The Hindu Business Line : The business-pleasure cocktail

It is easy to see why golf has emerged as the most popular corporate sport... on the lovely expanse of green, the players are relaxed, and more importantly, have enough time to explore and clinch business deals.

Imagine the advantage of having a 10-hour relaxed sales call. Compare this to the average 20-minute appointment with a harried client and one will see how golf can do wonders for your corporate relationships. A well-organised day on the putting green can become an extended sales meeting because there is no other entertainment that can lure senior executives away from their heavy workload and other commitments, unless they are on vacation; definitely not when you would want to talk shop.

When corporate golf is mentioned, many will immediately think of the last occasion when a supplier or business associate invited them to a `Golf Day'. These hugely popular days may be held at an exclusive private club or a prestigious "daily fee" course, which, in itself, makes an impression. It can get the busiest of executives to accept the invitation. Little wonder then that a corporate golf event is seen by many companies as a valuable method to reinforce client relationships and motivate and reward staff, customers and suppliers.

Says luxury brand Swarovski India's country manager Sanjay Sharma, "Corporate life is busy and though there is the need and intention to catch up with your business associates, it is never possible. A golf event is the ideal occasion where, in one shot, you meet up with a large number of people who matter to your business. Once you have struck up a relationship, the common thread of golf cuts a lot of red tape."

Sharma has many a story about how his golf handicap has proved to be an asset in getting the company's components (crystals) business going. "It has worked wonders for me. In the case of clients who also play golf I don't have to get caught in bureaucratic delays and can use my good offices with the seniors to facilitate my work," he says.

He cites the example of Ambattur Clothing Co, a major garment exporter. Sharma and the company's promoters started first by playing golf together before the synergy between the two companies resulted in business deals.

Why is it that golf has gained such importance as a corporate sport and not any other game, especially when we have so many other popular ones? This has happened primarily because golf is not just a spectator sport. More adults play golf than any other sport — it is the largest participation game in the world and will soon reach that stage in India too. More importantly, in golf, you are playing against yourself and nature. Hence, you are not competing against a great player on the greens and need not be afraid of playing against individuals. So the enjoyment factor is that much more. And last but not the least, you require over four hours to complete an 18-hole course. What could be better than that when your golf buddies have the power to make decisions that could have far-reaching consequences for your business?

The membership lists of golf clubs read as a veritable `who's who' of corporate achievers in this country. Business people increasingly wish to be identified with golf. Superficially, the company might not benefit. But deeper down a degree of loyalty is promoted with clients and they realise that you are thinking about their cause and not just selling to them.

Walk into any high-profile party these days, and more likely than not, the discussion will be about a golfing handicap that needs urgent attention rather than concerns related to business blues or a volatile equity market. In the new business environment, where, for a corporate executive, the pressure to be seen within the right social circles is as important, if not more, a golf event with its leisurely pace offers a refreshing break. The phrase "mixing business with pleasure" could not have been more apt for the new-age banking, insurance, telecom, entertainment and IT industry biggies. Even the manufacturing sector executives are not to be left behind. The corporate golfing community's biggest patrons include GE's Scott Bayman, HLL's Vindi Banga, ITC's Yogi Deveshwar, Glaxo SmithKline Consumer Healthcare Products' chief Simon Scarf, Alfa Laval's Satish Tandon and Daimler Chrysler India's Hans-Michael Huber.

Daimler Chrysler India organises the Mercedes Trophy Invitation Golf Tournament, a seven-city event that has worked wonders for the company's customer relationship management exercise. Here again, it is not just the putting that matters but even the elaborate dinners and parties that follow after few swings on the fairway. The fact that winners get to head for the carmaker's hometown at Stuttgart in Germany is the icing on the cake.

Pune-based Alfa Laval is a case in point, where golf was one of the marketing tools utilised by Satish Tandon to turn around a loss-making company. He hosted the Alfa Laval Ambassador's Trophy, an elaborate golfing event which saw the likes of Lance Kluesner, Gordon Greenidge, Kapil Dev, Tony Greig, Desmond Hayes and other cricketing greats swinging golf clubs in 1998. The immediate benefits included immense networking opportunities along with extensive media coverage.

Sponsorship of golf events has now become one of the most cost-effective means of reaching out to the elite upper socio-economic groups in the country. Golf-related advertising, promotions and corporate entertainment opportunities help a company reach out to a focused audience.

But even on the golf circuit, things are changing. While earlier the corporate golfing scene in India was the preserve of few CEOs and head honchos, with the passage of time the trickle-down effect has happened and now you even have general managers working hard on their handicap. Women executives too have started realising the importance of golf to advance their businesses and careers in the same way men do. They also want to feel comfortable enough to entertain their customers and clients and to participate in company outings. They are improving their game to become more confident on the course so they can use golf to accomplish their business goals.

A round of golf can be a vital business tool. It can help break the ice in a new business relationship or assure a client of a company's capabilities. Little wonder then that the Indian corporate golfing calendar now has over 70 events, not to mention the innumerable golf clinics. These clinics are sold out within a couple of days and many a corporate applicant is left behind if he or she is late.

Says Madhav Kshirsagar, Managing Director, Kirtane Pandit Consulting, "I was a late entrant into the golfing arena but golf clinics today are full of youngsters who aspire to perfect their game before they are in the thick of the corporate jungle."

Innovation is also the name of the game these days with many a vanilla golf day and clinic being organised by wannabe corporates who believe this is the "in thing" to do. Golf management companies such as the world leader International Management Group (IMG) and Tiger Sports Management are trying to find new ways to help their corporate clients with exclusive concepts.

IMG, for instance, recently brought down the legendary golfer Nick Faldo for a clinic with Standard Chartered. Corporate biggies from across the country flew down for a day to Mumbai where the clinic was held. Indian star appeal came in the form of Kapil Dev, who also plays a pretty decent game.

Similarly, IMG pioneered the Skins concept in India by organising an event for BILT with Vijay Singh. "There is a need to continuously bring in excitement, which is what we do with our uniquely positioned and creatively conceptualised golf events for corporates who want to create an impression as well as reach out to a focused target audience," says Ravi Krishnan, managing director, IMG/TWI South Asia.

For liquor company Shaw Wallace, sponsorship of the game has helped it target the right audience and create a buzz around its Royal Challenge Indian Open, the premium golfing event in the country. A focused audience, high-profile events centred on the tournament and media coverage ensures value-for-money for the company which has also started selling a range of golf accessories to capitalise on its association with the game. This year's edition had two of the world's best cricket all-rounders — Wasim Akram and Kapil Dev — teeing off in the same group for the Pro-Am tournament and even finish third.

Kapil went one step ahead and won the prize for the longest drive. The evening saw the rock band Euphoria belt out their popular numbers with well-known models Aditi Gowatrikar, Shruti Sharma and Sampada Inamdar in attendance, along with Komal Wazir, the Executive Vice-President of Shaw Wallace & Co.

For Swarovski, Sharma's association with the game has also seen it getting into a new line of business-trophy making. "Once I won a very boring trophy at one of the events, something which I would be ashamed to display on my mantelpiece. It set me thinking. Senior corporate executives who grace the greens would definitely like to go back home with something more classy." The company now designs and makes trophies and giveaways for clients who organise golf events.

If you thought networking and relaxation were the only benefits of a day on the course, think again. The stakes too are becoming very attractive. Take for instance Chivas Regal, which sponsors the World Corporate Challenge at La Manga in Spain. Winners from around the world, including India, head to La Manga for the final tee-off. The list of eminent corporate honchos who have swung and tee-ed their way to La Manga include Vijay and Ajay Chauhan of Parle Products, Pankaj Munjal and Pawan Puri. This time the company is planning to take individual winners to play at nothing less than the prestigious St Andrews course in Scotland!

Picture by P.V. Sivakumar

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