Report: Member threatens to sue golf club over COVID-19 restrictions

A golf club member has reportedly threatened legal action against their club as a result of not being allowed to play their course due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The Golf Business website is reporting that this was one of the key findings of a recent study carried out by The Golf Club Secretary Newsletter.

It is believed that around 70 golf club managers were surveyed to find out more about how they have adapted to the problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the challenges that government-issued social distancing measures and other restrictions had created for them.

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One manager reportedly replied to say that their ‘has been threatened with legal action by a member for the reason of paying for a service that they are not receiving’.

Neither the club nor the member have been named.

The same survey also found that nearly 80% of clubs fielded rebate requests from members, whilst one in ten golf club managers have been furloughed. A further one in ten have seen their position come ‘under review’ as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

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Golf has been de facto lockdown in the UK since tighter measures to control the spread of the pandemic were announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on March 23.

Those restrictions are due to be reviewed this week, with reports emerging that some form of golf – at club level, at least – could resume in the country as early as Monday, May 11.