The Dec. 19 article, “Golf courses in the rough” floored me. Just when the city is establishing its presence as a great place for sports, concerts, colleges, art, etc. the council and mayor are thinking of doing away with one of our courses. They’re asking us if we shouldn’t perhaps sell, mothball or bulldoze the profitable one, Walter Hall, in order to save Legion, upon which our leaders have spent too much money.
Thanks a lot.
For decades, both courses paid for themselves and in fact they added to the city coffer. Now our mayor says that he doesn’t approve of helping those same courses out of the red ink, which they never would have suffered but for poor leadership.
Now, before we throw ourselves in front of a train, let’s try to find some workable solutions.
The fees listed in the article are not entirely accurate. For example, Kayak often offers drastically reduced weekend rates, with a cart! Meanwhile, our golf fees have gone up while resident rates have been withdrawn. I’m no genius but I think this combination leads to fewer paying customers. Still, things can get better if we look far enough into the future. To name a few positives: we’re coming out of the recession, Walter Hall’s greens are getting smoother, drier and faster, Legion really is a jewel and tourism is growing.
Let’s do some collaborative thinking about our golf courses. Why not flaunt them as another reason for tourists to visit us? And how about making them more affordable for the local golfer again?
Dan Hunter
Everett
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
