Friday FUNDamentals: Golf Is Business, Not Leisure

Some people love to joke about how much golf I play.

Here’s the reality: golf isn’t time off. It’s the job.

You don't spend 4+ hours on the links just to keep score.
You spend it to learn how people think, compete, and handle pressure.

A typical “day at the office” looks something like this:

• On the drive to a morning tee time, I've already knocked out a founder update or investor call.
• The entire round is part golf, part strategy session. No slides, no pitch decks. Just conversations you can't fake.
• By the 5th hole, Im on my first zoom: sometimes diligence with a founder, sometimes LP conversations. Between holes, I'll usually squeeze in 2–3 more… unless the putter’s hot and I'm sinking putts, in which case those calls suddenly feel a lot less urgent :)
• Trust gets built the old-fashioned way: a laugh after a chunked wedge, or watching someone four-putt and still keep their composure. You learn more about a person in those moments than you ever will in a boardroom.

When I play with founders, operators, investors or potential hires — the score isn’t what I remember. What sticks is:

• How someone handles adversity
• Whether they own their mistakes
• If they keep competing when the bounce goes against them
• And whether they can win with grace, not ego

By the 18th, the scorecard doesn't matter. What matters is what got done: opportunities moved forward, investors engaged, relationships deepened.

That’s not downtime — that’s deal time.
Golf is the most underrated due diligence in business.

I've learned more about future partners, investors, potential hires, and operators walking 18 holes than sitting in 18 boardrooms.

Golf isn’t leisure.
It’s business, revealed in real time.

Weekends? Those are reserved for my most important titles: dad and husband.