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Contrary to accepted belief, the young executive-golfer seldom dubs his shots to butter up a prospective customer. The true golf addict, whether he is a company president or a minor purchasing agent, likes nothing better than watching—and getting beaten by —a crackerjack golfer. In Denver, Investment Banker Harry Buchenau Jr., who shoots a good game, estimates that fully 50% of his business comes from friends who enjoy playing golf with him. Says he: "Recently a friend called me to make up a foursome. I told him I couldn't play because I had a quota of stock to sell. He said, 'Forget it; come on along. I'll take a third of it and we'll unload the rest on the other two.' "
At times, a businessman can sew up a client merely by fixing him up with a memorable game at his club. The one golfer everyone wants to play with is President Eisenhower, who tees off at Burning Tree. Every U.S. golfer dreams that some day he may be called upon to fill out a foursome with Ike. At Burning Tree, Firestone Lobbyist Thomas Belshe was once entertaining two Firestone executives when the call went out that the President needed two to make up his foursome. Before the Firestone men knew it, Belshe, who often plays with Ike, had arranged for his two astounded clients to whack the ball around with the President.
Some businessmen still feel that business and country clubs should not be mixed. But for most businessmen, the country club is as important a part of U.S. business as the adding machine. Says a Los Angeles lawyer: "The club is the meeting place, and any time you throw together men who have something to sell and men who have something to buy, deals will be opened and closed. This isn't the club system . . . It's human nature."