Years ago, I read an article, I don’t remember but it might have been in Esquire Mag., about a guy who had been such a regular guest of one of the members at a golf country club that staff and members thought he was a member. He started showing up alone or with a guest of his own to golf and have lunch. He would even bring a client with him to seal a deal over cocktails. Then he showed up for the club’s open board meetings and somehow got elected to the board as he had networked everyone there. Twelve years later an audit of membership accounts revealed he wasn’t on the books as a member. Because he had been a productive club member and had accumulated so many members as clients, he was given a membership gratis. Personally, I believe it was just the expedient thing to do to avoid the embarrassment of his non-membership grift getting out.
Years ago, I read an article, I don’t remember but it might have been in Esquire Mag., about a guy who had been such a regular guest of one of the members at a golf country club that staff and members thought he was a member. He started showing up alone or with a guest of his own to golf and have lunch. He would even bring a client with him to seal a deal over cocktails. Then he showed up for the club’s open board meetings and somehow got elected to the board as he had networked everyone there. Twelve years later an audit of membership accounts revealed he wasn’t on the books as a member. Because he had been a productive club member and had accumulated so many members as clients, he was given a membership gratis. Personally, I believe it was just the expedient thing to do to avoid the embarrassment of his non-membership grift getting out.