Don't look for corporate honesty on golf course

WHILE major Wall Street companies reel from the crisis, another scandal has emerged - four out of ten US corporate executives cheat at golf. They kick opponents' golf balls into the rough, move balls for a better lie and deliberately forget the odd stroke when adding up their score. 'These guys are used to playing to win,' said Jeff Harp a former bank president. 'It can be guerilla warfare for a minor side bet and makes you wonder what they will do for a million dollar loan.'

The cheating admission came from the executives themselves in a survey by Starwood Hotels & Resorts. It found that 82% of 401 high-ranking corporate executives admit to being less than honest on the golf course. At the same time, 99% claim they were honest in business. Some 82%also hated others who cheat at golf and 72% believe business and golf behaviour are parallel.

Cheating admissions included pouring beer on a ball to make it sticky, riding over an opponent's ball with a golfcart and nudging a ball into a bunker. One chief executive said he was driven to cheat because he was generally regarded as highly competent in many fields. 'There is no way I can turn in a score card of 130,' he said.

Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in America, recently used golf comparisons in an annual business letter stating: 'I have firm plans to restructure my putting stroke and therefore only count the swings I take before I reach the green.'