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Drought notwithstanding, golf has always been associated with green: the grass, the jacket and the business deal.

When Donna Hoffman figured out that last part it was like a (golf) club to the head.

More than a decade ago, she and her first husband both worked for the same defense contracting firm, and while she and other colleagues were racking up 200 to 300 hours of overtime a year, her ex would be out on the golf course networking with clients.

“He had like negative 100 hours under his belt, but he kept getting promoted and he’d get all the choice assignments,” said Hoffman.

“There are a lot of informal networks and bonds created on the golf course, from entry-level positions to the partner level. … Guys always seemed to be getting better assignments, moving forward faster, and then I realized they all golfed.”

Hoffman’s marriage ended but from it came the concept to launch a business that teaches women how to play the game, in more ways than one.

Hoffman’s Women on Course, the Executive Women’s Golf Association (EWGA) and the San Diego-based High Heel Golfer are among a number of companies and organizations that hold clinics, tournaments and socializing events to help women overcome a specific workplace handicap.

Long the exclusive purview of male corporate executives — an estimated 95 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs golf — businesswomen across San Diego and the country are hitting the links so they, too, can build relationships with clients and senior management, generate sales leads or seal a deal.

And while many female executives are often held up as pioneers of new ways to do business, they’re also realistic about still having to venture onto men’s turf to succeed.

“Until women have equal pay, until they have 50 percent of board seats and 50 percent of the executive positions, we have to go where the men are,” said Jenn Harris, who started High Heel Golfer in 2012.

Harris, who lives in Normal Heights, loves the game and started playing when she was 7. She also always considered it as a means to an end.

“My dad would say, ‘You’re going to use this in business someday, it’ll help you get ahead,’” Harris said.

And so it did.

When she was 24, and also working in defense contracting, she asked her boss if she could play in a tournament as a way to get to know some clients. He said no.

“At that age I wasn’t ready to push back. Now I would definitely push back,” she said. When those clients found out what happened, they invited her anyway.

“It was a pretty powerful (way) to get out of the cubicle and build relationships with the clients so I could get noticed. And that, in turn, brought a 17 percent raise, a promotion and eventually job security,” Harris said, adding that when her company was looking to lay people off, those clients she played with told her boss she should be spared.

Often, the economic benefits of playing are not so direct or immediate. Nor do they necessarily stem from hitting the links with men.

Wendy Eagle, vice president and manager at Bank of America and president of the Executive Women’s Golf Association’s San Diego chapter, said women in her golf organization are exposed to a broader pool of contacts to network with, outside their field of business.

“There are business cards being passed back and forth all the time,” said the Mira Mesa resident.

“I’ve actually gotten to do some loans based on a friend of a friend of a friend. It’s great to get that call where someone says, ‘So-and-so met you playing golf, do you have a few minutes?’ It’s like, ‘Yes I do.’ I think of (golf) more in terms of long-term gratification.”

Throughout her career as a financial planner, Elisabeth Cullington kept hearing from men how much business gets done on the golf course. So in April, Cullington, the managing director of HoyleCohen, a wealth management firm in Kearny Mesa, joined Women on Course. Fostering relationships with men was not the primary reason.

“I’m in a male-dominated business and most of the time when I’m playing golf, I’m playing with a group of guys,” she said.

“If I can get some networking with other women in, learn golf etiquette, learn some skills in my short game and my long game, and get a bite to eat and socialize with other women, that’s great.”

Organizations like the Reston, Va.-based Women on Course, which is holding a clinic, networking event and mixer at The Crosby in Rancho Santa Fe on Monday, try to appeal to women’s social side, those interviewed said.

A round of golf — playing 18 holes — averages around 4½ hours and that’s a lot of time to carve out of a busy schedule.

“We can’t justify in our minds to go shopping or have a glass of wine for that long,” Cullington said, “but it’s a twofer — having fun and an opportunity to hone our skills so that when we play with the guys we play well.”

Female golf pros also said time-pressed women need to get creative and not skip quality time at the clubhouse, or the 19th Hole.

“Instead of going to coffee with someone, go to the driving range. Instead of happy hour, go putt. Don’t think of it as four hours … suggest playing nine holes,” Harris said.

“You get as much face time and you’re not as exhausted when you get to the clubhouse, so you can have quick drink to talk about business.”

A lack of time isn’t the main reason why women make up only 20 percent of the nation’s estimated 25 million golfers.

“Our game can be intimidating to those just starting it and that may create a barrier,” said Nikki Gatch, regional director of player development for the PGA of America and one of the co-owners of the Emerald Isle Golf Course in Oceanside.

“When you have groups like that (Women on Course, EWGA), it makes it maybe little less intimidating, there’s socializing, there’s a group setting with friends or co-workers.”

Women should overcome the fear of not playing well and get out there to show they’re up to the challenge of competition, can be a team player, and most importantly, that they exist.

“Hey, don’t be the one stuck at the office when everyone else is out there playing at a charity tournament,” Gatch said.

It could make all the difference in your paycheck and career, said Kimberly Cayce, executive director and COO of Women on Course.

“Playing golf increases your visibility in your company, and statistics show that nongolfers make 17 percent less than golfers,” she said.

“It puts you there, they can’t forget about you. In the old boys’ club, business is done behind closed doors. When women are there, business is done differently.”