More businesswomen are taking to the links

By GRACE WYLER

gwyler@vindy.com

poland

For decades, men have conducted business and developed professional friendships on the golf course.

But despite a growing female presence in the board room, professional women are not getting out on the green, Patricia Kearney, a lawyer and strategic mindset coach, told a group of businesswomen gathered at the Lake Club for last week’s Athena Forum.

Only 22 percent of golfers are women, Kearney said. That percentage has not changed since 1980, in spite of the substantial gains women have made in the business world in the last 30 years, Kearney said.

At the Forum, Kearney and Roseann Schwartz, head coach for Youngstown State University’s women’s golf program, discussed ways that women can improve their golf game and how the sport can be used as a networking tool.

Kearney said that, early in her career, she worked at a law firm that went on a golf outing Wednesday afternoons. After a few lonely Wednesday afternoons working in the office, she decided to take up golfing.

“To me, you don’t do business on the golf course, you build relationships on the golf course,” Kearney said.

Shawna L’Italien, an attorney with the law firm Harrington, Hoppe & Mitchell, said she has had a similar experience.

“Lawyers are all golfing all the time,” she said. “I’m always getting harassed by my partners for not going on outings.”

Although L’Italien has been golfing for several years, she said she does not get out to the course very often.

“I definitely need to get out there and feel comfortable doing it,” she said.

Marilyn Titus, who works at Hillside Rehabilitation Center, agreed. Titus said she picked up golf three years ago because it seemed like a good tool for business networking and fundraising, but she added that she is still working on improving her game.

“As a new golfer, I’m not real confident in using it for business yet,” Titus said. “So I came here to pick up some tips on that.” Although women make up less than a quarter of golfers, two-thirds of new golfers are female, Kearney said, which indicates that they don’t stick with the sport.

It is common for women to give up golf because they do not feel confident on the course or think they will not be able to find the time to improve their game, Kearney said.

“A lot of women may not feel comfortable on the golf course, so they might be embarrassed,” she said. “Most women don’t realize that the average golf score for women is 108.”

Kearney recommended that women try golfing in “scrambles,” a common tournament game where players golf in teams. The group structure tends to take the pressure off any individual golfer’s skills, she said.

YSU’s Schwartz added that the best way for women to improve their golf game is to learn and play with a group of friends. The members will keep one another motivated to stick with the game, she said.

Learning how to network on the golf course can help women grow and succeed in the professional world, said Kim Gonda, who organized the event for the Youngstown/WarrenRegional Chamber. Athena Forums take place three or four times a year, focusing on topics that are relevant to women in today’s business world, Gonda said.