Ready for a bit of a challenge?

Deadline approaching for CRN Channel Golf Challenge, writes Sara Driscoll

Catherine Zeta Jones won’t be there, and it’s unlikely that Chris Evans or Michael Douglas will be there either. And let’s be honest, it’s not going to be Monty leading your team out on the course to victory.

But, in the just-as-glamorous, if slightly less Welsh or Hollywood-dharling UK IT channel, golf is still a fantastic way to not only meet contacts, socialise and liaise, but also to beat the competition at their own game. That’s why the CRN Channel Golf Challenge is always oversubscribed and a resounding success.

You could argue that the work hard, play hard philosophy is more relevant to the IT channel than almost anywhere else. The wheelings and dealings done behind closed doors, and the late nights spent in the office, add up to a few well deserved days of “working hard” over the 18 holes of a golf course.

But the beauty of golf is that it isn’t just about playing. It’s also about the banter, the walking, the frustration when you shank the ball and the adulation when you miss the lake. Admittedly, it took me a while, but all those nights at the driving range and all the Saturdays spent on my local 9-hole course will hopefully mean I don’t win the worst player award.

Last year’s event at Foxhills Golf course in Surrey proved to be an eventful day, even though the rain seemed to start just as the event kicked off and finished to reveal a beautiful day just as we all went to the club house for dinner. But even that was not enough to dampen spirits or put a hold on the number of deals sealed with a handshake on the 18th hole.

The CRN Channel Golf Challenge, this year to be held on the 27th of September, is a great chance for resellers to actually get together and network. It’s a chance to find out just what Joe Bloggs down the road is doing, to listen to the latest trials and tribulations of your closest rivals and to have fun on the course. And most importantly there is no hard vendor sell from anyone.

Go to www.crnchannelgolfchallenge.co.uk to enter.