As we approach the Labor Day (and the swift end to madras and seersucker season), our eyes turn to more pertinent matters: informing new (and old) club rats about the hows and whys of club life. In this spirit, today’s issue contains a quick Clubhouse Guide about fees.
Yes, we’re familiar with the old adage: “I joined a club for relaxation, but I now work more hours to pay for it.” And we agree that it’s a worthwhile cause for increased labor.
Ishaan Jajodia, as always, keeps our eyes on the squash ball as he writes about new rule changes in this week’s issue and brings you Dispatches from Clubland.
Have a happy holiday and be sure to share this week’s issue with your friends. Encourage them to subscribe at the link below.
New Rules on the Court
The Professional Squash Association and the body governing squash refereeing on the professional squash tour, World Squash Officiating, announced amendments to the rules that govern the game and the professional tour.
As Clubland USA’s favourite sport—and definitely mine—I was intrigued by many of these changes, which come hot on the heels of many squash players, including Mostafa Asal, the top-ranked squash player on the tour, engaging in what I take to be unsportsmanlike conduct on court with egregious blocking and unfair play.
“Refereeing has evolved a lot over the last few years to account for the changes in the game such as different movement patterns being used on court”, former US #2 and world #64, and current CEO of the National Squash League Spencer Lovejoy told me. “Referees are getting a much better handle on how to incentivize continuous and free flowing play through certain rule changes, which is what fans want to see.”
But developments on the pro tour have made things difficult for referees. Lovejoy said, “I believe the referees could be better at handling player conduct issues.” With high-stakes games becoming exhibits for brinkmanship and occasional violence—Asal bonked Joel Makin on his head using Makin’s own racquet in one such instance—a clamp-down from top officials has been a long time in the making.
The new rules emphasise the fluidity of the game and the importance of maintaining play. A current highly ranked player on the pro tour told me that the “in theory, the amended rules sound like they are going in the right direction, especially if they truly force the player to ‘’make every effort to clear’’ and give access”.
While the standard prior to the amendment was that strikers would have unobstructed access to the ball, with “minimal interference”, the PSA itself admitted that “players naturally circle around each other when exchanging drives from the back corners and approach the ball from angles at the front to maximise shot options”. Players are now to be given “access to the ball”—assuming that the four longstanding requirements for unobstructed play have been met: “fair view, access, space for a reasonable swing, and freedom to strike any part of the front wall”.
The same player, however, emphasised, “I’m not sure how accurately they will judge a ‘fair view’ but ideally it will minimize situations where there’s excessive or dangerous movements.” He only had one caveat: “the striker should always be able to decide when to hit the ball”, and the rules were ambiguous about protecting that right to play a ball and let the decision rest with the player. - IJ
To read more of this free article, please click here.
Did I Buy the Club?
Clubhouse Guide on Fees
Chief among the considerations for many considering joining a Club is often cost.
On Tax Day, Clubland USA addressed many of the common questions that appear at club tables about the “tax benefits” that club membership provides. (TLDR: Most disappeared a long time ago and only made a marginal difference in your bill unless you were a corporation!)
As the next installment of our “Clubhouse Guide” series, we will provide a quick breakdown of the various fees that might appear on your next club bill. - LR
To read more, please click here for this Clubhouse Guide.
Dispatches from Clubland
Time for a Honeydeuce: The 2025 US Open began day-before-yesterday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, NY. The Italian player Jannik Skinner and his Belarusian counterpart Aryna Sabalenka are the defending men’s and women’s champions. We’ll be there on Wednesday, August 27, for the evening session. Whether you’re visiting or watching from your club bar or the locker room, don’t forget to make yourself a honeydeuce, the traditional US Open cocktail!
Non-Gold Standard “Club” Defrauds Taxpayers: It isn’t enough that Clubland USA has to play whack-a-mole with the plague of for-profit “clubs” that has befallen us. Imposters, the whole lot, and it turns out, criminals, too. Core Club, which has locations in Manhattan, NY, and Milan, Italy, settled with the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York for falsely claiming over $5 million in Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness and drawing from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, two COVID-era programmes introduced to help struggling small businesses and hospitality firms.