GT‘s big cheese, Fran Gallagher, is heading to China for business. He stated he intended to see the sights and get in some golf before his Monday business meetings. This is something I have mostly managed to avoid on business trips.

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Not the sights. I do enjoy checking out the sights of a new city (or the new sights of a formerly visited city). Not the business meetings. A business trip without business meetings is pretty pointless. No, what I have managed to avoid is golf.

Okay, I admit it. I hate golf. I hate watching golf. I hate talking golf. I hate golf in its entirety.

I have golfed a few times in my life. The first time was shortly after I graduated from high school. We got a foursome together and played 18 holes. I shot a 130. The highlight was a frog swallowing one of my errant shots.

I don’t just dislike golf because I am not good at it. I am not particularly good at billiards, but I never pass on a chance to play. At least in billiards the balls are confined to a roughly eight-foot-square area (except for really wild shots launched off of the table).

Golfers tell me how relaxing it is or how addicting it is. I just don’t see it. Smashing a ball at the hitting cages is addictive (and therapeutic). For a couple bucks, you can get 40 chances to smash out your aggressions at the batting cages, and it is done in about 15 minutes. This just leaves more time for the proverbial 19th hole (aka drinks and a meal). It wouldn’t have to be swings at the batting cages. It could be lots of other sports.

If a business associate suggested a nice round of bocce before a meeting, I’d be all for it. I’d bring some cannoli (for the group, not just me) and give the pallino a few practice tosses to get the feel of the court. Now THAT would be a great pre-meeting activity.

I guess I can’t change the whole business world (although, if you’ve read some of my previous blogs, I have some suggestions). However, if you’d really like to talk business with me, I’ll be in a much better mood with a Louisville Slugger in hand than a 4-iron.

John Wroblewski, distribution specialist