Golf board lays out new fees for course

$5 pro shop fee established

By Owen Boss

GARDNER — The Golf Commission passed a motion Thursday that outlined the required fees of tournament participants, and put to rest the ongoing dispute over whether or not the informal fees imposed by the course’s pro shop are justified, during a special meeting. The controversial fees have been heavily scrutinized over the past several weeks, following a pricing dispute after course pro Mike Egan began setting prices for a tournament with cart rental fees that significantly exceeded the rates set by the city, and the required purchases of prizes within the golf course’s pro shop. The fees charged for prizes were particularly controversial because they were not necessarily mandatory for the participants of the tournaments, but were understood to have been traditionally paid for by members of golf tournaments in the past. At the previous commission meeting, a motion was passed that assigned commission members Jeff Gallant and Raymond LaFontaine the responsibility of researching appropriate pricing for future events, and following a week of deliberation, the revised tournament fees were unanimously passed. The revised outline for fees imposed at future tournaments stated that the Municipal Golf Course would maintain the commission-approved green fees rate of $30 per participant. The commission decided that the fees charged for cart rentals would vary dependent on how many participants there were in the tournament, if there were 92 or fewer participants, the cost will now be $27 per cart. For tournaments where participants rent 10 outside carts, there will be a $27 per cart fee, plus a $350 flat fee. The revised fee requirements also established that for golf tournaments where more than 10 outside carts are rented, there will be a $35 fee for all carts used. In terms of prize fees, it was decided at the meeting that players of future tournaments would establish a $5 pro shop credit per participant and tournament organizers at their discretion can negotiate additional prizes with the course’s golf pro. Also included in the motion was that if tournament organizers do not request scoring, the required $5 pro shop fee is waived, but only for weekend events. oboss@thegardnernews.com

Appeared on Page 1 on 5/9/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 111)