Ahead of this week’s ISPS HANDA Senior Open at Sunningdale GC’s Old Course in England, players were asked if they could remember the last time they paid a greens fee.
The result was an amusing compilation of some of the game’s most famous faces striving to remember the last time it cost them actual money to tee it up.
“I can’t remember the last time that I personally paid for a round of golf,” said Hall of Famer Colin Montgomerie, who conceded that he did once pay a guest fee for his son.
Rich Beem, the 2002 PGA Champion, had a ready answer.
“Four years ago, I paid for my son and I to play Pebble Beach,” he said. “And it was a small fortune. But worth every penny of it.”
It’s been a while for GOLF Channel analyst Paul McGinley, too. “I’m embarrassed to say I can’t remember,” he said.
Add Hall of Famer Bernhard Langer to the forever-comped list.
“I don’t recall,” he said. “It’s too long ago.”
But three-time major champion and two-time senior major winner Padraig Harrington made an even more enviable claim.
“I don’t think I’ve ever paid a green fee,” he said. “No, never paid a green fee.”
How’s that possible? Harrington explained.
“In Ireland, it’s kind of an unwritten rule, once you get to, you know, a good standard — certainly international, junior international, you could go and play the local clubs in your area with other other junior internationals for free,” he said. “So I’ve never paid a green fee.”
Add that to the long list of perks that come with being a world-class golfer.
