Putting In the DECA Green! (with Charisma Corkle)
At first glance, high school golf and business competitions like DECA don’t seem to have much in common. One takes place on wide, quiet fairways; the other happens in crowded conference rooms with fast-paced presentations. But for a student who does both, the connection is real and stronger than most people expect.
Golf teaches discipline, strategy, and accountability. Every shot is on you. There’s no clock to save you and no teammate to fix a mistake. That same responsibility shows up in DECA and business competitions. Whether you’re presenting a marketing plan or working through a finance case, success comes down to preparation, focus, and owning your decisions.
Course management in golf looks a lot like strategic thinking in business. Good golfers don’t always go for the biggest drive, they play smart, avoid unnecessary risks, and think a few shots ahead. DECA works the same way. The strongest competitors don’t chase flashy ideas; they read the situation, understand the limits, and choose the approach that gives them the best chance to win.
Mental toughness ties it all together. Golf teaches you how to bounce back from a bad shot and not let it ruin the rest of your round. In DECA, things don’t always go perfectly either. Judges ask tough questions, numbers don’t add up, or a presentation doesn’t land the way you hoped. Staying calm, adapting, and moving forward can be the difference between an average performance and a great one.
Even the culture overlaps. Golf has always been connected to networking and professionalism, and DECA helps students build those skills early. Communication, confidence, and professionalism, learned both on the course and in competition, carry directly into future careers.
For a high school student balancing golf and DECA, the takeaway is simple: you’re not just developing as an athlete or a competitor. You’re building habits that translate from the tee box to the competition room, one swing, one decision, one opportunity at a time.
