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Fore!

Lawyers and golf are a match made in heaven — the intricate rules, the detailed ethics, and the competitiveness are just some of the attractions. But it’s the business, networking and client relationship sides of the game that have turned golf into the must-play sport for lawyers across the country.

By Janice Mucalov

The sun beat down mercilessly through the humid air on the Gary Player Golf Course in Sun City, South Africa last October. But Virginia Engel, a partner with Peacock Linder & Halt in Calgary, wasn’t much bothered by the heat. A scratch golfer, she was in South Africa playing in the world finals of the Audi Quattro Cup Amateur Golf Tournament.

Virginia Engel Peacock, Linder & Halt, Calgary With a ten handicap, she made it all the way to an international amateur championship event in South Africa.

The competition was tough — 40 countries had sent some of their best amateur golfers to Sun City for the contest. Moreover, Engel and her golf partner, Nadine Fraser, were the only all-female team out of the 40 countries represented. "You could feel the testosterone," she recalls.

Unfortunately, Engel and Fraser didn’t win, garnering a respectable median score. But the deluxe, six-day, all-expense paid trip — which included Zulu dancing, a safari, and accommodations at the fairytale Palace of the Lost City — was well worth it. And that doesn’t even include their earlier trip to Kiawah Island, South Carolina, where they won the female North American Audi championships on the Ocean Course.

Few lawyers will end up playing on world-class courses in international competitions. But Virginia Engel is just the latest and most accomplished example of the growing number of lawyers who spend time on a golf course whenever they can.

They use the game to network with clients, blow off steam, impress the senior partner and, yes, even to simply enjoy the great outdoors. And there’s no indication that this love affair will end anytime soon. It’s becoming clear that the legal profession and the game of golf are closely, er, linked.

Rising popularity

Lawyers and golf are not just a recent coupling: the roots of this relationship go back many decades. Even Bobby Jones — the legendary golfing talent who won 13 majors between 1923 and 1930 and who founded the illustrious Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia — was a southern gentleman lawyer whose father also practised law.

Matters of Course Ten etiquette tips for a great round of golf 1. Share your expectations in advance. Let your client know where you’ll be playing, how long it should take to play, whether you’ll be having lunch, drinks or dinner afterward, and what time you think you’ll be finished. That way, your client knows what to expect and can better plan his or her day. 2. Let the client bring up business. Ron Mills recommends that you don’t raise the issue yourself. The exception is if you discussed in your initial phone call or invitation that you should get together and talk about the client’s file over a game of golf. 3. Play your best golf. "There’s a concept called ‘client golf,’ where you let the client win at any expense, even if you’re better than them," explains Bill Skelly. "I don’t buy into that." It’s insulting to the client if you don’t play your best, and it makes for a better outing if you do. 4. Play "ready golf." "Speed of play is important, so be ready to hit when it’s your turn," advises Mills. Playing "ready golf" can also take the pressure off the golfer who would otherwise always hit first because they’re the shortest off the tee. 5. Focus on the client. Because he’s a good hitter, Mills normally asks the client if he or she wants to tee off first. "It’s not good for me to pound the ball off the fairway in front of them," he says. "I don’t want to show off in front of the client." The same goes for driving the cart — if your client wants to drive, slide over. 6. Lose the cell phone. One invariable rule for Keith Boswell is that he doesn’t carry his cell phone with him on the course. No one wants the peace of the great outdoors rudely interrupted by an annoying ring, and you sure won’t impress your client by halting the play to deal with other business. 7. Don’t lose your temper. This should be obvious, but Mills has seen plenty of lawyers slam their clubs into the ground, become sullen, swear loudly and generally act disgracefully. "It makes the game less enjoyable for the client," he says. 8. Don’t cheat. This should be even more obvious. "Respect the rules of the game," urges Mills. If you whack the ball into the trees, don’t beg off from taking a penalty stroke because you were "startled by a noise." Nor should you roll the ball over to get a better lie. "If you’re prone to cheat in a game, then you’re likely to cut corners in business," warns Boswell. Right or wrong, your clients will make judgments about your character depending on how you play. 9. Be generous with scoring. At the same time, you don’t want to be a complete stickler for the rules. Remember, the whole idea is to have fun. If your client putts close to the hole, offer a "gimme," suggests Skelly. 10. Be quiet. For Michelle Awad, this is her absolute. "If there’s one thing you should remember to do on the golf course, it’s to be quiet and stand still when someone else is hitting."

Golf is an historically elitist game and lawyers have always played it, notes Keith Boswell, an avid golfer and partner with Stewart McKelvey Stirling Scales in Charlottetown. In the summer, Boswell starts work at 6:30 a.m. so that he can get out and play by 2:30 pm; he is not the only lawyer to adjust his work schedule for the sake of 18 holes.

"But with Tiger Woods and the increasing popularity of the game among the general population, it’s become a more widespread activity with an increasing number of lawyers," says Boswell. "It’s really taken off with them in the last ten years or so."

When you think about it, it’s only natural that lawyers would be attracted to golf. For one thing, there’s the strict set of arcane rules that govern the game. "The rulebook is about two inches thick, full of decisions which are subject to interpretation," observes Boswell.

For another, golf has been described as a game of honour. "You don’t cheat, and you don’t take advantage of the rules or the other players, even though it’s very easy to do," says Bill Skelly of Heenan Blaikie in Vancouver, who recently returned from golfing five courses over 2 1/2 days in Palm Springs, California.

And just as law is steeped in tradition, golf boasts a rich history reaching back more than 600 years, to when the game was first played on the rolling links of St. Andrews in Scotland.

Then there’s the mental challenge posed by the vagaries of your swing and that tiny white ball. "I’m intrigued by the game," says Michelle Awad, a commercial litigator with McInnes Cooper in Halifax and a regular participant in the CBA’s annual Law for the Future Fund Golf Tournament. "The actual playing is different every time. Sometimes it’s a hundred laughs a minute, other times it can be a really serious game."

And sometimes it just makes you want to cry, like the time a few years back when Awad played in the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society tournament that featured a hole-in-one contest for a new Mercedes. "I got a hole-in-one," she recalls — "but it was on the wrong hole!"

Playing the game well requires patience, analytical thinking and calculated risks. For some lawyers, that can simply be too frustrating. Says Boswell: "If you’re an overachiever driven to succeed, it can be difficult to put those bad shots behind you and focus on the next, which only hurts your shot and fuels your frustration."

We mean business

Aside from the game’s inherent appeal, many lawyers are finding that golf and networking go hand in hand. Corporate clients accept invitations at the drop of a palm pilot, and more business relationships are cemented on the golf course than in the firm boardroom. Larger law firms subsidize partners’ golf club memberships and devote considerable resources to golf marketing.

"The golf course is the perfect place to network with clients and discuss work," says Ron Mills, who shoots in the mid-70s when not in his Mills Wilcox Zuk Law Office in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

On the fairways and greens, your client is a captive audience for a good 4 1/2 hours — more, if you have a beer or dinner afterwards — during which you can talk about your children, holidays, work or the game in social and hospitable surroundings. "It’s a more relaxed environment for discussing work," says Mills. "You have more time to think about a question than when you’re in an office setting, where the focus is on the file."

Mills recalls that his networking on the course started long before being admitted to the Bar: "As a kid, I got my first job as a result of playing golf." After being turned down for a job at a farm implement dealership, the young Mills hit the local golf course, where, by coincidence, he was teamed up with the dealership’s sales manager. It came up in conversation that he had applied for a position there that morning, but was told none were available. The next day, he got a call from the personnel office telling him that an opening had just come up.

Golf is a way to really develop and solidify a friendship with a client. "One of the marketing gurus has said that there are three levels of relationships between lawyers and clients," says Skelly. "The first is as service provider. The second is as trusted advisor, where the client calls you for your thoughts on a potential deal and you coordinate the client’s business.

"The third level is as trusted advisor and friend, where the loyalty of the client to the lawyer is very high," he says. "Bringing a client to a game may elevate you to the highest level of trusted advisor and friend."

Between the time spent on the course and observations of the game itself, clients have a good opportunity to evaluate you as a person — and that will reflect on your perceived ability as a lawyer, says Mills. "Do you lose your temper?" he asks. "Do you take liberties with the rules? Are you an easy conversationalist? If they don’t like you as a person, they’re not likely to want to hire you as their lawyer."

Larger firms typically invite clients to charity golf tournaments. "You get together two or three foursomes of lawyers and clients," says Skelly, whose Vancouver office participates in eight to ten charity tournaments a year. "It’s usually a fun afternoon, with prizes and dinner afterwards."

"With a smaller firm, it’s relationship-building on an individual basis," adds Mills. The six lawyers in his office organize their own games with clients.

Golf is also a good way to cross-sell within the office, Awad points out. A foursome is a pleasant way to introduce your litigation colleague to your construction client — and hopefully, to snare your client’s litigation work too.

Mind you, business isn’t necessarily the focus on the fairway. "Many times, I go out with a client and we never talk about work," says Skelly. What’s important is to like the game. "I play the game because I enjoy it," says Boswell. "The spin-off is the networking."

Women on the course

"Golf is still a male-dominated sport, but more and more women lawyers are starting to take it up," says Engel. "It’s an easier way for women to market with their male clients than, say, taking them out for dinner."

Engel herself only started playing regularly when she joined a local club in 1997. Now her handicap is 10 (she scores 8 to 12 above par on average) and she frequently lets fly with drives of 270 yards and more.

She’s also a member of the Association of Women Lawyers in Calgary, a group that concluded a few years ago that many female lawyers were missing out on the marketing benefits of golf. "They didn’t know how to play the game, didn’t know the etiquette and were nervous about the whole thing," Engel recounts. "So we organized an annual golf tournament, where we encouraged as many of our members who could to come out, so they could get to feel comfortable playing the game."

The fun event — everyone gets a prize — is now a huge success, with up to 60 female lawyers participating annually. "We mix up the teams, so someone who knows how to play is partnered with a brand-new player," Engel reports. Armed with more confidence, the new players often go on to take lessons, improve their skills, and get more involved in the sport.

Indeed, some believe that golf is particularly well-suited to women. "Women don’t take themselves as seriously, and they look at the bigger picture," says Engel. "Guys can get very competitive." Mills says of Engel: "Not only is she an excellent golfer, she has an excellent attitude on the course."

"I think it’s advantageous to me as a lawyer to play golf," says Awad. "Being a female lawyer who plays golf probably distinguishes me." She’s not alone in that view: a new survey of businesswomen golfers in the U.S. conducted by Golf For Women magazine shows 73% agree that playing golf has helped them to "develop relationships and network for business." Half of the women surveyed in executive positions felt that being able to talk about golf enables them to be more successful.

The difficult aspect for women golfers, however, is the amount of time needed to play, says Engel. Some women lawyers find that golf is just too intrusive — with home and family commitments competing for attention, there’s little time to indulge in the game.

The 18th hole

While golf may be the current Official Sport of the Legal Profession — replacing tennis as the "it" activity (remember tennis?) — you needn’t worry if you don’t, or can’t, play. Non-golfers can still reap the networking benefits by showing up for the social aspects of the game, like the dinner after, says Boswell.

Remember, too, that there are other ways to make or strengthen business relationships that would make both you and your clients just as happy or happier. Not all clients necessarily enjoy the game either, and networking opportunities away from the course are endless.

Still, for many lawyers, golf ranks par excellence when it comes to playing the all-round ultimate game of business and pleasure."

Diamonds in the Rough Here are some lawyers’ favourite golf courses, in Canada and beyond. Brudenell River Golf Course, Prince Edward Island A picturesque river course with poa greens (rather than the usual bent grass), which Keith Boswell particularly enjoys playing. Broad fairways and manicured greens are accented by numerous lakes, gardens and ponds. • 6,157 yards, par 72, slope 128. Elk Ridge Resort, Saskatchewan A "spectacular course … tremendous value for your money," according to Ron Mills. Challenging championship fairways are highlighted with mature trees, natural water hazards and sand bunkers. • 6,796 yards, par 72, slope 136. Highland Links, Ingonish, Nova Scotia An older-style links course on a spit of rocky headland with rolling fairways, it’s the number-one favourite of Boswell, Mills and Michelle Awad. More than half the holes have spectacular views of the ocean. Deer, foxes and bald eagles are often spotted. • 6,592 yards, par 72, slope 141. Kananaskis Country Golf Course, Kananaskis, Alberta Two stunning mountain courses, just an hour’s drive from Calgary. "It takes you two or three holes before you settle down from staring at the gorgeous scenery," says Virginia Engel. • Mt. Lorette Course: 7,102 yards, par 72, slope 128. Mt. Kidd Course: 7,072 yards, par 72, slope 134. Nicklaus North, Whistler, British Columbia Surrounded by snow-capped peaks, this immaculately maintained, Jack Nicklaus-designed course is perhaps Bill Skelly’s favourite — it’s challenging, with ominous bunkers, and frequented by black bears. 6,908 yards, par 71, slope 133. Boulders Golf Resort, Carefree, Arizona The top-rated golf resort in the desert foothills, with two courses featuring brilliant greens intertwined among 12-million-year-old granite boulders. "The Golden Door Spa is right there too, if you don’t want to golf!" says Engel. • North Course: 6,811 yards, par 72, slope 137. South course: 6,726 yards, par 72, slope 140. Old Course, St. Andrews, Scotland The historic birthplace of golf and "a mystical experience," says Skelly, who played here last year. "The courses in Scotland are very different from North American courses. The fairways are rock-hard and not as manicured — gorse bushes growing beside the fairways are so thick and thorny that if you lose your ball in them, you never find it. And the greens are thick and hard to putt on." The Old Course challenges you with 112 bunkers and large greens requiring putts of up to 100 yards. • 6,609 yards, par 72, slope 128.

Janice Mucalov is a Vancouver lawyer and freelance writer. Her last article for National, "Legal research online," appeared in our November 2003 issue.

Photo: Jazhart Studios

english Accrocs du golf Le droit et le golf forment depuis longtemps un couple célèbre. La passion, loin de s’éteindre, est sans cesse renouvelée. Il faut avouer que grâce aux possibilités de réseautage qu’il offre, ce dernier est plutôt séduisant. C’était en octobre et le soleil brillait de ses chauds rayons sur le terrain de golf Gary Player à Sun City en Afrique du Sud. Virginia Engel, une associée du cabinet Peacock Linder & Halt à Calgary n’avait pourtant pas la tête aux coups de soleil alors qu’elle participait aux finales mondiales du Audi Quattro Cup Golf Tournament. La pression était forte sur la golfeuse et sa partenaire, Nadine Fraser, les seules à former une équipe entièrement féminine lors de ce tournoi amateur regroupant des délégations en provenance de quarante pays. « On pouvait palper la testostérone », se rappelle Engel. Peu de juristes pousseront si loin leur passion pour le golf. Cependant, Virginia Engel incarne le nouvel engouement que connaît ce sport. Dépassé le golf? Oh, que non…. Popularité croissante L’histoire d’amour entre le golf et le droit ne date pas d’hier. « Mais avec Tiger Woods et la montée de la popularité du sport chez la population en général, ce devient une activité de plus en plus répandue pratiquée par un nombre croissant de juristes », commente Keith Boswell associé du cabinet Stewart McKelvey Stirling Scales à Charlottetown. Et en y pensant bien, il est tout à fait prévisible que les juristes s’intéressent à ce sport. « Le livre des règlements doit bien faire deux pouces d’épaisseur », nous fait observer Boswell. Le défi cérébral est aussi présent. « Le jeu m’intrigue », déclare Michelle Awad, une avocate de litige chez McInnes Cooper à Halifax et une participante régulière au tournoi de golf parrainé par le Fonds pour le droit de demain de l’ABC. « Il [le sport] est différent à chaque fois. Quelques fois, on doit bien rire 100 fois à la minute alors que d’autres fois, tout est extrêmement sérieux. » Brasser des affaires Et si l’attrait du sport reposait aussi dans les occasions de réseautage qu’il offre? « Un terrain de golf est l’endroit idéal pour parler de travail et réseauter avec les clients », estime Ron Mills du cabinet Mills Wilcox Zuk à Prince Albert. Il est vrai que sur le terrain, le client devient un public captif pour un bon 4 heures et demi, parfois plus si vous faites suivre l’activité d’une bière ou d’un souper. De plus, il s’agit d’une bonne façon de développer ou de solidifier une amitié avec un client. « Un gourou du marketing prétend qu’il existe trois niveaux de relations entre un conseiller juridique et son client », prétend Bill Skelly de chez Heenan Blaikie à Vancouver. Le premier niveau serait celui de fournisseur de services tandis que le deuxième serait celui de conseiller de confiance. « Le dernier est celui d’ami et de conseiller de confiance » ajoute-t-il. « Inviter un client à une partie peut vous permettre de vous élever au plus haut niveau […] » Les sujets de discussion n’ont toutefois pas nécessairement à porter sur les affaires. « Souvent, je sors un client et nous ne parlons pas du travail », précise Skelly. L’important est d’aimer jouer. « Je pratique ce sport parce que j’ai du plaisir à le faire », spécifie Boswell. « Le réseautage n’est qu’une retombée positive. » Bienvenue aux dames « Le golf est encore dominé par les hommes mais de plus en plus de femmes y prennent leur place », pense Engel. « Il s’agit d’une façon plus simple de faire du marketing avec leurs clients masculins que de les inviter au restaurant. » Celle qui a atteint des sommets même si elle n’a commencé à jouer au golf qu’en 1997 est aussi membre de l’Association of Women Lawyers in Calgary, un groupe qui est venu à la conclusion, il y a de cela quelques années, que les femmes ne profitaient pas des avantages marketing du golf. « Elles ne savaient pas comment jouer, elles ne connaissaient pas l’étiquette et elles étaient très nerveuses. », se rappelle Engel. « Nous organisons donc un tournoi de golf annuel où nous encourageons nos membres à participer afin d’acquérir un sentiment de confort vis-à-vis du jeu. » « Être une avocate qui joue au golf me distingue probablement des autres avocates », considère Awad. Elle n’est pas la seule à penser ainsi. Un sondage auprès des femmes d’affaires et amatrices de golf effectué par le magazine américain Golf for Women démontre que 73% de ces dernières évaluent que la pratique de ce sport les a aidées à développer des relations et un réseau d’affaires. » Le 18ième trou Certains ne peuvent ou ne souhaitent pas s’adonner à cette activité. Pour Boswell, ce ne serait pas fatal puisque ceux qui ne jouent pas peuvent toujours profiter des effets bénéfiques du réseautage en assistant aux activités sociales qui entourent le golf. Et il y aura toujours des clients qui auront le golf en horreur ou seront ouverts à d’autres suggestions. Néanmoins, pour les juristes fous du golf, rien ne pourra surpasser l’extase du vert.