I have to tell someone this…

[DLiver]

Without wanting to sound like Pepperturbo, I have been fortunate enough to play a lot of pretty exclusive clubs. I am pretty sure that there would be no significant repercussions from such an incident. The club might review the incident, but not much would come of it. In my experience, these clubs would MUCH rather have an interloper or two scam their way in than embarrass a legitimate guest of a member. If you are a guest at these places, you get treated like a member, and they bend over backwards to make your experience is as excellent as possible.

[Chilidog]

2 hours ago, DLiver said:

Without wanting to sound like Pepperturbo, I have been fortunate enough to play a lot of pretty exclusive clubs. I am pretty sure that there would be no significant repercussions from such an incident. The club might review the incident, but not much would come of it. In my experience, these clubs would MUCH rather have an interloper or two scam their way in than embarrass a legitimate guest of a member. If you are a guest at these places, you get treated like a member, and they bend over backwards to make your experience is as excellent as possible.

I tend to agree with this. 

[CCTxGolf]

I would have thought all the pros at all the top 100 clubs no each other pretty well. It’s not a huge network and they probably communicate somewhat often.

 

they either got VERY lucky on that or they are full of beans. I suspect the latter 

[Chilidog]

4 minutes ago, CCTxGolf said:

I would have thought all the pros at all the top 100 clubs no each other pretty well. It’s not a huge network and they probably communicate somewhat often.

 

they either got VERY lucky on that or they are full of beans. I suspect the latter 

Well, it isn’t the latter. I saw it with my own eyes. And I can tell you they don’t all know each other. I was at Pine Valley playing and I have gotten to know a pro at another top 20 private club and he didn’t know him when I mentioned it. 

[driveandputtmachine]

Having played college golf and some mini tour golf, many of those friends never made it on tour either.  Many of them are Head Pros or DoG's at some pretty prestigious courses and have made connections to get me on some pretty nice courses.

 

You would be surprised at the clubs that will let unaccompanied rounds go out.  I know some have cracked down, but I played Medinah, Butler, Oakmont, Olympia Fields, Shinnecock, Winged Foot, Olympic and Riviera off the top of my head with a DoG or Head Pro from a nice course setting it up for me.   I know I did not even ask about Shinnecock, Oakmont, or Winged Foot when I called friends, and one of them said "woah, hey you're in x, why don't you want to playX."  Honestly it would have never occurred to ask because I thought they were too "private" to allow unaccompanied.  At Winged and Shinnecock they put myself and my buddy with a member, but the others we went out by ourselves.

 

Places I could not get onto this way  Augusta, Cypress, Peachtree, National, Congressional, Seminole, Chicago GC, Baltusrol.

I was told Augusta, Seminole, Cypress, Peachtree, and Chicago do not allow any non accompanied guests at all.  You used to be able to finagle your way onto Pine Valley sometimes this way, but in the last ten or so years they have apparently really cracked down.

 

I don't think I will ever get on Seminole, I have exhausted every single avenue I know of to get on there.

[Long Shot]

About 15 years ago we had a member at my club whom would call courses and give them this whole story that he was a golf course rater from either Golf Magazine or Golf Digest. He had it down pat, and got to play some nice places. Eventually it caught up to him and he was suspended from our club and was suspended from all local amatuer tournaments (he was a decent player) for a few years as well as banned from the clubs he was caught by. Nothing was reported to police or no civil action was taken. I am sure clubs adjusted their policies and moved on, as this one will if they ever catch on (which I doubt as long as caddies, food and guest fees were paid). Especially this time of the year when cady masters want to get guys out working to keep them hanging around and not go south to early, and clubs in the Northeast are doing tons of reciprocals this time of year (especially if it was an East End Long Island Club as member rarely visit off season). 

Edited October 26, 2021 by Long Shot

[jpthreesticks]

58 minutes ago, driveandputtmachine said:

Having played college golf and some mini tour golf, many of those friends never made it on tour either.  Many of them are Head Pros or DoG's at some pretty prestigious courses and have made connections to get me on some pretty nice courses.

 

You would be surprised at the clubs that will let unaccompanied rounds go out.  I know some have cracked down, but I played Medinah, Butler, Oakmont, Olympia Fields, Shinnecock, Winged Foot, Olympic and Riviera off the top of my head with a DoG or Head Pro from a nice course setting it up for me.   I know I did not even ask about Shinnecock, Oakmont, or Winged Foot when I called friends, and one of them said "woah, hey you're in x, why don't you want to playX."  Honestly it would have never occurred to ask because I thought they were too "private" to allow unaccompanied.  At Winged and Shinnecock they put myself and my buddy with a member, but the others we went out by ourselves.

 

Places I could not get onto this way  Augusta, Cypress, Peachtree, National, Congressional, Seminole, Chicago GC, Baltusrol.

I was told Augusta, Seminole, Cypress, Peachtree, and Chicago do not allow any non accompanied guests at all.  You used to be able to finagle your way onto Pine Valley sometimes this way, but in the last ten or so years they have apparently really cracked down.

 

I don't think I will ever get on Seminole, I have exhausted every single avenue I know of to get on there.

 

Augusta needs to be accompanied by a member while on grounds, so you are right there.

 

Cypress has unaccompanied play that goes out during the week (M-Th) and all players must be off the tee by 8:00 AM. It's a very limited amount of total players. Member hosts the round though from my experiences, but I don't know about having a pro-to-pro call there.

 

Peachtree will allow unaccompanied, but none of the unaccompanied guests can be from the metro area. Not sure if you are getting on with a call from a pro or if you need to be member sponsored. This was pre-Covid, so I don't know if that changed in the last 18 months.

[goshoxgo]

Meh…as a pro its no big deal. We aren’t going to take the time to verify all requests. Its just not that important. If the players damaged something or acted up is a different story 

[CCTxGolf]

2 minutes ago, goshoxgo said:

Meh…as a pro its no big deal. We aren’t going to take the time to verify all requests. Its just not that important. If the players damaged something or acted up is a different story 

Yeah or drew the attention of the membership. As a pro, what do you do if you catch them in the act via complaints from membership? Simply kick them off?

 

pretty bold of the buddy to start FaceTiming on the patio bar of a top 30 club while trying to pull off the heist. 😂 

[goshoxgo]

9 minutes ago, CCTxGolf said:

Yeah or drew the attention of the membership. As a pro, what do you do if you catch them in the act via complaints from membership? Simply kick them off?

 

pretty bold of the buddy to start FaceTiming on the patio bar of a top 30 club while trying to pull off the heist. 😂 

If they do damage I would boot them and call the pro and warn him someone used his name under false pretenses. If they are gentlemen and don’t cause a stir but find out they woofed me I would probably say well played boys well played. 

[mci711]

2 hours ago, jpthreesticks said:

 

Augusta needs to be accompanied by a member while on grounds, so you are right there.

 

Cypress has unaccompanied play that goes out during the week (M-Th) and all players must be off the tee by 8:00 AM. It's a very limited amount of total players. Member hosts the round though from my experiences, but I don't know about having a pro-to-pro call there.

 

Peachtree will allow unaccompanied, but none of the unaccompanied guests can be from the metro area. Not sure if you are getting on with a call from a pro or if you need to be member sponsored. This was pre-Covid, so I don't know if that changed in the last 18 months.

 

Played Chicago Golf Club unaccompanied, this was also pre-covid. 

[CDM]

19 hours ago, mci711 said:

 

Played Chicago Golf Club unaccompanied, this was also pre-covid. 

 

Interesting. Was pretty sure they only allowed accompanied guest?

Edited October 27, 2021 by CDM

[Golferpaul]

On 10/24/2021 at 7:00 PM, raynorfan1 said:

IMO any club that accepts unaccompanied play on a call from an unknown pro doesn't really care who comes out to play. I'm sure they feel like they got away with one, but the club was probably happy to collect the greens fees.

I think you are correct.  It was not a scam even though the guys that did it think so.

[Primo1868]

On 10/25/2021 at 10:15 AM, Chilidog said:

I’ll take one of those unaccompanied rounds on Winged Foot. Let me know how to make that happen and I’m in. 

Shotgun 

[DavePelz4]

On 10/26/2021 at 4:56 PM, mci711 said:

 

Played Chicago Golf Club unaccompanied, this was also pre-covid. 

 

How did you get on CGC?  I played there once with the late Jim McWethy as his guest and what we could and couldn't do was buttoned up really tightly in an email and then reinforced by Jim pre-round. 

[Chilidog]

6 minutes ago, DavePelz4 said:

 

How did you get on CGC?  I played there once with the late Jim McWethy as his guest and what we could and couldn't do was buttoned up really tightly in an email and then reinforced by Jim pre-round. 

I will say that I belong to a private club and it is an overall good course. If the course I belonged to and I paid to belong to put this many rules and restrictions in place, I would look for somewhere else. I know certain clubs have the recognition to be able to line the next person up at the door but largely, this was one of the effects as to why private club membership has suffered since the 90s. 

 

[CDM]

2 hours ago, Chilidog said:

I will say that I belong to a private club and it is an overall good course. If the course I belonged to and I paid to belong to put this many rules and restrictions in place, I would look for somewhere else. I know certain clubs have the recognition to be able to line the next person up at the door but largely, this was one of the effects as to why private club membership has suffered since the 90s. 

 

 

Point noted.... but does not answer how you got on unaccompanied?   😃    I know someone at CGC but have not spoken to him in years.

 

Edit:  Sorry did see its a different person who posted

Edited October 28, 2021 by CDM

[LukeDonaldsTiger]

Different person who said they got into CGC

Edited October 28, 2021 by LukeDonaldsTiger

[LukeDonaldsTiger]

It’s funny to read about „honor“ and „serious repercussions“ and such, when nobody was harmed, greenfees were paid and food and drinks consumed and paid for. 
If a top 30 club doesn’t have a system in place that doesn’t have this loophole, they are most likely okay with not checking who’s playing, or negligent enough to let it happen. I have no problem if some clever dude finds this loophole. 

To all the peeps who condemn this: talk about hypocrisy. Exactly what I don’t like in Golf and our society in general, and I’m a well behaved, respectful person in social life, and guest and player on any course. But seriously, our so-called role models screw the system to their own benefit whenever they can, it’s just very naive to get on that high horse.

I can sleep well at night, because I have good values, but also, I’m not Mother Teresa. There’s levels to everything. Chill out, guys. 

Edited October 28, 2021 by LukeDonaldsTiger

[smashdn]

People who follow the rules rarely complain about them.

[mci711]

2 hours ago, CDM said:

 

Point noted.... but does not answer how you got on unaccompanied?   😃    I know someone at CGC but have not spoken to him in years.

 

Edit:  Sorry did see its a different person who posted

 

This was years ago, but my brother in-law is a director of golf at a course and is good friends with a pro there and set it up. We were able to play on a day the course was closed. So not really getting in and getting the full guest experience or anything like that, so I kind of misspoke, since it is a really different situation. 

[4bees]

4 hours ago, LukeDonaldsTiger said:

It’s funny to read about „honor“ and „serious repercussions“ and such, when nobody was harmed, greenfees were paid and food and drinks consumed and paid for. 
If a top 30 club doesn’t have a system in place that doesn’t have this loophole, they are most likely okay with not checking who’s playing, or negligent enough to let it happen. I have no problem if some clever dude finds this loophole. 

To all the peeps who condemn this: talk about hypocrisy. Exactly what I don’t like in Golf and our society in general, and I’m a well behaved, respectful person in social life, and guest and player on any course. But seriously, our so-called role models screw the system to their own benefit whenever they can, it’s just very naive to get on that high horse.

I can sleep well at night, because I have good values, but also, I’m not Mother Teresa. There’s levels to everything. Chill out, guys. 

Exactly what I said.  This is not a big deal.  Who really got hurt in this situation.  Not one person.  

 

For everyone that hates this, its seems that they would rather keep everyone that cant afford this or that beneath them.  God for bid someone who cant afford a $100K initiation fee gets onto their course and pays for the round.  They must have stole food out of your childrens mouth doing this.  

[Robber6656]

No one was financial harmed but he lied and used someone else’s name to gain access. Not sure what business this guy is in but I would never trust him and if I can’t trust him I wouldn’t do business with him or hire him. I don’t find it funny.  If he was a college or high school kid I would feel different. We all did dumb a** stuff at that time.

[mci711]

37 minutes ago, Robber6656 said:

No one was financial harmed but he lied and used someone else’s name to gain access. Not sure what business this guy is in but I would never trust him and if I can’t trust him I wouldn’t do business with him or hire him. I don’t find it funny.  If he was a college or high school kid I would feel different. We all did dumb a** stuff at that time.

 

[golfortennis]

4 hours ago, 4bees said:

Exactly what I said.  This is not a big deal.  Who really got hurt in this situation.  Not one person.  

 

For everyone that hates this, its seems that they would rather keep everyone that cant afford this or that beneath them.  God for bid someone who cant afford a $100K initiation fee gets onto their course and pays for the round.  They must have stole food out of your childrens mouth doing this.  

 

There is a head pro whose name got used.  Would it be cool for someone to use your name unbeknownst to you to gain access to something?  Because if so, please post your name and where your name can get us access, so we can all take advantage of your magnanimousness.  

 

It's not about keeping anyone beneath anyone.  It's about the fact people paid for a particular level of service and access, and someone who hasn't is using and possibly keeping a member from enjoying the club.  There is a reason a private club can't be justified by comparing greens fees at a public course.  They are not paying to keep you out, they are paying so that they can go and play whenever they want and not have to worry about having access.  If you take that as keeping you out, that is your issue, not theirs.

 

 

[golfortennis]

8 hours ago, smashdn said:

People who follow the rules rarely complain about them.

 

Amazing, isn't it?  

[4bees]

16 hours ago, golfortennis said:

 

There is a head pro whose name got used.  Would it be cool for someone to use your name unbeknownst to you to gain access to something?  Because if so, please post your name and where your name can get us access, so we can all take advantage of your magnanimousness.  

 

It's not about keeping anyone beneath anyone.  It's about the fact people paid for a particular level of service and access, and someone who hasn't is using and possibly keeping a member from enjoying the club.  There is a reason a private club can't be justified by comparing greens fees at a public course.  They are not paying to keep you out, they are paying so that they can go and play whenever they want and not have to worry about having access.  If you take that as keeping you out, that is your issue, not theirs.

 

 

literally made my point in the above bolded sentence.  god for bid we kept a member from enjoying a round of golf for one day.  oh the audacity.... that one statement shows a lot about how you think.  Exactly what I said, keep the peeons beneath you.  I PAID FOR MY GOLF ROUND, NO ONE BETTER STEAL IT FROM ME, oh wait, i can just play tomorrow since its a private club.  come on dude, get real.

 

My name is not worth crap, literally.  If anyone gained access because of it I would feel extremely proud of myself for actually becoming that prominent in life.  

[golfortennis]

12 minutes ago, 4bees said:

literally made my point in the above bolded sentence.  god for bid we kept a member from enjoying a round of golf for one day.  oh the audacity.... that one statement shows a lot about how you think.  Exactly what I said, keep the peeons beneath you.  I PAID FOR MY GOLF ROUND, NO ONE BETTER STEAL IT FROM ME, oh wait, i can just play tomorrow since its a private club.  come on dude, get real.

 

My name is not worth crap, literally.  If anyone gained access because of it I would feel extremely proud of myself for actually becoming that prominent in life.  

 

Post your address so people can stop and use your washroom, or maybe have a campfire in your backyard.  Or is access to someone else's property only something other people have to provide?  I don't have a car, so I will just take yours today.  What's the problem?  You can use it tomorrow.

 

You might have something of a point if there were something other than money keeping someone from joining. But if money is the only thing, well, you have two choices.  Pony up, or play somewhere else.  

 

Why do you deserve access to that club?  The member has paid initiation and dues, so however he came about his money, he at least has that for his justification.  You?  Because you can breathe?  You've held up a golf club?  You can whine and complain how unfair it is that they can play there and you can't?  

[mci711]

33 minutes ago, golfortennis said:

 

Post your address so people can stop and use your washroom, or maybe have a campfire in your backyard.  Or is access to someone else's property only something other people have to provide?  I don't have a car, so I will just take yours today.  What's the problem?  You can use it tomorrow.

 

You might have something of a point if there were something other than money keeping someone from joining. But if money is the only thing, well, you have two choices.  Pony up, or play somewhere else.  

 

Why do you deserve access to that club?  The member has paid initiation and dues, so however he came about his money, he at least has that for his justification.  You?  Because you can breathe?  You've held up a golf club?  You can whine and complain how unfair it is that they can play there and you can't?  

 

This is so much different. While I don't agree with the guys who scammed their way on to the course in the original post, you are comparing a business vs a home/personal property. If someone got onto my club this way I legit wouldn't care the very least bit. The only thing strange would be that there would actually be people out there when it is usually only me 😂. If anything it is on the club/pros. Not very hard to confirm membership. 

Edited October 29, 2021 by mci711

[golfortennis]

3 minutes ago, mci711 said:

 

This is so much different. While I don't agree with the guys who scammed their way on to the course in the original post, you are comparing a business vs a home/personal property. If someone got onto my club this way I legit wouldn't care the very least bit. The only thing strange would be that there would actually be people out there when it is usually only me 😂. If anything it is on the club/pros. Not very hard to confirm membership. 

 

And if a club is member owned?  There really isn't much of a difference.  Whether it's personal property or a business, I don't see the word charity in there.  A business is owned by *somebody*.  And that owner is selling a product, which in this case, is a golf course to which they will have ample access for the premium they are paying.  This kind of stuff hurts that value proposition.

 

If you paid for something, you have the right to decide how it is used.  If you paid for a membership that said no public play is allowed, you have a right to not be happy with public play.  

 

It's the attitude of "why can't I have these things as well you should let me have them" that really stuck in my craw.