Glenmore Country Club members David and Jayne Rathburn are probably the most popular residents in their Keswick, VA, golf community. They have stepped in to pay off nearly $300,000 in the club’s debt. In exchange, they now find themselves running a country club.
Glenmore, whose interesting John LaFoy designed golf course is as close as you will get to Scottish golf in central Virginia, did not go gently into debt. It was the victim of an alleged $750,000 embezzlement by the head of Glenmore Associates, the developer of the community. Michael Comer recently pleaded guilty to the charges. You can read our earlier story here.
Glenmore Associates, a family-run company whose patriarch opened Glenmore nearly 20 years ago, has vowed to repay the more than $400,000 still owed to club members. With financial arrangements settled and the betrayal by a family member behind them, Glenmore Associates can focus again on selling a few hundred remaining home sites.
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Even with “insurance,” hole in one can be costly
It is always a good idea to read the fine print. Take hole in one insurance, for example. This morning’s New York Times carries a story about a golfer who aced a hole at a club that was not her own and was not reimbursed by her club’s hole in one “insurance” for the drinks she bought.
Many golf clubs ask you to kick in a few bucks each year to cover drinks for everyone in the event you ace a hole. But it is not insurance, though; the payment goes into a fund that pays for the drinks. In the unlikely event of an ace -– the odds are about 11,000 to 1 -– the fund pays for the drinks and everyone is asked to replenish the fund with a few more bucks.
Aiken, SC’s Woodside Plantation is referenced in the story, which you can access by clicking here.