Winning the long game: What golf teaches us about investing

Man playing golf.
Posted on September 21, 2026

By Doug Steele CFA

Golf is often called the greatest sport — one steeped in tradition, built on honesty, and powered by the pursuit of the perfect swing.

It is also an excellent teacher. Whether you rarely make par or compete on the professional circuit, the sport demands a delicate balance of patience, focus, and discipline to achieve success. If you play the game long enough, a fundamental truth is revealed: rounds are seldom won on the first tee.

And so it is with investing.

The parallels between golf and building wealth are almost too numerous to name:

  • Both reward sound decision making: At their highest levels, success is decided not by a one-off brilliant shot or a single spectacular trade, but by the steady accumulation of sound decisions made over time.
  • Both require resilience through adversity: Every golfer faces the bad bounce, the lip-out, the gust of wind they didn’t expect. Investors, likewise, face volatility, surprise headlines, and periods of market decline. Those who endure have the poise (and a plan) to respond with strategic decisions — not knee-jerk reactions.
  • Both reward patience over bravado: Golfers who attempt the hole in one often find themselves in the trees. Similarly, investors who attempt to time the market often achieve lower net returns relative to their buy-and-hold peers.1

Barings and the 2026 Presidents Cup

It is fitting, then, that Barings — a MassMutual company and MassMutual Investments' fixed income partner — was recently named the Official Wealth Management Sponsor and Global Partner of the 2026 Presidents Cup, to be held at the historic Medinah Country Club outside Chicago.

As a trusted investment partner for wealth advisors and their clients, Barings delivers tailored investment solutions through discipline, resilience, and a focus on the long-term — the very qualities the Presidents Cup celebrates on the course.

"Barings shares in our commitment to excellence and innovation, and this new partnership will further elevate the Presidents Cup brand and its world-class experiences," said Dan Glod, PGA TOUR Executive Vice President, Corporate Partnerships.

Headshot of Doug Steele
Doug Steele

For the financial advisors who guide clients through their own long games, this sponsorship is more than a logo on a banner. It is a visible reminder of a deeper alignment — between a firm built on through-the-cycle thinking and a sport built on through-the-round resolve.

The foundation: Why MassMutual invests with Barings

Together, Barings and MassMutual deliver a differentiated experience for your clients. How?

MassMutual Investments is a long-term investor with a buy-and-hold horizon, managing our $200+ billion General Investment Account to meet commitments that stretch far into the future.2 We operate as a trusted financial guide, blending deep expertise with access to institutional knowledge. The premise is simple but powerful: investors are best served not by a single manager trying to do everything adequately, but by a curated network of specialists who do one thing exceptionally.

This is where the partnership model comes in. MassMutual Investments hand-selects specialists across each asset class to deliver institutional strategies with intention.

Because when you're serving investors for the long-view, you don't need a wide net — you need the right one.

Rather than cast broadly and hope for competence across every corner of the market, MassMutual Investments casts precisely — engaging the manager best suited to each mandate. The result is a lineup built with purpose, where every strategy is there for a reason and every partner is there because they are among the best at what they do.

Barings: A long-term investment partner

In fixed income, MassMutual Investments partners with Barings, a global alternative asset manager which has $502 billion in assets under management. Barings combines deep investment expertise with the scale and breadth of a global platform spanning credit, real assets, capital solutions and emerging markets.3

Barings works closely with clients to understand their objectives and deliver tailored investment solutions across changing market environments. Its disciplined, team-based approach draws on global investment capabilities, differentiated origination, and a diverse capital base to identify opportunities and manage risk with a long-term perspective.

As a subsidiary of MassMutual, Barings shares the same long horizon and commitment to durable outcomes. The relationship provides alignment, stability, and the ability to think and invest in decades, not quarters.

For financial advisors and their clients, that means access to institutional investment capabilities delivered through a partnership built for the long game.

MassMutual’s mutual structure, in return, provides a stable capital base that doesn't flee at volatility, letting Barings stay invested and deploy capital opportunistically when competitors retreat.

That's the edge your clients need.

We partner with Barings because of the strength of its investment capabilities and the alignment between our organizations. Both firms take a disciplined, long-term approach focused on delivering for clients and policyowners.
Doug Steele, head of MassMutual Investments
 

A partnership for the long game

Barings' deep investment expertise combined with MassMutual's scale, strength, and 175-year history, support a long-term approach focused on durable value creation for clients.

That is the work MassMutual Investments exists to support. And it is why, in fixed income, we entrust that work to Barings.

See you on the fairway.

_______________________________

Discover more from MassMutual...

Financial plan check-up

Your ultimate savings guide: Goals and strategies

The value of a financial advisor

_______________________________

 

 

 

1 Morningstar, “Why Investors Missed Out on 15% of Total Fund Returns,” Aug. 15, 2024.

2 As of June 30, 2026.

3 As of June 30, 2026. 

Connect with a MassMutual financial professional

Connect with a financial professional

* = required

By submitting this request, I agree to receive e-mails and phone calls using automated technology from MassMutual, its financial professionals, affiliates or vendors on its behalf regarding MassMutual products and services, at the e-mail address and phone number(s) above, even if it is for a wireless phone. I understand I can contact a local financial professional directly to make a purchase without consenting to receive calls from MassMutual.

Connect with a MassMutual financial professional

Barings LLC is a subsidiary of MassMutual. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual®), Springfield, MA. All rights reserved. www.MassMutual.com

MassMutual Investments is the marketing name for certain products and/or services of MassMutual and its subsidiaries, including MML Investment Advisers, LLC (MML Advisers). Investment advisory services of MassMutual Investments are provided exclusively by MML Advisers. MML Advisers is a subsidiary of MassMutual.

©2026 Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual®), Springfield, MA 01111-0001. All rights reserved. ]

The information provided is not written or intended as specific tax or legal advice. MassMutual and its subsidiaries, its employees, and representatives are not authorized to give tax or legal advice. You are encouraged to seek advice from your own tax or legal counsel. Opinions expressed by those interviewed are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company.