OT - Stolen Rounds

[John Kavanaugh]

So who has stolen a round by pretending they were going to join a private club?

[Jeff Schley]

Probably my first several rounds of golf at Medinah, courtesy of my neighbors who were members.  They didn't want to pay guest fees for their son/my best friend to take me out there, so we went on Mondays when the course was closed.  You could play, but the clubhouse was not open.


We did that for a few rounds and then one fateful day we played no. 1 and no. 2, and then decided to go over to the famed No. 3 course, which doesn't return to the clubhouse.  When we got to 17 tee, the long time pro, John Marshall, was sitting in a golf cart behind the green, waited for us to putt out, and handed me a bill for $140.  That was a fortune to a 12 year old.  One other "guest" of my friend was also there.  My Dad made me pay out of my meager savings account.  The other Dad stiffed our friends for the bill and decided his son shouldn't hang out with us anymore, probably to avoid pressure to pay.


In reality, that was the second thing Medinah and my dad combined to teach me.  One, of course, honesty pays.  Two, despite me begging and begging, even though Dad was a Campbell Soup executive and presumably able to afford the club his neighbor joined, he let me know that you take care of essentials before the luxuries, and wouldn't join.  Probably the right call. Our neighbor was a really avid golfer, and later, also joined Bob O Link.  Dad was winding down his golf career (as I was starting to beat him.....) and knew country clubs would be like owning a boat - not too many people can really use it enough to justify the cost.

2 things stand out here Jeff.



1. I loved the Campbell Soup water tower growing up as we drove from our home in sw suburbs to visit my dad's family in the city and seeing it as kids always gave us a thrill.  Was a big complex there until the late 80's I believe they closed right off the Stevenson (I-55).  BTW not a fan of the waste treatment plant on the east side of the interstate, ugh the smell!
EDIT: found a photo



2. Your dad's advice and humility that you take care of basics before luxuries. Midwesterners are pretty basic by nature and paying for conspicuous consumption was frowned upon big time when I grew up, thus not surprised to hear your dad's advice despite being able. My dad really likes cars, but would never and probably will never buy a Cadillac (a favorite of his), because he doesn't want to seem like he is showing off or being luxurious.

[Duncan Cheslett]

So who has stolen a round by pretending they were going to join a private club?

When I took up golf ten years ago and was considering which local club to join I was given free rounds at several in the hope that I would become a member.


Ironically, the club I chose to join was one that charged me for my taster round.


I didn't think that I had "stolen" the other rounds. I'd simply pocketed a free sample.

[John Kavanaugh]

I stole a round once by playing in a US Open qualifier at a private club I could not access otherwise. At least I joined the place a month later.

[John Kavanaugh]

So who has stolen a round by pretending they were going to join a private club?

When I took up golf ten years ago and was considering which local club to join I was given free rounds at several in the hope that I would become a member.


Ironically, the club I chose to join was one that charged me for my taster round.


I didn't think that I had "stolen" the other rounds. I'd simply pocketed a free sample.

Because of my "buddy up" mentality I run into these guys all the time at clubs where I am a member. I like to introduce myself and join people who I haven't met. It's not uncommon for people to tell me after a couple of holes that they are either running a con or were promised joining fees less than what I paid. People are so proud of stealing golf that they give me their contact information thinking that I must be in love with them. Or maybe they just think I want to run the same con on their lousy club.


I once had a buddy who told me he was going to join a club where I was a member and wondered if he could play without paying. I believed him and asked the membership director if it was ok because I know the guy and believe him. Of course for weeks after our round he wouldn't return the membership directors calls and joined a place down the street. I was so embarrassed I let my own membership expire. Why didn't I just pay the $90 myself?!? I always felt I stole that round like I drove the getaway car during a robbery.

[John Kavanaugh]

Once I took my local pro at a club where I was a member to another club an hour away for a day trip of drinking and gambling. The pro calls ahead and sets up a complimentary round like I assume most pros do. When we get to the counter he is asked to show some type of card that identifies himself as a golf professional. He shuffles through his wallet and this and that and has a believable story why it is misplaced. The guy behind the counter lets him play.


Of course it turns out that he was not a PGA professional and never had been. Hadn't even taken the PAT. 100% pure con as it happens the board at the club where he worked had never checked his credentials. Maybe even the break in at his previous club was an inside job. It didn't end well for him.


Was I guilty on this one? If a pro pays off his gambling debts out of the cash register, run, run away or run to the first tee and get all you can before he is gone. I wasn't innocent.

[John Kavanaugh]

How many of you avid walkers ever steal a quick ride on the back of a cart where the green to tee walk is obnoxious? How many take a cart out to the range and then ride a quick hole before returning the cart. I once confronted a fellow member about this practice and he explained to me that if you play less than four holes the cart is free. His jewelry business went bankrupt so maybe he wasn't a thief and just didn't understand economics.

[Kalen Braley]

I'm curious, who other than Erik and I have never done this! 

[John Kavanaugh]

I'm curious, who other than Erik and I have never done this! 

So you have never payed for 18 holes and played more than what you payed for?  Gone extra holes, played some extra balls, completed a hole and continued to putt around....

[Kalen Braley]

I'm curious, who other than Erik and I have never done this! 

So you have never payed for 18 holes and played more than what you payed for?  Gone extra holes, played some extra balls, completed a hole and continued to putt around....

I have, but always asked first if it was OK to play extra holes.  We only did it in the evening when after playing 18 and the front side was open or something like that.

[John Kavanaugh]

You’ve asked permission to drop a ball you have no intention of counting and hitting an extra shot just because it’s fun or satisfying on some level?  During the entire round at Cypress you never hit an extra ball?


I only bring this up because many people see stealing as incremental and serve as their own judge for when it is wrong. You put yourself and Erik on the pedestal.

[Kalen Braley]

You’ve asked permission to drop a ball you have no intention of counting and hitting an extra shot just because it’s fun or satisfying on some level?  During the entire round at Cypress you never hit an extra ball?

I only bring this up because many people see stealing as incremental and serve as their own judge for when it is wrong. You put yourself and Erik on the pedestal.

No Extra balls at CPC, i put two in the drink on 16 and moved up.

P.S.  No pedestal here, I only asked because I assumed it was a very common thing to do and a much shorter list of those who hadn't.  Then again, I didn't take up golf until I was in my 20s, so I missed out on golf course shenanigans in my teens... 

[Quinn Thompson]

I learned to play golf by sneaking onto a golf course...10 year olds may have 20 bucks these day, but we didn't back then.


My buddies and I would walk three blocks from our porches over to the Evergreen Golf Club after a Weepin' Mary Wednesday at school and we'd peg one on the 10th hole like nobody gave a fuck...because they didn't...the Bulls were winning Championships and business was good and how do you charge 10 year olds $ 20 bucks on a Wednesday afternoon ?


The "Marshalls " didn't give a shit back then..." Hey, don't mess up the outing," they may have suggested in passing. Besides that; play fast and if not, let the cart groups through.


The one time I didn't sneak on, but was given permission to, was at St. Andrews on a December Sunday morning. The Old Course was closed for Mass and so I approached the New Course starter hut and paid my dues and it being Sunday and December and all, he leaned outside his box and said," If ya' get lost and end up playing a few holes down there on the Old, don't ya' worry..."


And then he winked and watched me walk away.

[Joe_Tucholski]

I lived on the 11th hole of a club.  For a couple months on Sunday afternoon this guy kept parking on this little utility road and stepped over the wood rail fence and played.  I finally called the shop (I wasn't a member but was at another club a couple miles away).  Never saw the guy again.  I would also regularly tell neighborhood kids to stop playing football on the greens, fairways fine but off the greens.

[Quinn Thompson]

Joe -


The problem with "American" golf is : I can't do what I did as a kid.

[Chris_Blakely]

The only time I have ever played "stolen rounds" where in either one of two situations: I called to make a tee time and golf shop assured me they would be there (and when I showed up they were not in the golf shop) or playing a course that had just closed permanently.  I don't consider the first really to qualify as I would have provided the necessary compensation if they had met their end of the bargain.   As for the second case,


I have never tried to sneak onto a course to avoid paying or as a means to circumvent access.


Chris

[Tim Fitz]

Though the statute of limitations has certainly not expired, I am just back from a trip to Hilton Head that involves a handful of stolen rounds. We rented a house that backed up to the George Fazio course in Palmetto Dunes. Most nights at around 7:00, I would grab a few sticks, a couple of balls and a cocktail and walk out the back door. I was not the only person with this idea as all manner of groups were out on the course (some trying to avoid paying for a full round, some families teaching their kids the game, some teenage couples playing music and golf in the twilight). It was truly the golden hour, made all the more special by taking my kids out to play too and the relative absence of a guilty conscience seeing as all the locals were doing the same thing.

[John Kavanaugh]

Though the statute of limitations has certainly not expired, I am just back from a trip to Hilton Head that involves a handful of stolen rounds. We rented a house that backed up to the George Fazio course in Palmetto Dunes. Most nights at around 7:00, I would grab a few sticks, a couple of balls and a cocktail and walk out the back door. I was not the only person with this idea as all manner of groups were out on the course (some trying to avoid paying for a full round, some families teaching their kids the game, some teenage couples playing music and golf in the twilight). It was truly the golden hour, made all the more special by taking my kids out to play too and the relative absence of a guilty conscience seeing as all the locals were doing the same thing.

FOGZ. Fitz Occupy Golf Zone.


Hey honey, grab the kids and let’s go out and FOGZ some golf!!!

[C. Sturges]

Mr Kavanaugh,


I hope you are well.   This could be wonderful, I have been hoping to “Buddy Up” with you for a couple years now and it has not worked out.   How about a stolen rounds Buddy Up?   That would be amazing.   


Think about the fun and stories,
chris

[John Kavanaugh]

The stories will be from the viral video of me going Karen on a millennial family FOGZing my course.