When the Securities and Exchange Commission and NASD (formerly known as the National Association of Securities Dealers) began cracking down on excessive gift-giving practices, they apparently got insurance and financial services firms thinking twice about the way they use golf to entertain.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal detailed how investment banks, while continuing to invite clients to expensive golf outings, are beginning to charge them for the privilege. One client ended up paying $5,000 for the chance to play golf with professional golfer Phil Mikkelson.

It could be a budding trend. One meeting professional from a firm that's undergoing regulatory scrutiny says she has been told to ask her insurance conference attendees to pay for their own recreational activities.

The ongoing concern, say SEC officials, is that practices such as complimentary golf outings and Super Bowl tickets are examples of over-the-top gift-giving that are well in excess of regulations prohibiting firms from giving more than $100 in gifts to business associates over the course of a year.

The regulatory body NASD has also issued interpretive letters lamenting the fact that insurance companies and other financial services firms sponsor training and education meetings that include golf outings and other forms of entertainment, all of which are prohibited by NASD guidelines that govern educational meetings. According to these guidelines, attendees may play golf organized by the insurance or financial services company “provided that the [company] does not pay for or reimburse the costs of these events.”

“If your company sells variable annuities, golf has become a four-letter word,” says one financial services planner who has had to modify her company's golf offerings. “Our experience is that if we pick up the tab for airfare and hotel, then we can't pay for the golf.”