Do you or professionals in your company need to learn the art of business relationship building on the golf course? If so, Bogey Free Business Golf is your ace in the hole.

This daylong event and training session will put you on the right plane for business and course success.

“The entire day will be about how to bond and build rapport with existing or potential business partners on the golf course,” says Rick Ross, president, The Ross Group, Inc.

Ross is teaming up with local golf professional Louise Ball to help businesspeople understand what it really means to communicate with others, and how to do that better on the golf course.

“I will be teaching usable business relationship knowledge and Louise will provide usable golf etiquette knowledge,” Ross says. “Participants will then get to go put the two to the test through 18 holes of golf.”

The event is offered at a discount to Chamber members, but is also open to other businesspeople. It will take place at Gettysvue Polo, Golf, and Country Club on September 29. An 8:00 a.m. continental breakfast begins the day, followed by Ross’ course on developing proper communication skills. Ball will then teach the many nuances of golf etiquette. Participants will take to the course for an 18-hole shotgun start after lunch. Ross says he will instruct those in attendance to practice what they have learned during his seminar when they get out on the course.

“Those who attend the course will be asked to assess their foursome’s behavioral types,” says Ross. “I will also ask them to listen to what others are saying and I will ask them to pay attention to what they are learning from others by asking them questions.”

Through basic psychology concepts and techniques, Ross will help business professionals understand what it really means to bond and build rapport with others. Helping business professionals achieve their goals of selling each other on future partnerships is a focal point of the day.

“In today’s society, the bottom line is that people partner with people they trust,” Ross says. “Yet, many people don’t have an understanding of how trust works between two human beings or how to build that trust.”

Ross feels a simple analysis of the difference in how we interact with our family doctor compared to how we interact with our personal accountant is a good example of the principles he teaches.

“We ask our accountants to put together reports we would never have our doctors put together,” he says. “We would never say to our doctor. ‘Why don’t you put together a proposal to inform me about how you plan on healing my ailments. At the same time, will you also share with me how much each procedure will cost?’ We never ask our family physicians those questions because a trust and rapport has been developed with them.”

Ross believes members in a partnership develop a trusted-advisor relationship, similar to the trust that is developed in our relationships with our physicians. What’s more, the members of a partnership take care of each others’ wants and needs in the future.

The idea to incorporate proper communication skills with proper golf etiquette came to Ross two years ago when he realized the golf course had become such a popular venue for business relationship building. Golfers enjoy playing with people who know proper golf etiquette. Many of the nuances in golf are subtle and can create roadblocks in communication between business professionals and existing or potential business partners if not adhered to properly.

“Relationship building skills are universal,” says Ross. “We are applying them in a business context in association with one of the greatest venues for building business relationships – the golf course.”

Ross has been sharing ways to develop proper business and sales environment communication skills for nearly a decade. His client list includes sales organizations and non-sales professionals such as financial professionals, architects, engineers, attorneys, and accountants.

The cost to attend the event is $119 for Chamber members and Gettysvue members, $149 for non-members. For more information or questions about the event, contact Lori Fuller, Chamber events manager, at (865) 637-4550.