Business and The Masters

Today begins the 88th Masters Tournament, one of four major golf championships held each year.

The Masters, hosted at Augusta National, is a fan favorite for Georgia natives, sports fans and pimento cheese lovers, alike. A tournament rooted in tradition.

Fun fact: No amount of money in the world could buy you a membership at Augusta National. The golf club is so exclusive that you must be personally invited by a current member when and if a spot becomes available. If you ask to join, you will never get join. If you ask to play, you will never get to play.

I love golf for these totally unhinged rules that make us feel like we’re in the plot of National Treasure.

The game is rich in history, rooted in respect and can only be conquered by those who have mastered their mental endurance. 

If you’ve never WATCHED golf, you probably HAVE taken a nap with golf on in the background.

Both are riveting.  

In golf, greatness is measured by consistency. 

That’s the story for Scottie Scheffler. The #1 golfer in the world and favorite to win the green jacket this weekend. 

When I asked my husband why he thinks that consistency is so much harder to achieve in golf than any other sport, he said: “it’s like being in NBA but one day the goal is 8 ft and the next day it’s 12 ft. Oh and also you’re by yourself.”

Soooo the flags/holes move each day…

No 2 golf courses are the same…

You’re outside in the elements… 

Spectators line the narrow path where you’re hitting it…

You have no teammates… 

By this time I’m hoping professional golfers are ok. They are ok.. right?

It’s no wonder why it’s common practice for golfers to win a tournament… and then be cut from the next 3… then maybe they come in 5th place… then maybe they come in 47th place… then we don’t hear about them for 3 years… totally dark... until they maybe win another one.

There are so many elements that challenge your ability to be consistent.

Scottie Scheffler (he’s 27 BTW if you were looking to feel ancient today) has 18 consecutive Top 10 finishes. 

In basketball or baseball or football, we would be booing him off the field! But in golf, he’s #1 in the world, despite only having really only won 1 major championship. 

Success (or shall we say perceived success) is a tricky thing in golf.

In business and entrepreneurship, too. 

The truth is: winning isn't the only measure of success. It is surely the most measurable and easiest to run towards, but it's also true that you can't win unless you're consistently in the mix. 

You can still be (and often are) great even without all the trophies you feasibly could have won.

Even with all of the narrow misses. Especially with all of the narrow misses. 

You hear that the secret sauce is to just “keep showing up.” And while that’s certainly true. You should absolutely keep showing up…

It’s not the whole truth.

Scottie could have sHOwn Up to any and every golf course on the PGA tour for 8 years straight and not cracked the top 100.

Showing up isn’t what makes him #1 in the world. 

Here’s what it actually takes…

Consistently good will take you farther than occasionally great.

And if you’re like Scottie, you’ll be good for so long that you enter “consistently great” territory.

Then before you know it… you’re #1.

May your weekend golf naps be long, and the sleep be deep.

Xo, The Salesgirls

PS. We’re also on big time baby watch as Scottie and his high school sweetheart (and totally adorable) wife, Meredith, await the birth of their first baby! Meredith couldn’t get the green light to attend, but Scottie has confirmed he’ll be “outta there” the minute he gets the call. We’ll watch for this storyline alone.