Julie Carmichael is a businesswoman who has broken through the glass ceiling into the corporate ranks as a CEO in the healthcare industry.

But all of her strategic planning and business savvy can't compare with her own little secret weapon tucked away in the trunk of her car: a set of golf clubs.

As a scratch golfer, averaging a score of par or better, Car-michael is a woman competing in today's cutthroat business world with an edge. She takes clients out on the course and has four to five hours of one-on-one time to build relationships that some business experts say could never be created in a boardroom or over lunch.

"Golf has given me the opportunity to be with people that are making a lot of the decisions in businesses, that are the leaders in their organizations," said Carmichael, president and chief executive officer of Suburban Health Organization, a physician and hospital network serving Central Indiana. "I would like to think I would have accomplished what I have without golf, but I'm not sure. I will tell you that golf has made it easier."

Historically a man's game, golf has been a sacred area in the corporate world that has put businesswomen who don't play on the outside looking in. They sit in offices as deals are being cut, hard-core schmoozing takes place and business possibilities slip away.

Of 27.3 million golfers in the United States, just 25 percent are women, according to the National Golf Foundation. When it comes to avid golfers, those who play eight rounds or more a year, that drops to 19 percent.

That leaves a whole lot of men to do business on the golf course, and women with something to prove.

"There is something about a woman teeing up against the boys that gains their respect," said Sam Foley, a pro and the manager of business development for the Brickyard Crossing Golf Resort. "The next thing you know, the men are self-conscious."

Some business experts say a woman who plays golf is looked at as a natural leader, a confident player who is successful in all aspects of life. She's also in a spot to take advantage of business happening around the greens.

An estimated $28 billion in annual sales in the U.S. is directly attributed to contact, conversations and relationships initiated or conducted while on the golf course, according to the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce.

"Like it or not, golf is one of the accepted sports in business," said Dan McQuiston, chairman of the marketing department at Butler University, who has launched a business golf class for students. "It's not an equality thing; it just makes good business sense to play golf."

Of course, it also makes good business sense to return phone calls, take clients out to lunch and attend after-hours networking events. Which leads to the obvious point that women don't have to play golf to be successful.

Take Ann Murtlow, president and chief executive of Indianapolis Power & Light Co. She doesn't play golf and doesn't believe it has handicapped her career.

"Absolutely not. Good business deals are going to get done somewhere, and they don't have to be on the golf course," said Murtlow, whose electric utility supplies power for 450,000 customers. "And it's not just women. There are many men who don't play."

Indianapolis' male golfers say yes, women who play golf are memorable. But do the men think more or differently of women golfers? Are they better business leaders?

"I can think of two women I know who are very good golfers and both of whom I think are very good leaders," said Jeff Smulyan, chief executive of Emmis Communications Corp., who carries a 20 handicap. "But I don't like generalities. Some people are good leaders and not good golfers, and some good golfers are not good leaders."