Managers who do not play golf are paid 17% less than those who do, so says a new study.
Published in the Economist, the Spanish study compares the golf handicaps of US CEOs with their shareholder returns and salaries, finding a positive link.
The study also shows that although golfing bosses are paid more, they do not produce better results for their shareholders than non-golfing managers.
As the average golf game takes between three and four hours, the more highly-paid directors could be using games to woo those paying their salaries
The researchers, Gueorgui I. Kole and Robin M. Hogarth from Pompeu Fabr University in Barcelona are unable to indicate why this correlation occurs.
However, the Economist suggests that the skills that make for a good golfer (competitiveness, strategic thinking and being cool under pressure) are interchangeable with those required to be successful in business, leading to higher salaries.
But according to the National Golf Foundation figures for 2010, private golf-club memberships in the US stood at 2.1 million, down from 3 million in the 1990s.
The golf course is often used as a forum for doing business due to its handicap system allowing those with differing abilities to compete against one another, and golf usually rewards players who remain calm and think ahead.
Golf is also fundamentally a game of manners. It is easy to cheat but players are scrupulously honest, a policy that can be readily shown by managers to their employers during games.
Even with membership numbers falling, Julian Small, the CEO of Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey sees golf as valid corporate entertainment that is playable at any age.
Small also believes it is a great setting for getting to know business partners and customers, saying, “When you do business with people, you need to know more about them. Golf rewards players who never lose their temper.”