Dear Readers,
In the last few days, I have received an increasing number of enquiries from golfers asking for advice on how to pay the annual playing fees for this year.
Since it will probably take several weeks, if not months, before golf courses can resume operations, it is difficult to answer this question. Firstly, many have already paid the amount and it will also be a legal dispute, which can hardly be answered satisfactorily here. On the other hand, there is no question that as a customer you can expect a golf course to be ready to play, as well as the right to terminate the contract. On the other hand, there is the solidarity with your own golf club, not to say the existence of various golf courses.
Certainly, this “golf question” should be the least of the problems at the moment, given the global and national health – and the resulting economic situation. But because of this initial situation, at least the golf course operators and golf clubs, and also the golfers themselves, will ask themselves these questions – see the numerous inquiries to me. As one might expect, many golfers will be faced with massive economic problems, especially individual golfers, small to medium sized businesses and thus also unemployed employees and workers who make up a large part of our golf community. This group will certainly have other concerns than golf.
It affects clubs that have already been in a difficult situation
Many of them will no longer be able to pay the above-mentioned fees and also the other planned income of the golf courses from green fees etc. will collapse. This is likely to affect golf clubs in particular, which were already in trouble before, given the current difficult economic situation in the golf business. A wave of insolvencies is therefore also to be feared in the golf business.
Those responsible for the golf courses will certainly have to contact their members in the near future to solve this problem. In view of the critical situation, however, this “golf problem” is likely to be the least of the public’s concerns, even if those affected naturally see it differently.
Uli Hoeneß recently put this right in an interview, in which he correctly put the problems of sport behind when people fight for their health and life and economic survival.
One really has the impression here that the IOC, with the Olympic Games and the various football leagues, is only very slowly beginning to understand the seriousness of the situation.
In my last article I advocated the #stayathome and also the closure of the golf courses. For this I was heavily attacked by some people and I stick to it: #stayathome!
Because many people interpret their freedom in times of virus crisis in a way that endangers the right to life of many others. Therefore I see a restriction of the freedom of individuals not only as legitimate, but as a must.
Dear readers, stay healthy
Your
Heinz Schmidbauer
