Leslie J. Andrews T'90
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"The culture and language
of golf transcend gender and
hierarchy."
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Women Leverage the Wedge
Take a workshop from Leslie Andrews of Golfing Women, and you'll learn how
to leverage golf.
"Business is all about relationships," Andrews says. "A round of golf takes five
hours to play—five hours alone together is a unique opportunity to get to know
a person. Plus golf is a passion, even an obsession." And sharing a passion is a
good way to start a friendship—or a business relationship.
A 2003 survey by the research group Catalyst concluded that women believe
exclusion from informal networks was the chief barrier to their business success.
"A lot of people acknowledge the problem," says Andrews. "We're one of
the few companies offering a solution." Not only is golf a graceful way into the
male executive world, she says, but "the culture and language of golf transcend
gender and hierarchy. Usually you're not playing against each other but against
yourself or against the course." All of which led Golf for Women magazine to
conclude, "Having a handicap is almost as important as having an MBA."
After 15 years in senior marketing and event management positions at companies
such as ESPN and Disney, Andrews recognized her entrepreneurial bent.
She founded Golfing Women in 2002 with fellow golf enthusiast and marketing
exec Adrienne Wax as part of a larger company called Sports Journeys, Inc.
The company offers golf workshops, one-on-one coaching, a learn-the-basics
course called Tee Off Tomorrow, corporate golf events, and individual golf
travel. Andrews and Wax are also writing a book about the business benefits of
golf for women. "Tuck taught me to take creative thoughts and put them into
actionable plans," she says. "I don't think I could have started this company
without the background I got from Tuck."
Andrews herself learned to play golf the summer after graduating from Tuck. A
three-sport athlete in both high school and college, she wanted a new sport that
would last her lifetime. Eventually, she trained as an LPGA golf instructor and
began teaching at Montauk Downs State Park Golf Course on Long Island.
She soon noticed that her sport gave her entrŽe to places her peers couldn't
go. "When I worked in corporate America, I would often participate in golf
outings," she says. Of 120 participants, she noticed that only 4 would be women.
"I didn't understand this. Why don't more women play?" When asked, women
answered that they didn't play because they didn't know how. "A lot of the men
didn't know how to play well either," Andrews says, "but they came anyway
and gave it a try."
The first thing Andrews and Wax teach is golf etiquette. While both genders
need to learn the code of behavior, Andrews notes that women get more upset if
they make a mistake. "The problem is self-esteem. Guys will laugh off a breach
of etiquette even if they're called on it, but women get embarrassed, sometimes
so much that they get intimidated off the course."
Indeed, says Andrews, "golf parallels the issues women generally face in business.
Part of our course is helping women get over these hurdles."
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