TEACHERS ON CALL
One form of conspicu- ous consumption for ultra-wealthy middle- handicaps is having a top coach on duty for house calls. One such billionaire made a deal with a coach who has worked with major champions to be able to text a lesson request 24 hours in advance. If the coach was free (and, unless he was with a tour player, he always was), the billionaire would send his jet to ferry the coach to one of his various homes for a three-hour lesson block and then fly the coach back to where he needed to be. Once this involved a round trip from New York to Texas and a third leg to London – a circuit of 20 000 kilometres. Conservatively, that makes for a $100 000 golf lesson. “In the private jet world, get- ting picked up when somebody is on the way somewhere isn’t that big a deal,” says one top coach with a similar working arrangement. “But when they send the plane, and you’re the only passenger, that’s wild.” – MATTHEW RUDY
HEY, WHO INVITED YOU ? There are countless ways professional golf mirrors the dynamic of high school: assorted cliques, whisper campaigns, varying degrees of envy and resentment. Then there’s transportation. The guys who have their own rides hold leverage over those eying a lift home. That we’re talking about wings versus wheels and a few more zeroes on the fuel bill only tilts the power balance further. Although there have been reports of Ian Poulter irritating Tiger Woods on occasion – such as a clash over Masters attire and Poulter famously suggesting he and Woods were primary rivals – a defining moment was tied to a flight originating in Pittsburgh. As Woods’ former coach Hank Haney outlines in his book The Big Miss , Poulter secured a ride home to Orlando on Woods’ plane at the conclusion of the 2007 US Open at Oakmont. One problem: Woods didn’t offer. According to Haney, Woods secluded himself by putting on headphones in his seat at the front of the plane, leaving Haney to talk to Poulter. That’s when a text message appeared on the coach’s phone. It was Woods, who asked, “Can you believe this d--- mooched a ride on my plane?” – SAM WEINMAN
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 75
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
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