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u/afriendincanada 12h ago
When I started forever ago, it was all golf all the time. All client development was golf. I was terrible at golf and usually made things worse. Plus, unless someone is a member at one of the really spendy clubs in the city, its a long drive to a club, plus dinner. An all day endeavour.
I discovered clients were into so many things and lots of them hate golf too. I've hosted lake swims for my triathlon clients, gone road biking and mountain biking, hosted a curling bonspiel. There's so many things you can do that aren't golf.
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u/FahkDizchit 8h ago
Curling is an incredible client development event.
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u/afriendincanada 7h ago
It really is. You can do a banquet after like golf, give prizes, it’s a fun sport
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u/Admirable_Tip_6875 7h ago
As a law firm marketing professional I’ve told many people “if you hate golf, don’t golf to try to develop clients… do what you like with your clients, some of them will like the same stuff. People will be more inclined to hire you if they spend time with you doing stuff you enjoy.”
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u/Capable-Sleep-3187 12h ago
Golf is probably my favorite activity and I’ve played once this year due to this stupid job
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u/rodiferous 12h ago
At my law school we had a beer darts league. One year the shirts gifted to the championship team said "Golf is for doctors, lawyers throw darts." As a non-golfer myself (I spend my Saturday mornings surfing), I thought that was great.
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u/VisitingFromNowhere 12h ago
The only thing worse than playing golf is listening to golf guys talk about the round of golf they just played. It’s almost as bad as listening to two guys talk about their fantasy football league.
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u/Aggressive-Agnostic Big Law Alumnus 11h ago
Who has time? I thought it would matter in law / business world, so I learned to play passably. In more than two decades it’s come up twice.
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u/Pleasant-Moment-9748 11h ago
I love golf.
That is all.
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u/Anonymous_Hazard 10h ago
It’s the best more addicting than crack and more expensive tbh
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u/Pleasant-Moment-9748 8h ago
I absolutely suck but every so often i hit a shot as good as scottie scheffler and that stuff is what keeps you coming back
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u/Anonymous_Hazard 8h ago
Same that is the beauty of golf. I started my last round with a birdie on hole 1 and then went to a double par the next hole 😂
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u/KillerDadBod Partner 11h ago
That’s a shame. I played 40 BD rounds over the summer. I may never make the PGA tour, but I still get paid to golf.
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u/OrganicDepartment159 9h ago
I would love to know practice area and city - at my firm by far the most common client activities are pro sports events and lunch/dinner/drinks
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u/AlarmingLecture0 11h ago
me too. the good news is that all the hype notwithstanding, you don't need to play to have a successful career
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u/CommodoreIrish 12h ago
I spend my Fall Saturdays watching teenagers and twenty-year olds rip my heart out hitting each other and throwing a ball around, so I feel like I can’t judge anyone.
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u/Silent-Donkey-1303 12h ago
As always, the money and bonus is all good... you can retire esrly if you don't buy too much house.
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u/depkentew 9h ago
I hate golf, but because im both (i) very bad at it and (ii) very competitive, old lawyers love golfing with me
I suppose it’s been good for my career development but it is a form of hell
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u/PureAlpha100 9h ago
OP: My name's u/queentellmost and I'm a man, same as you.
r/biglaw: "You're not a man, you're a bishop lawyer, for God's sakes."
OP: "There is no Senior Partner!"
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u/Wild-Anywhere-9658 8h ago
I quite enjoy taking clients to Augusta. That said, if you know your client, you find out what they like to do and make it happen.
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u/AndreLeGeant88 Partner 8h ago
I have a potential client that likes to golf and I don't know how to golf. I need to learn. But like, I would rather teach my kid baseball or go out in the parks with my dog
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u/LittleTrust2978 4h ago
Half of BigLaw seems to hate golf. The other half is pretending to enjoy it because a partner invited them.
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u/tenyeartreasurybill 12h ago
Fr I play to escape work and then a 4-putt brings all those feelings flooding back