[Niall C]

It should also be said that David was also the person to largely organise the BUDA event in Holland a few years ago. Personally I don't give a toss if he has a bag with a logo for a club he's not a member of. It's just a nice souvenir for a great experience that you are reminded of every time you use it. If Cypress Point members were offended by visitors or guests buying them then they wouldn't be sold in the pro shop, so why should anyone else be offended ? Is it any different than headcovers or tee shirts or waterproofs with club logo's ?


Niall

[John Kavanaugh]

I don't think offended is the correct emotion. When I see a guy in a Ferrari jacket get in a Mazda I'm not offended. I'm not even sure if I'm amused. It is really more of a curiosity to what led a man to reach that point in his life.

[John Kavanaugh]

Oddly enough the one thing worse would be seeing a guy in a Ferrari jacket get in a Ferrari. Dan King always said it best and I'm not clever enough to say it for him.

[Mike Sweeney]

Oddly enough the one thing worse would be seeing a guy in a Ferrari jacket get in a Ferrari. Dan King always said it best and I'm not clever enough to say it for him.

I once had lunch in Auronzo di Cadore, Veneto, Italy. It is a small mountain town in the Italian Alps just south of Austria. The entire town seemed to be watching Formula 1 Racing on a Sunday. It was fun, and they tried to educate us on the intricacies of racing. My son's girlfriend was born in Switzerland to Italian parents, and Formula 1 is their NFL. Thus, it is more than a car to some people, and maybe your Orlando guy in the Ferrari jacket follows the Ferrari Team rather than the Green Bay Packers.

They make BIG movies about cars, and small documentaries about golf courses:

[Eric Smith]

Oddly enough the one thing worse would be seeing a guy in a Ferrari jacket get in a Ferrari.

Flash to that house off of the 11th tee at Pebble Beach proudly flying the Ferrari flag.

[Tim Martin]

Oddly enough the one thing worse would be seeing a guy in a Ferrari jacket get in a Ferrari.

The thing to remember is that the guy got the jacket the same day he signed the lease.

[John Kavanaugh]

Oddly enough the one thing worse would be seeing a guy in a Ferrari jacket get in a Ferrari.

Flash to that house off of the 11th tee at Pebble Beach proudly flying the Ferrari flag.

Sadly it was just enough to enter our consciousness at a time when we could have been enjoying the beauty of nature in the company of good friends. There is without question a finite time in all our lives to take in the sights and sounds of this game that we love. To have it interrupted by displays of ostentatious status be it real or stolen is an unfortunate distraction. A distraction that may be tolerated if you are a member of the course you display and welcome visitors. No more worthy of ingestion than a pile of steaming human fecal matter on the sidewalks of San Francisco if you are not. Unforgettable either way.

[Colin Macqueen]

JK,


"...the bell of the ball."    Belle, belle, that rings true!!


Cheers Colin

[John Kavanaugh]

JK,


"...the bell of the ball."    Belle, belle, that rings true!!


Cheers Colin

Thanks. I grew up to the Disco song Ring my Belle... how could I have forgot.

[Mark Chaplin]

Bearing in mind I live in south east England I’ve had two requests/enquiries at opposite ends of the scale the past 18 months.


A friend asked me if I could help him get into Cypress Point (!), I explained I couldn’t but could help him access a couple of top 100 courses in CA if that would help. He came back saying there were 4 of them travelling and he’d have to check with the group. As I’d never even met the other 3 that was the end of the conversation.


In the spring of 2018 a good chum I first met through GCA said he was working as a volunteer at Shinnecock during the US Open. He was thinking of writing to the President at NGLA and asking if he could walk the course at a quiet time during the week, did I think he’d have any luck?


I said I’d make a discreet enquiry with a friend but doubted they’d being willing as the course would be busy with members and guests. I contacted a member and explained my friends wish, he very kindly had a space in a fourball on the Monday of Open week and my friend got to play instead of walk the course. The other guests happened to be from his home city and since then they’ve met and played closer to home. Great result for a great guy.

[Sean Ogle]

I'm pretty sure I got an email from this same guy. But the courses he asked for access to were insane ANGC, PV, CP among 2 others. I get email like this frequently, but this one was indeed next level.

[John Kavanaugh]

I'm pretty sure I got an email from this same guy. But the courses he asked for access to were insane ANGC, PV, CP among 2 others. I get email like this frequently, but this one was indeed next level.

Did you start the eighty club? Isn't that the point?

[Sean Ogle]

Obviously access is one aspect of the Club, but that's definitely not the point. The point is just to provide another place for likeminded golfers to get to know each other, engage in conversation, and hopefully play some cool courses along the way.


But you certainly won't see anyone in there flat out asking for invites to Augusta ha.

[John Kavanaugh]

So if I send you $500 it's ok for me to ask strangers for access? Do you guys really post scathing reviews of courses full of misconceptions and lies? I only ask because I was sent one about a club where I am a member.

[Sean Ogle]

Not sure what you're referring to John. We actually have hardly any scathing or negative reviews, as even on courses that aren't your favorite, there are positive things to be found. But if there are lies or mis-information, I'd be happy to look into it if you send me a note.


Definitely didn't mean to derail the conversation, just figured I'd share my experience.

[John Kavanaugh]

You are not derailing the conversation at all. I believe Thousand Greens came up earlier and I tried to explain how that is selling access when a simple request with no quid pro quo involved is not. I hope you are aware how organizations like yours are hurting those of us who gain access the old fashioned way through friends. Clubs are beginning to restrict the number of legitimate guests a member can bring because of these access providing web sites and it angers me. For that I am sorry. I recently had to make a Sophie's Choice and leave one of my most precious friends alone in his hotel room because of the controversy.


I am having trouble locating the review that was sent to me and can not access your site to find it myself. I'll keep digging.

[Anthony Butler]

On the other hand, I wore my one golf memento -- a cap from Crystal Downs -- for years and years, everywhere I played cause I thought I looked so nice in it, and not one single person ever asked if I was a member. I must not look the part. Silly people: don't they understand 'slumming'?

I wear my Crystal Downs stocking cap to the dog park about 2 out of every 5 mornings between Dec and March. Just this week, one of my fellow dog owners (a Yale Graduate no less) looked at my cap and asked me if I collected souvenirs from from every National Park I visited. 

(Full Disclosure: I had worn an Acacia National Park T-shirt a few weeks beforehand...)

[Sean Ogle]

You are not derailing the conversation at all. I believe Thousand Greens came up earlier and I tried to explain how that is selling access when a simple request with no quid pro quo involved is not. I hope you are aware how organizations like yours are hurting those of us who gain access the old fashioned way through friends. Clubs are beginning to restrict the number of legitimate guests a member can bring because of these access providing web sites and it angers me. For that I am sorry. I recently had to make a Sophie's Choice and leave one of my most precious friends alone in his hotel room because of the controversy.


I am having trouble locating the review that was sent to me and can not access your site to find it myself. I'll keep digging.

Please do, as I absolutely want to correct it if there is false information.

I understand your frustration, but I also think it's misplaced. If one of our members takes another person out from our community it's no different than meeting a fellow golf lover in any other way. Still a legitimate guest, friend, and like-mind. We just make it easier to connect with people who do share that passion, get excited about showing off their home courses, and also just happen to like geeking out about golf on the internet like everyone on here.

Aside from the fact I charge a fee to compensate for my time working on it, it's no different than being invited out to a club by a member on here.

While Thousand Greens is setup a bit more transactional, we're relationship focused first and the legitimate friendships and connections that have come out of it have been really cool to see over the last couple of years.

Honestly, my goal with all of it is simply to promote the game, foster more connections, and help people experience more of the unique places in the world of golf. I do think the landscape is changing. I'm not the first to help golfers connect, and I won't be the last. But I'm 100% open to hearing other opinions about the golf landscape and how to continue to work in a way that respects the games, the clubs, and the members of those clubs.

So feel free to send me a note if you want to talk about it. Either way, I appreciate your thoughts and candor.

[JMEvensky]

You are not derailing the conversation at all. I believe Thousand Greens came up earlier and I tried to explain how that is selling access when a simple request with no quid pro quo involved is not. I hope you are aware how organizations like yours are hurting those of us who gain access the old fashioned way through friends. Clubs are beginning to restrict the number of legitimate guests a member can bring because of these access providing web sites and it angers me. For that I am sorry. I recently had to make a Sophie's Choice and leave one of my most precious friends alone in his hotel room because of the controversy.


I am having trouble locating the review that was sent to me and can not access your site to find it myself. I'll keep digging.

Maybe Hobson's Choice would be better?

[John Kavanaugh]

You are not derailing the conversation at all. I believe Thousand Greens came up earlier and I tried to explain how that is selling access when a simple request with no quid pro quo involved is not. I hope you are aware how organizations like yours are hurting those of us who gain access the old fashioned way through friends. Clubs are beginning to restrict the number of legitimate guests a member can bring because of these access providing web sites and it angers me. For that I am sorry. I recently had to make a Sophie's Choice and leave one of my most precious friends alone in his hotel room because of the controversy.


I am having trouble locating the review that was sent to me and can not access your site to find it myself. I'll keep digging.

Maybe Hobson's Choice would be better?

A Hobson's choice is a take it or leave it.


I had originally understood that a friend of mine was going to host me and two others. In the mean time the club where we were to play was being abused by some outlying members who were selling access on Thousand Greens. The clubs committee adopted a new policy to defend such actions by limiting each member to only two guests at a time. I thus was faced with telling one of my friends that he would have to stay in the hotel after traveling thousands of miles on a buddy trip. One lives, one dies so to speak. The course is that good.


Not being a dummy I told my friends that if one of them couldn't play than none of us would play and we would go to the local muni. In a twist of fate one of them of course spoke up and said.."No, no, no...you guys go this is far too a great an experience to miss." In my best display of King Solomon wisdom I quickly said "Thanks, see you tomorrow".

[Kalen Braley]

Barney,


You'd make a fine preacher...cause you sure know how to butcher the hell out of bible stuff and other analogies in fine fashion!!

[Michael Dugger]

I think if you are a member of a sought-after-club you ought to have some strategies worked out ahead of time regarding how you are going to handle inquiries of this sort. 


I personally don't necessarily find the original access seeker's approach to be horribly inappropriate.  But then again, I'm the type of guy who prefers to get right down to business and would rather just grant access to the stranger than be forced to spend time with them fully expecting they are going to pretend like they are interested in me and "making friends" before getting out on the course.


Either get them on the course or ignore altogether, never look back.  I'm curious what a "better approach" is that isn't me pretending like I want to get to know you when the truth is I just want to play the golf course.  In this regard I guess I'm very Barney. 

[Jon Heise]

Decent clubs tend to have member only gear and other gear anyone can buy. If Pine Valley didn’t want me to buy a head cover or Cypress Point a top they wouldn’t let me buy them.


A friend of mine introduced himself to a lady wearing an R&A sweater, lady members are thin on the ground so he thought it polite to say hello to a fellow member. He wasn’t impressed when she admitted she wasn’t a member and her husband got her the sweater.

If these clubs are willing to sell logo'd gear to guests in the proshop, I find it hard to think a member of that club could claim to be salty over seeing someone wearing it in the wild.  Personally, I take a lot of pride showing off my clip-on towel of my humble little club, so I get it, but I'm also bagging like 6 other headcovers or thingies from some of the top places I've been to (including a few top 25s).

[John Kavanaugh]

Not sure what you're referring to John. We actually have hardly any scathing or negative reviews, as even on courses that aren't your favorite, there are positive things to be found. But if there are lies or mis-information, I'd be happy to look into it if you send me a note.


Definitely didn't mean to derail the conversation, just figured I'd share my experience.

Sean,


I found the review and admit that I most likely mistook opinions for lies. It was posted by a fellow member of my club that is disappointed that he can no longer bring his own booze. I didn't think that was every allowed. Said his dues were raised. Mine went down. Says the place become stuffy under the new management. I thought it loosened up. Said the new owners have ruined the club. I think they have made it better. So perhaps they are not lies at all and just a difference in opinion based on different experiences than mine. Who knows but I've been around a long time and disgruntled members who air grievances on their way out the door are not a source that I trust. After the character references that I have heard in just the last hour I have little doubt you are proceeding with the best intentions.

[Ian Mackenzie]

I'm pretty sure I got an email from this same guy. But the courses he asked for access to were insane ANGC, PV, CP among 2 others. I get email like this frequently, but this one was indeed next level.

Ok...this is what I mean. The request was indeed “next level”.
I think I should have just ignored the request altogether and then this thread would have been mercifully spared.


I’m all for helping out a friend, but cold calling and blatant access whoring was just a surprise to me and now I know more than I did before.


Thank you.

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