Companies whose CEOs spend too much time on the golf course often end up in the rough.

So goes the conclusion of a study from researchers at the University of Tennessee and University of Alabama that could send shivers through C-suites across the U.S.

The team looked at four years' worth of data from the United States Golf Association, which logs member rounds and scores as part of its official handicapping system for hard-core links lovers. Using the records from 363 chief executives in the S&P 1500, the study drew some conclusions sure to scare more than a few of them off the course.

For one, it found that executives who use their time to lower their handicaps also often lower their firms' returns. (Tweet This) The study also concluded, not surprisingly, that these same executives who play more often than their peers are more likely to lose their jobs.

"Top traders want to know everything they can about a company before they get involved in a name—down to where its C-level executives dined the night before a big day of investor meetings, for example. You never know how an overdone steak or disagreeable conversation will affect their mood after all, and inadvertently the stock price," New York brokerage Convergex said in a note that unearthed the study from August 2014.