Meet Utah's viral hitchhiking golfer
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Via @countryclubhitchhiker on Instagram.
A Utah man is going viral on Instagram trying to mooch his way onto every private golf course in the state.
State of play: Cal Norton, AKA Country Club Hitchhiker, is getting millions of views as he tries to tag along with members of Utah's country clubs.
How it works: Norton, who's head of business for a Lehi consulting company, waits outside the gates with a diaper-box cardboard sign offering $500 to anyone who beats him.
- That promise almost turned into humble pie in his first reel, when he's picked up for a round at Sandy's Hidden Valley Country Club by Ben Wilson — this year's Utah Men's State Amateur medalist, who now plays for the U.
- Instead, he ekes out a tie playing against Wilson's younger brother.
The intrigue: The videos became so popular so fast — the first one has 1 million views — that he's immediately recognized by members and staff in every video.
Now country clubs are pre-emptively developing media strategies just for him.
- At the Salt Lake Country Club, he was warned that a video would constitute a social media policy violation for any member who brings him in; then an employee blocked his entry.
- Later, another member secretly invited him for a video that shows only discreet score updates in a game that Norton loses.
The other side: At Oakridge Country Club in Farmington, the general manager invited Norton for a round.
Zoom out: So far, he's visited Riverside Country Club in Provo; Willow Creek in Sandy; Red Ledges and Victory Ranch in Heber City; and Ogden Country Club.