The Gavone Open

by Norman Reisman

Recently our president openly criticized an ABC News reporter for asking a question about accepting a 400 million dollar jet from Qatar. Naturally, he sees nothing wrong with that. He just sees it as more fake news from a failing network. He somehow used an analogy told to him by golfing great, Sam Snead. Basically, he said, that if someone gives you something like a free putt, you say thanks, pick up your ball and move on to the next hole. It’s as simple as that.

It brought me back to my mid career days of selling health benefits to union welfare funds. In the mid 1980’s through about the mid 1990’s every Monday on the union officials’ calendar could have been devoted to golf. Not all union officials went each week, but there were always charity golf outings at the finest public and private country clubs going on, if one wanted to attend. And many did.

As a vendor it was nice because you got to spend entire days with clients and prospects, all grateful for the opportunities to be there. And much of the cost was borne by the vendors. And the labor officials loved the opportunity to be treated in such a lavish way. A commonly heard expression was, “My worst day out on the golf course is better than my best day on the job.” Everyone was happy.

But there was one group of golfers who decided to have their own special outing each year. I think the golf was only secondary to the meal. Golfers would either bring or purchase platters of their favorite Italian delicacies. They would take over a nine hole course in Monroe, NY, for this outing which they aptly named, The Gavone Open. (Gavone, I’m told, is Italian for “pig.”) It was a rare treat for me, a vendor, to be invited to participate in this exclusive event, an honor indeed.

I guess you could say The Gavone Open was our free putt. We all accepted it with no questions asked. But I don’t know how anyone could justify a 400 million dollar jet being the equivalent of a free putt.

I’m sure it will wind up his some day, but for now I’ll quote POTUS and say, “We’ll have to see what happens.”