New York, May 31: President Calvin Coolidge may well have said the business of America is business, but he never mentioned golf, which has gone hand-in-glove with corporate activity for over a century. The cozy twosome, featuring US presidents sharing greens and golf-carts with captains of industry for generations, has hit the rough recently as a result of economic woes and post-Sept. 11 terrorism fears.
And now the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) recent $1.4 billion settlement with investment houses to keep research separate from banking activities, has the business world worried about restrictions on "schmoozing" with clients -- traditionally done on the golf course or at the 19th hole.

Lehman Brothers was so concerned about violating SEC guidelines it cancelled a golf outing this month to Scotland's famed Gleneagles after an investors' conference in London.
"Are they going to put microphones on players? Is the government going to tell people what they can talk about?" asked Larry Dorman, a spokesman for the Callaway Golf Co.
"It (SEC) may prevent analysts from schmoozing but it will have no impact on when other businesspeople meet. There's an awful lot of business that goes on in country clubs."
He noted that generally there are codes of conduct at various clubs, like no cell-phones at Augusta National, and deal-making on the actual links is frowned on.
"Certainly there is a nod and a wink, where clubs say members can't conduct business," said Mark Murphy, editor of Golf World Business, a trade publication. "But is golf still a very important part of business culture? Absolutely. Bureau Report