DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — The 18 holes of the Boca Delray Golf and Country Club have been closed since late March, when administrators of Palm Beach County decided to shutter every business and activity deemed nonessential.“People have called to let us know that they’ve seen players on the course,” said Michelle LaDouceur, the club’s property manager. “We don’t have 24-hour staff here, and no security cameras, either.
“I think this is fine,” she said, blocking the sun with her free hand. “We’re walking around, getting some fresh air.” Story continuesThe golf pause has been a source of special irritation in the Sunshine State, a haven for retirees who migrated for low taxes, great weather and golf. Two out of three will not suffice.
“There is also a small contingent that has called or texted my parents and said, ‘Tell your son to open the golf courses,”’ Kerner said in a phone interview. “I understand the anger. I am a 36-year-old mayor that no one has ever heard of and I was the one to close golf in the golf capital of the universe.”
“I’m able to get a little bit of a golf fix in every day,” he said by phone from his home in Manalapan, a town in Palm Beach County. Golf courses aren’t expecting an outpouring of sympathy. The public perception of the industry is reflected in its inclusion on what is informally known as the Internal Revenue Service “sin list,” a group of enterprises that are blocked from all sorts of government initiatives, including disaster relief. Others on the list include massage parlors, racetracks and hot tub facilities.
“It’s a game that is played in what is essentially a 200-acre park, with a maximum of 70 people in the park at a time,” said Steve Skinner, the chief executive of KemperSports, which manages 130 golf courses. “That’s more than 2 acres per person.”
Selfish.