Golf's handicap in Poland shortens with time
To others, though, it's a way of life. And when it comes to Frank Pennington, the president of an electrical firm in Poznań, there can be no doubting into which camp he falls, for when he's not in the office, Pennington is the captain and president of the Bytkowo Golf Club, the latest addition to Poland's growing number of golf courses.
Situated a short drive outside of Poznań amid undulating countryside that looks uncannily like Southern England, the new 18-hole Bytkowo course first opened its gates at the start of June, and Pennington hopes the par 72 course will play its part in helping the development of a game that totally disappeared under communism.
But why should any self-respecting businessperson take up a sport that one anonymous wit described as "a lot of walking, broken up by disappointment and bad arithmetic"?
Well, apart from the actual enjoyment of playing and the socializing associated with the sport, golf is recognized as a great reliever of stress (providing, of course, you don't get the yips on the 13th too often).
But in addition to allowing the stressed-out big cheese to unwind, golf also offers great opportunities for doing business, hence its extraordinary popularity in corporate America, where many believe more deals are clinched on the links than behind a desk.
"It's easier to do business [on the golf course] than in the office, as there's less stress," says David Ekberg, the Australian golf professional at the First Warsaw Golf & Country Club in Rajszewo. And this notion that the hostility of brokering a deal is diminished when it's done with a nine iron in your hand is most definitely shared by the Bytkowo president, who adds that out on the green, you're also not going to suffer the usual interruptions of phone calls and the like that inevitably happen in an office setting.
"If you can talk a customer into a round of golf, you've got [access to] that customer for five hours," Pennington states. "You can get a lot of information out of him very casually," he continues, adding that the same is true for the customer with regards to eking out titbits from the potential seller that would otherwise be impossible to glean.
But golf doesn't just stop at fostering a pleasant environment in which top bananas can talk turkey.
"In business, it's about being famous," Pennington explains, referring to a firm's need to constantly shell out on advertising. "As a businessman constantly trying to find new ways of promoting yourself, you need an occasion to get people to know you," he says, adding that if a firm invites their clients to a company golf day, whereby the firm hires out the entire golf course, "[the clients] remember it for years. It sticks in their minds and therefore the company does."
And this is a view very much shared by Violetta Weinberger, PR Manager for Capital Management Poland, a financial consulting firm that has already held two company golfing days in Wrocław.
"It's a great opportunity to talk about business and to get engaged in business. Our employees play golf and they meet businesspeople who also do that," she says, adding that the company plans to hold further events in the future, with the next scheduled for September 24 at the Rajszewo course.
Likewise, Przemysław Pater, product and event marketing specialist for the local arm of luxury car manufacturer Lexus, a company that this year alone will have held four golfing events around the country, agrees with Pennington when the latter says that such company days are "one of the most important [marketing] tools in terms of costs and how much advertising it gives."
"I believe golf is a cost-effective activity," Pater says. "Spectators can take a test drive and ask and read about Lexus in a very intelligent and non-offensive way," he continues, explaining that at such an event Lexus gives out promotional gift packs that all aid in helping the memory of the event linger on well after the sun has gone down.
"[Printed golf balls] are a useful gift. They're a very economic way of advertising, even after the event. Six balls to a reasonable player can last three months. It's very cheap to have this done and it keeps the company in the recipient's mind, with them looking at its logo for four hours every time they play," says Pennington. "And if they win any prizes, they take them home with honor and keep the company's name [emblazoned on the trophy] in their living room."
And while golf is very much in a nascent stage in this country, it is definitely on the upswing. Indeed, Andrzej Person, the president of the Polish Golf Association (PZG), for one, believes that the present number of 5-6,000 golfers could well rise to 40-50,000 within ten years, something that can only be helped as more courses and driving ranges come on line and as more potential players are introduced to the sport through corporate events.
For more information, visit www.golfclub-bytkowo.pl, www.warsawgolf.pl or www.pzg-golf.com.pl.
Situated a short drive outside of Poznań amid undulating countryside that looks uncannily like Southern England, the new 18-hole Bytkowo course first opened its gates at the start of June, and Pennington hopes the par 72 course will play its part in helping the development of a game that totally disappeared under communism.
But why should any self-respecting businessperson take up a sport that one anonymous wit described as "a lot of walking, broken up by disappointment and bad arithmetic"?
Well, apart from the actual enjoyment of playing and the socializing associated with the sport, golf is recognized as a great reliever of stress (providing, of course, you don't get the yips on the 13th too often).
But in addition to allowing the stressed-out big cheese to unwind, golf also offers great opportunities for doing business, hence its extraordinary popularity in corporate America, where many believe more deals are clinched on the links than behind a desk.
"It's easier to do business [on the golf course] than in the office, as there's less stress," says David Ekberg, the Australian golf professional at the First Warsaw Golf & Country Club in Rajszewo. And this notion that the hostility of brokering a deal is diminished when it's done with a nine iron in your hand is most definitely shared by the Bytkowo president, who adds that out on the green, you're also not going to suffer the usual interruptions of phone calls and the like that inevitably happen in an office setting.
"If you can talk a customer into a round of golf, you've got [access to] that customer for five hours," Pennington states. "You can get a lot of information out of him very casually," he continues, adding that the same is true for the customer with regards to eking out titbits from the potential seller that would otherwise be impossible to glean.
But golf doesn't just stop at fostering a pleasant environment in which top bananas can talk turkey.
"In business, it's about being famous," Pennington explains, referring to a firm's need to constantly shell out on advertising. "As a businessman constantly trying to find new ways of promoting yourself, you need an occasion to get people to know you," he says, adding that if a firm invites their clients to a company golf day, whereby the firm hires out the entire golf course, "[the clients] remember it for years. It sticks in their minds and therefore the company does."
And this is a view very much shared by Violetta Weinberger, PR Manager for Capital Management Poland, a financial consulting firm that has already held two company golfing days in Wrocław.
"It's a great opportunity to talk about business and to get engaged in business. Our employees play golf and they meet businesspeople who also do that," she says, adding that the company plans to hold further events in the future, with the next scheduled for September 24 at the Rajszewo course.
Likewise, Przemysław Pater, product and event marketing specialist for the local arm of luxury car manufacturer Lexus, a company that this year alone will have held four golfing events around the country, agrees with Pennington when the latter says that such company days are "one of the most important [marketing] tools in terms of costs and how much advertising it gives."
"I believe golf is a cost-effective activity," Pater says. "Spectators can take a test drive and ask and read about Lexus in a very intelligent and non-offensive way," he continues, explaining that at such an event Lexus gives out promotional gift packs that all aid in helping the memory of the event linger on well after the sun has gone down.
"[Printed golf balls] are a useful gift. They're a very economic way of advertising, even after the event. Six balls to a reasonable player can last three months. It's very cheap to have this done and it keeps the company in the recipient's mind, with them looking at its logo for four hours every time they play," says Pennington. "And if they win any prizes, they take them home with honor and keep the company's name [emblazoned on the trophy] in their living room."
And while golf is very much in a nascent stage in this country, it is definitely on the upswing. Indeed, Andrzej Person, the president of the Polish Golf Association (PZG), for one, believes that the present number of 5-6,000 golfers could well rise to 40-50,000 within ten years, something that can only be helped as more courses and driving ranges come on line and as more potential players are introduced to the sport through corporate events.
For more information, visit www.golfclub-bytkowo.pl, www.warsawgolf.pl or www.pzg-golf.com.pl.
