Perhaps I've failed the Clayman test, or maybe it has something to do with Andrew Buck's strategy, but I can't remember the last unwelcomed request for access coming my way. I could be wrong, but I suspect that the number who take offense from these types of requests are outnumbered by a factor of 20 to 1. Really, SL, you would put an Email or IM asking to play your course analogous to someone inviting himself to your house for dinner? We do live in different worlds!
Re: the thread "requiring" this one, a fellow GCAer has the opportunity to bring a foursome to a word-class golf course known to most here as a club of the highest standards which welcomes its guests to enjoy the whole experience sans formality and pretense. The gentlemen extends this opportunity to members of this DG with no express or implied quid pro quo/hidden agenda. But no good deed should go unpunished, he gets blasted by two highly-privileged, self-appointed "keepers of the gates", and the thread is pulled.
Perhaps the originator erred in his open approach. Or maybe he had permission from the sponsoring member. Did the critics know the circumstances, the specifics? Would it have been more couth for the guy to have gone to the site's power brokers/facilitators to fill the foursome? And what about the inherent quid pro quos/conflicts of interest with this method? Me, I found his very "democratic" approach well-intentioned and refreshing.
Dick Youngscap is a great friend of golf. He has sponsored a number of GCAers over the years as unaccompanied guests. As noted earlier, the club has a great reputation for being welcoming to its guests, member-accompanied or not. With a short season and a difficult labor market, guest play is likely an important part of its financial well-being. It is a policy which seems to work for the club, offering the chance to play a great course to some who aren't well-connected without detracting from the membership experience (unless one values exclusivity very highly- I don't).
To those who are offended by requests for access, is having to say "No" that inconvenient? For the most part, we know who you are and I suspect that you are not bothered often. Does a public chastisement of an "offender" really elevate you or the site? Aren't there other bigger problems in your life demanding attention?
By the way John Kavanaugh, not that you were referring to me, but we never left Cypress Point in a hurry. As you know, when you play unaccompanied, the caddies set the pace and ensure that you're gone by noon. On our day, we had a leisurely lunch elsewhere after our round with the Great Man, then made a mad dash to play Olympic when a member found out we were heading to the airport and insisted we change our flights. It remains the greatest day of golf in my life, and all due to the great generosity and courtesy of members of this fantastic website.