Blogs Dashboard

The summer is fast approaching, the kids are almost out of school, and you know what that means on Wall Street, right? Golf season. Summer is typically when Wall Streeters hit the links in droves. Visit any private equity firm or Wall Street shop (nevermind a Greenwich office) and the passion for the game is usually quite out in the open among senior partners and associates.   
    Also in the open: their golf scores.     
    Indeed, for the registered golf aficionado, there is a very simple, and public way to access golf scores and handicaps on the U.S. Golf Association’s Handicap index site here (the lower the handicap the better the golfer). Given the current private equity boom, the buyout pros have been busy. So Reuters decided to check in and see how some of the LBO guys stacked up on the links lately. We threw in a few non-LBO people as well. Here’s what we found:       
 
    Henry Kravis, co-founder of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.  
    Listed courses–Purchase Golf Club, Shinnecock Hills, Century Country Club  
    USGA HANDICAP INDEX: 6.8  
    Analysis–No surprise that the legendary dealmaker is multi-talented.  And he is apparently very competitive on the course, applying his LBO tactics to intimidate opponents, as Yahoo’s Jerry Yang relates here.
   

    Russell Carson, general partner, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe.   
    Listed courses-Millbrook Golf & Tennis Club, Hudson National Golf Club  
    USGA HANDICAP INDEX: 18.1  
    Analysis–Needs improvement, but as a Welsh Carson co-founder in retirement age he’ll have more and more time for the greens and less time needed in the office.   
 
    Robert Berner, partner, CVC Capital
    Listed course–Apawamis Club  
    USGA HANDICAP INDEX: 8.6  
    Analysis–Berner said he picked up golf after college, borrowing his father’s righty golf clubs (Berner is a lefty). Robert Berner Jr. (assuming this is his dad) is listed under same club, with an 8.5 handicap.  
 
    Theodore Forstmann, founding partner of Forstmann Little & Company
    Listed course–Deepdale Golf Club, Shinnecock Hills  
    USGA HANDICAP INDEX: 4.2  
    Analysis–Forstmann’s golf talent is well known across Wall Street. The GHIN index shows no golf outings in 2007, however.        
 
    Stephen Cohen, founder of SAC Capital 
    Listed course–Rockrimmon Country Club  
    USGA HANDICAP INDEX: 19.6  
    Analysis–Cohen’s stock picking savvy, as well as his art collection, are legendary on Wall Street. But it looks like his golf game needs improvement. 
      
    Eric Gleacher, chairman of Gleacher Partners  
    Listed courses–Shinnecock Hills, Maidstone Club, National Golf Links of America, Deepdale Golf Club  
    USGA HANDICAP INDEX: 3.9  
    Analysis–M&A veteran Gleacher is known to be among the best golfers on Wall Street. The 3.9 handicap speaks for itself.  
 
    Ted Virtue, CEO MidOcean Partners  
    Listed course–Westchester Country Club  
    USGA HANDICAP INDEX: 5.2   
    Analysis–A low handicap for a highly regarded buyout guy. Played football and basketball at Middlebury College. Looks like they could have used him on the golf team as well.    
 
    Stephen Schwarzman, co-founder and CEO, The Blackstone Group  
    NO GHIN LISTING FOUND  
    Analysis–Tennis is Schwarzman’s game of choice. It’s fair to say, though, that he’s been away from the court lately. Blackstone is busy with its IPO, which will result in a large payout to Schwarzman and top executives there. 
 
    Hamilton “Tony” James, President, The Blackstone Group  
    Is not a serious golfer, according to a spokesman 
    Analysis–Tony James is an avid fly fisherman, who travels to remote parts of the world in search of gargantuan trout. We did find a Hamilton James listed under the New York Shotmakers golf club with an 11.8 handicap but that apparently isn’t Tony, the spokesman said. Could that Hamilton James please speak up?  
 
    Wilbur Ross, founder of WL Ross & Co.  
    NO GHIN LISTING FOUND  
    Analysis–Ross, the bankruptcy king, is also an avid tennis player and apparently a very good one at that.  
 
Know a good Wall Street golfer? Let us know (michael.flaherty@reuters.com)

(Photo; Reuters file)