A fair way to do business

Press, 3 June 1981, Page 21

A fair way to do business

Golfing businessmen will soon live out more of their fantasies with a plastic card. It will let them play on at least 200 of the world’s best courses, from Pebble Beach, California, to St Andrew’s, Scotland, and from the Royal Durban, South Africa, to the Fujioka Country Club, Japan. The cost? Just $2040 a year (most likely another fringe benefit to be borne by the businessman’s firm and the taxman). The card, in the name of the individual employee, can be tax deductible in most countries, if the holder can show that much of his golf was played abroad, and while entertaining prospective customers or suppliers.

The “intergolf” card is the dreamchild of a property man, a lawyer and the British golf commentator and former professional, Peter Allis. They say that the card (available from July 1) will be among the best business aids that an international executive can carry. Business has long been done between teek. But until now the travelling businessman has found the doors to many of the world’s top clubs barred to both him and his customers. The new card (with handicap imprinted on the plastic) pays green fee charges for the course, and provides temporary membership. For the host club, it guarantees

that the visiting members’ fees will be paid quickly. Intergolf will keep local banks flush with cash. Its London-based computer will keep tabs on the kitty. Intergolf will also pay the whole bill, unlike most travel and entertainment cards which take up to 5 per cent in fees. Snob appeal is one of Intergolf’s selling points. It" will limit membership to an exclusive 10,000, mainly American, Japanese and European businessmen. There are about 32 million golfers in the world (18 million of them members of the existing 18,000 dubs) so Intergolf reckons it should easily sell the card, even at $2040. Why not? Annual member-

ship of several Californian golf and country clubs can cost $3500 and some Japanese clubs charge $30,000. Their super-high fees are no handicap to the golfstarved Japanese: more than 8 million golfers have just 1495 courses compared with 12,511 in America. Admittedly, membership of a Japanese golf club makes you part-owner of the club's land, so membership is readily saleable when you retire. So how will Intergolf make its money? Cardholders arc not permitted to play more than 10 times on any one course and it reckons few of them will succeed in playing more than $2040 worth of golf around the world in a year.