What a dream it would be to feel like a member at a private
club, to have someone take your clubs from your car, to have your own locker in the clubhouse, to be able to bring a foursome and play a manicured club - even if you're not a member.
The people who run a business called Tour GCX agree that it is a great dream. That's why they offer it as a reality.
Gary Rosenberg, a Wantagh native, is founder and chief managing officer of a "club" that has no course or clubhouse or locker room. What Tour GCX does is set up its 1,400 members to play at various unnamed clubs, where each gets to be a full-fledged member a day at a time, a few days of the year.
In its fifth golf season, Tour GCX (stands for Golf Club Experience) has 48 courses from which to choose. Part of the mystique is that the courses are all secret until the customer gets through the screening process. Eighteen of those courses are in the New York area, the rest are in Florida, Las Vegas, London and other places where people like to go on vacation.
Rosenberg said "brand name" private clubs aren't part of that group, hinting that a signee should not expect to roll through the gates at Shinnecock Hills. But he asserts that they are all quality clubs. Proof of that, he says, is that he has so many members and that the collection of courses has grown from eight in the first year.
"It's a local solution to help grow the game of golf," Rosenberg said. "Once you give them a taste of private golf experience, they don't want to turn back. It's like the private jet experience: Once you give someone a taste of that, it's hard to get them to go back to LaGuardia and go through that security line."
In fact, Tour GCX is modeled after the Marquis Jet business, Rosenberg having been a lifelong friend of one of its co-founders, Merrick native Ken Dichter.
Rosenberg admitted having some trouble getting private clubs to go for this deal. "Absolutely, the knee-jerk reaction was 'Whoa-ho, wait, this is a private golf club. You can't come in here,' " he said. But he convinced them that he wouldn't be letting just anyone in. He also knew that many private clubs are having trouble replenishing their memberships.
The younger generation of would-be private club golfers has other options: spending more time in the city, spending more time with the kids, boating. "There were some forward-looking clubs," Rosenberg said, adding that those places saw Tour GCX as a feeder system. "Our pledge to the club is, we're going to help you convert underutilized revenue and give exposure to prospective new members."
Getting into GCX isn't easy, or cheap. The annual fee is $950. Then it costs $1,500 for three rounds. The GCX client does not have to play alone or with a full-time member. He or she is allowed to go out with three guests in his or her own foursome. If you want to play more, you can pay more.
"I do all the screening," said Rosenberg, whose partners are Jon Halpern and Dave Kaufman. "In order to be a member, you've got to meet a defined set of criteria - financial, character, playing ability."
There are restrictions on when GCX members can play the course and how many times they can play a particular course. Then again, those non-member members get to go places the rest of us don't and get treated there in a way the rest of us never would.
The founder says his business has pumped millions into the New York-area golf economy. "As we tell the clubs," Rosenberg said, "we're the partner, not the enemy."
Aces
Nicky Montemurro (age 7), Smithtown Landing Executive Course, eighth hole, 85 yards, driver.
Tyler Simmons (age 10 of Eastport) Golf Club of Jupiter (Fla.) second hole, 121 yards, driver.
Bob Cantillo, Timber Point Blue, fifth hole, 188 yards, driver.
John Rathke, Spring Lake GC, 16th hole, 165 yards, 3 hybrid.
Don Schabner, Bellport Country Club, fourth hole, 171 yards, 6-iron.
Eileen Spechte, Crab Meadow GC, third hole, 128 yards. 7-wood.
Jason Sheehy, Glen Cove GC, third hole, 157 yards, 7-iron.
Joe DeMartino, Nassau CC, third hole 145 yards, 9-iron.
Ted Gross, Bethpage Yellow, seventh hole, 174 yards, driver.
(All holes-in-one for the year are archived in the "On the Green" blog at newsday.com)
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Items for the LI Golfbeat should be directed to Mark Herrmann in the Newsday sports department. Send faxes to his attention at 631-454-6892, call 631-843-2826 or send e-mail to mark.herrmann@newsday.com. Please leave a phone number with an area code and spell all names. No beeper numbers.
Aces: Golfers with aces, double eagles or other scoring accomplishments should include: date, course, hole number, length of hole and club used.
Competition: Golf courses and clubs should direct their releases and tournament results to Herrmann's attention.
Outings: Organizers for charitable golf outings should submit their information no later than three weeks prior to the event.
