the game. Just ask Phil Michelson. Notice how your playing partner addresses each shot. See if he actually takes the time to evaluate the potential outcome. On the flip side, see if he (or she) takes way too long to hit. There is a thing called over analyzing. I mean...come on, unless you're at the Masters, there is no reason to take five minutes to hit a three foot put. Both of these scenarios can be used to evaluate how a person deals with day to day issues. Do they try to carry a shot 300 yards over water when they know good and well they can only hit 200? Or do they judge the wind, consult a golf swing book and then pace off a 20 yard pitch?

2. Cheater!
As I said before, golf is the only game where you call a penalty on yourself. An example being when you are in the rough, you cant move your ball. Some people will think its not that big of deal to move your ball a foot or so if its up against a tree. I mean...its just a foot...its just a game, right? To me, if you have no problem breaking an essential rule of the game, you will have no problem doing the same thing at work. There is no difference between a liar, a thief and a cheat. Need I say more?

3. Temper, Temper.
When I first started playing golf my father told me that there is nothing I can do about a previously hit shot. If I get mad, all I will accomplish is another poor shot...thus compounding the problem. This lesson was one of the hardest to learn. Little did I know that he was actually giving me a lesson in life. Now when a problem comes up, I take the time to see what I can do to correct it, rather than breaking a club over my leg. If you are playing with someone who pitches a fit reminiscent to a 3 year old, or an overpaid NBA player...imagine how they will deal with a mistake on your account.

These are just a few of the examples of how you can relate golf to sales or to life. I could go into the deeper psychology of the golf swing in comparison to motivational drive...but seeing how I just made that up....it probably wouldn't make much sense.

In closing, I hope you take this with you. Play golf like you live your life. Or better yet, live your life the way golf is designed to be played.