Editor:
The Ladysmith Golf Club, a non-profit organization of volunteers, has experienced a rash of theft incidents recently. The windows at the clubhouse have been broken a number of times in attempts to break in. The thieves finally achieved their goal of breaking in, and they took a flat-screen television.
There’s another form of theft that is also happening, one that I find very disturbing. There are a number of people who are playing on the golf course without paying. During the winter months, the club can’t afford to have staff at the clubhouse, so we have set up an “honour box” that is collected daily, asking golfers to pay a minimal fee of $10 to play all day. I have observed a number of golfers who are not club members playing but not paying. What is especially disturbing is that some of those individuals who are playing are parents playing golf with small children. This leads to the question: what are these parents teaching their children? Theft is theft, whether it is breaking into the clubhouse and stealing a TV set, or not paying to play.
The Ladysmith Golf Club offers among the lowest green fees around. They support youth and seniors with some of the lowest, if not the lowest, rates around. The club wants to make golf an affordable activity for those with lower incomes. In order for the club to continue to do this, everyone has to pay their fair share, and the club asks that others respect other people and their property.
If you want to play, ask about our annual rates, where seniors can golf for less that a dollar a day
All I can say is to those who have stolen from us, be it a TV or a round of golf: shame on you.
Rob JohnsonDirector, LadysmithGolf Club