Gone are the days when your golf handicap determined whether or not your business would succeed. The country club conversations of yore are losing their luster as fresh network opportunities that more readily engage today’s diverse business professionals emerge.
The statistics paint the picture: Just 27% of new golfers are ages 18 to 34, according to KemperSports’ Golfer Insights Survey. As of 2023, the median age of players is about 44 years old, and less than half of U.S. golfers identify as people of color. The sport also remains largely male-dominated—women represent just 26% of golfers.
It’s clear that networking is happening off the green. Take the founder of Canva, Melanie Perkins, for example. She solidified initial funding for Canva (currently valued at $40 billion) by joining a group of active venture capitalists on a kitesurfing trip. In a corporate culture still redefining itself post-pandemic, people are similarly eager for fresh ways to make real connections.
The departure from golf is part of a broader trend that reflects the holistic desires of young professionals. Today, networking is happening during healthy activities hosted at spaces that curate and foster social engagement. These venues foreshadow a rapidly emerging sector of the economy at the intersection of health and entertainment: wellness social clubs designed for connection.
As the appeal of old-world networking declines, alternatives centered around nurturing our physical and emotional well-being are surfacing—without the need for a perfect swing.
Hold court while playing pickleball and padel
America’s fastest-growing sport is proving to be the perfect opportunity for business conversations. Pickleball, a game that’s similar to table tennis but is played on a court, has flourished where golf has floundered—garnering appeal and adoption from a younger clientele. Pickleball’s average participant age is about 38 years old as of 2021, and the pastime boasts a more balanced 60-40 split between men and women players than golf’s 74-26.
Megan Charity and Barrett Worthington, the founders of Charlotte’s Rally Pickleball, have watched their courts become popular for networking in North Carolina’s banking city. Eight Charlotte-based Fortune 500 companies have booked their courts for corporate events. But the proof that pickleball is a good medium for connection was evident before Charity and Worthington even broke ground. When searching for funding, they hosted investors on a pickleball court and closed a $15 million fundraising round.
Today, Rally attracts diverse Charlotte professionals who are looking to play a laid-back, approachable game that needs no formal training. But networking doesn’t stop after the paddles go down. The facility sets the scene for more socializing with a coworking lounge, restaurant, coffee shop and speakeasy on site. Events like “Courts and Coffee,” incubate opportunities for connection with fast-paced games played in a rotating style.
This stay-a-while business model has led to the organic creation of communities such as Black Pickleball & Co, a 501(c)(3) organization that has united around 500 people of color through pickleball.
Meanwhile, in New York City, Mary Cannon, co-founder of CityPickle, reports a significant uptick in corporate event requests. The company fields at least 25 requests per day for groups of 10–250.
Padel, a racquet sport that’s similar to tennis but is played on a smaller court, is also gaining the attention of young professionals. In Miami, ULTRA offers its players a sleek and inviting lounge environment—an attractive option for casual meetings. According to the website, the club’s mission in the sunny southern tech capital is “to enrich lives through sports and community, fostering a sense of belonging, promoting holistic wellness and encouraging a lifestyle centered on health, fitness and socializing.”
ULTRA hosts mixed tournaments and extends its sphere of social activity off the court with wellness pop-ups, yoga, cold plunges and private tasting events.
Reserve Padel, in Miami’s Design District and New York City’s Hudson Yards, also encourages connection over the sport. Its fall 2024 expansion at the Miami location includes a membership component boasting a steam room, sauna, cold plunge and high-level workout facility, as well as an on-site Pura Vida restaurant. Reserve Padel founder Wayne Boich said the expansion isn’t just about playing more padel. He told Miami Design District, it’s “also a private space where members can connect, relax and immerse themselves in the lifestyle that the district and Reserve embody.”
Conduct business on your feet: Run clubs and net-walking
Steve Jobs was famous for holding walking meetings around Apple’s Cupertino compound to brainstorm ideas and foster connections. He may not have had a name for them then, but today, the term “net-walking” is taking off. It’s no secret that sitting is the new smoking, so walking may be a healthy alternative to a long business lunch.
Ricci Masero, marketing manager at Intellek, says that “[Net-walking has] become my favorite way to hash out deals and catch up with prospective clients and partners. It just fits so well with what’s important these days—staying healthy, being mindful of the environment and making the most of our time outside.”
Net-walking’s popularity may be why Alex George, M.D.’s podcast, Stompcast, has garnered such a loyal following and now ranks among the top podcasts for health and fitness in the UK. The podcast takes the interview format on the move by recording conversations with creatives and professionals while on a walk—leaf crunching and puddle splashing included.
For a more aerobic experience, run clubs are pounding the pavement toward connections. In Boston’s biotech scene, venture capitalists have been meeting weekly for more than six years to hash out industry insights during a 9-minute mile.
Run clubs have also recently seen a surge in popularity among the single and dating, but their appeal shares a common theme: a desire to bond over a shared priority for health, wellness and in-person connections. Community meet-ups provide a casual setting that combines exercise and conversation in a noncompetitive environment. These run clubs are frequently hosted or sponsored by local breweries that entice athletes after their run with discounts and happy hours.
Unlike golf, tennis or club sports, walk and run clubs pose the lowest barrier to entry. Free and accessible to all—save a good pair of running shoes—the groups are often started organically through social media. An example of this is the viral Hot Girl Walks that have quickly spread to metros across the U.S. These groups unite men and women during a 4-mile shared walk that focuses on confidence, community and gratitude.
As business school application rates decline, ambitious young professionals are looking outside of the traditional pipeline, such as alumni groups, to build their networks. Due to their accessibility, walk and run clubs create a level playing field for diverse attendees who you might not find at a ticketed or invite-only event.
“Sweatwork” at wellness social clubs
It’s clear that wellness has become a focal point for social connection. As a result, Jonathan Leary, D.C., CEO and founder of Remedy Place, has centered his business around it. With locations in New York City and Los Angeles, Remedy Place was one of the first wellness social clubs to start defining the space in 2019. It offers a highly curated spa-like environment to engage in some of today’s most cutting-edge holistic activities and treatments in group settings. Think ice baths, meditation chambers, vitamin drips, social acupuncture and cryotherapy. These environments aim to promote relaxation and stress relief and facilitate deeper connections and organic conversations.
Remedy Place is just one in the growing industry of wellness social clubs. Others include The Wonderer in Charleston, MedHouse in West Palm Beach and Gaia NoMaya in Brooklyn. At CAMP, a multi-disciplinary gym with locations in Tampa and Los Angeles, “community” is one of their founding pillars. Members can engage with each other over “sweatworking” sessions or attend beach clean-ups outside of their yoga, cycling and fitness classes.
Tampa-based entrepreneur Lauren Schwec, founder and owner of the Social Curation Collabs app, says the gym has not only improved her well-being and fitness but has “also built meaningful friendships and expanded my professional network, all within a supportive community.”
Self-care meets career growth
Conferences, club lunches and long days in golf carts are giving way to new formats for connection. The emphasis is now shifting toward spaces that offer an active sport as the glue to social connection.
The early success of clubs like Rally and Remedy Place, as well as the viral likeability of run and walk clubs, prove that there’s a demand for more curated environments. A connection-starved, digitally fatigued, post-COVID group of young professionals seem eager to get away from screens and make in-person connections at spaces where they can work on their wellness.
As Mark Twain once wrote, “Golf is a good walk spoiled.” It’s starting to look like today’s professionals would agree that it’s best to ditch the country clubs and just go for a walk.
Photo from Rally
