I’ve been engaged in a decades-long (mostly) friendly golf battle with my older son. The latest installment of our competition occurred last week when he and his wife came down to Florida for a visit.
I was all set. I had gotten several practice rounds in before his visit. I had a new driver that was going to allow me to get off the tees in fine shape. This was not the visit when the young buck would assume the mantle of better golfer.
I stepped up to the ball on the first tee and blasted the ball well down the fairway. My son was impressed and promptly asked if he could try my new driver.
I wasn’t planning on sharing my new club! But what could I say? I am literally the man who taught him to share when he was a kid.
My son then blasted the ball 30 yards past mine right down the center of the fairway.
Sharing felt overrated at that moment.
We battled it out stroke-for-stroke for 18 holes. My son used my driver at every tee, singing its praises as he out-drove me every time. In the end, I edged him out by one stroke…one magnificent stroke that had him buying at the 19th hole!
The reason I was able to win was my years of experience playing golf, knowing this course better than my son, and my perspective. I kept reminding myself of words I’d heard Pat Murphy, the manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, say recently, “It ain’t the wand; it’s the magician.”
He made the new club work wonders to start every hole, but I knew the way to approach every green and how each one broke once there. My short game was the difference. My knowledge, my touch, my experience set me apart from a talented, younger man. That was my differentiating value that day.
Having great value cannot be replaced. The key is being able to utilize that value. On the golf course it was about using my knowledge around the greens; in a job search it’s about knowing what your value is and being able to effectively communicate it to the right people.
The job seeker must arm themselves with a personal marketing plan and modern, professional collateral—the executive equivalent of that new driver. It’s essential for getting off the tee and into play. But tools alone won’t win the day.
Just like on the golf course, where experience, strategy, and finesse win over raw power, in a job search it’s your Value Story—and how you deliver it—that turns heads and opens doors.
You are the differentiator. With the right coaching and targeted marketing strategies, you can position yourself not just as a contender, but as the clear choice.
Play it smart, and when the round is over, you won’t just be in the game—you’ll be the one collecting the win at the 19th hole.
