Golfers age, just like businesses, and age has inevitable consequences. Reinventing the golfer means using golfing experience and knowledge in new ways, while reinventing a business requires adapting to new technologies and becoming more flexible.
— By Vincent Pane

Golf is touted as the sport that spawns business connections, interesting conversations between business associates, and new opportunities. Forget the stories that say golf is not as popular as it once was and that it is a slowly disappearing sport. Sure it likes heroes, like Tiger Woods, and when the heroes fall as they age, interest in the game can wane for a while. Yet, it always springs back, and today it is often the younger players who bring new perspectives, innovative swings, and a fiercely competitive spirit.

The similarities to the business environment are strong as older businesses, challenged with legacy systems and organizational cultures that need reinvigorating, face youthful competition that is not burdened with such things.

Age Has Consequences
Age impacts golf skills. An aging golfer experiences stiffer joints, hand-eye coordination that is not as strong as it once was, difficulty with balancing, and changing vision. The swing is less powerful, and energy is expended much faster. Add to this the fact that most people who are over the age of 40 are beginning to experience the consequences of past injuries or medical issues or are discovering new physical challenges. There are some good things, like experience that enables an older golfer to better understand a course or the best play strategy.

Watching older winning professionals play poorly makes one think, "This is embarrassing. It's time to move on." When it comes to winning championships, age matters. Most of the professional golf tournament winners today are in their 20-30s, meaning they are millennials for the most part. Golf is a multi-generational game, and older golfers have a lot of experience and knowledge to share, even if they no longer win championships.

For example, Phil Mickelson can share his never-give-up perspective. He was 47 years old when he won the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship in 2018. Davis Love III was 51 years old when he won the Wydham Championship in 2015, and Tiger Woods was 43 when he won the 2018 PGA Tour Championship, his fifth Masters. For Woods, it had been a very long journey from the last Masters win 14 years ago.

Just Not the Same
It was hoped that Woods would continue to win future major competitions, but he has not. He says his body, "just doesn't move quite as when it's a little bit older."

It is the same challenge that old guard businesses face. They are competing against young startups that bring rapid innovation to the marketplace and an energy that makes people excited about the future. The mega-corporations, on the other hand, spend a lot of their resources on changing their culture, addressing embedding biases, striving to adapt to slow R&D processes and dealing with new challenges like the multi-generational workforce. Like the older golfers, the legacy IT systems are slower and need revitalizing or even scrapped and fully replaced.

The good news is that the average older golfer who has played for decades can still beat the

30–year–old because experience counts. It is true for older businesses, too.

Tech giant IBM was accused of being behind the times and lacking a vision for the future. Those are terrible things to say about a tech company that can only remain competitive by staying ahead of technologies. Recognizing it needed reinventing – a stronger swing into the future – the company began a major overhaul in 2014 that continues today. Expected to emerge is a company that will assume a leadership position in blockchain, artificial intelligence, quantum, computing, analytics, cybersecurity, and the development of even more advanced technologies. To its benefit is its experience with success and failure, something young upstart companies cannot claim or rely on.

Re-Energizing for Long-Term Success
Old companies that seem cumbersome and behind the times can re-energize by adopting new attitudes and new tech tools. Older golfers accomplish the same results by taking advantage of state-of-the-art golf clubs with lighter handles and high–performance golf balls that go farther even when the swing is less powerful. There are even self-correcting golf balls today for recreational golfers that reduce hooks and slices.

Golfers age, just like businesses, and age has inevitable consequences. Reinventing the golfer means using golfing experience and knowledge in new ways, while reinventing a business requires adapting to new technologies and becoming more flexible.
— By Vincent Pane

Golf is touted as the sport that spawns business connections, interesting conversations between business associates, and new opportunities. Forget the stories that say golf is not as popular as it once was and that it is a slowly disappearing sport. Sure it likes heroes, like Tiger Woods, and when the heroes fall as they age, interest in the game can wane for a while. Yet, it always springs back, and today it is often the younger players who bring new perspectives, innovative swings, and a fiercely competitive spirit.

The similarities to the business environment are strong as older businesses, challenged with legacy systems and organizational cultures that need reinvigorating, face youthful competition that is not burdened with such things.

Age Has Consequences
Age impacts golf skills. An aging golfer experiences stiffer joints, hand-eye coordination that is not as strong as it once was, difficulty with balancing, and changing vision. The swing is less powerful, and energy is expended much faster. Add to this the fact that most people who are over the age of 40 are beginning to experience the consequences of past injuries or medical issues or are discovering new physical challenges. There are some good things, like experience that enables an older golfer to better understand a course or the best play strategy.

Watching older winning professionals play poorly makes one think, "This is embarrassing. It's time to move on." When it comes to winning championships, age matters. Most of the professional golf tournament winners today are in their 20-30s, meaning they are millennials for the most part. Golf is a multi-generational game, and older golfers have a lot of experience and knowledge to share, even if they no longer win championships.

For example, Phil Mickelson can share his never-give-up perspective. He was 47 years old when he won the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship in 2018. Davis Love III was 51 years old when he won the Wydham Championship in 2015, and Tiger Woods was 43 when he won the 2018 PGA Tour Championship, his fifth Masters. For Woods, it had been a very long journey from the last Masters win 14 years ago.

Just Not the Same
It was hoped that Woods would continue to win future major competitions, but he has not. He says his body, "just doesn't move quite as when it's a little bit older."

It is the same challenge that old guard businesses face. They are competing against young startups that bring rapid innovation to the marketplace and an energy that makes people excited about the future. The mega-corporations, on the other hand, spend a lot of their resources on changing their culture, addressing embedding biases, striving to adapt to slow R&D processes and dealing with new challenges like the multi-generational workforce. Like the older golfers, the legacy IT systems are slower and need revitalizing or even scrapped and fully replaced.

The good news is that the average older golfer who has played for decades can still beat the

30–year–old because experience counts. It is true for older businesses, too.

Tech giant IBM was accused of being behind the times and lacking a vision for the future. Those are terrible things to say about a tech company that can only remain competitive by staying ahead of technologies. Recognizing it needed reinventing – a stronger swing into the future – the company began a major overhaul in 2014 that continues today. Expected to emerge is a company that will assume a leadership position in blockchain, artificial intelligence, quantum, computing, analytics, cybersecurity, and the development of even more advanced technologies. To its benefit is its experience with success and failure, something young upstart companies cannot claim or rely on.

Re-Energizing for Long-Term Success
Old companies that seem cumbersome and behind the times can re-energize by adopting new attitudes and new tech tools. Older golfers accomplish the same results by taking advantage of state-of-the-art golf clubs with lighter handles and high–performance golf balls that go farther even when the swing is less powerful. There are even self-correcting golf balls today for recreational golfers that reduce hooks and slices.

There will always be older golfers in professional tournaments, and sometimes they will win. However, they continue to play more because they have trouble letting go of the past and being honest about the future. They have to lose over a long period of time before ending their professional careers. Then what? The answer is: They reinvent themselves as the voices of experience as successful sports commenters or entrepreneurs, starting new businesses and using their names to attract golfers who want to be winners.

As older businesses strive to develop agility and flexibility to remain competitive, they need to be honest about the future. They cannot afford to expend their resources in a constant struggle to just keep up as opposed to strategically succeeding.

Since 2000, 52 percent of Fortune 500 companies have disappeared through bankruptcy or acquisition, or by going out of business. They failed to adapt, and today that usually means they did not embrace new technologies fast enough, maintained hierarchal companies with silo functions, and/or could not compete with companies that seem to appear out of nowhere, bringing unanticipated disruption to industries. Uber took the taxi industry by surprise because it represented a new generation of entrepreneurs who think differently and knew how to harness technology to provide unbiased employment and provide more desirable ride services to customers.

Fore-ward Into the Future
Golf and business still have a lot in common and always will. The main difference is that golfers will continue to age, while businesses can adapt indefinitely.

Some analysts suggest that companies need to re-invent themselves every decade. As fast as things move today, a decade is probably too long to wait.

Aging golfers can reinvent themselves, but they have to first recognize the time has come to find a new way of doing things.

There will always be older golfers in professional tournaments, and sometimes they will win. However, they continue to play more because they have trouble letting go of the past and being honest about the future. They have to lose over a long period of time before ending their professional careers. Then what? The answer is: They reinvent themselves as the voices of experience as successful sports commenters or entrepreneurs, starting new businesses and using their names to attract golfers who want to be winners.

As older businesses strive to develop agility and flexibility to remain competitive, they need to be honest about the future. They cannot afford to expend their resources in a constant struggle to just keep up as opposed to strategically succeeding.

Since 2000, 52 percent of Fortune 500 companies have disappeared through bankruptcy or acquisition, or by going out of business. They failed to adapt, and today that usually means they did not embrace new technologies fast enough, maintained hierarchal companies with silo functions, and/or could not compete with companies that seem to appear out of nowhere, bringing unanticipated disruption to industries. Uber took the taxi industry by surprise because it represented a new generation of entrepreneurs who think differently and knew how to harness technology to provide unbiased employment and provide more desirable ride services to customers.

Fore-ward Into the Future
Golf and business still have a lot in common and always will. The main difference is that golfers will continue to age, while businesses can adapt indefinitely.

Some analysts suggest that companies need to re-invent themselves every decade. As fast as things move today, a decade is probably too long to wait.

Aging golfers can reinvent themselves, but they have to first recognize the time has come to find a new way of doing things.