Golf managers frustrated by dog feces on courses
Golf in this province isn’t in full swing yet, but course staff are teed off with the piles of brown stuff they’re having to deal with this year — and it’s not dead grass.
Managers are miffed about the large amounts of dog feces maintenance crews are finding on courses this spring — more than usual.
“It’s almost double what we normally see,” Bally Haly Golf and Country Club manager Mike Curran told The Telegram this week. “It’s absolutely disgusting.”
He’s not alone. Management at other courses across the province are voicing their displeasure with what they say is reckless use of property. Besides mounds of feces, courses are being scattered with plastic bags filled with dog poop.
“They make the effort of picking it up, putting it in a bag and just throwing it around — on the fairway, in the woods, next to the parking,” Curran said. “There were more bags around this spring than I’ve seen combined the last 10 or 15 years.
“It’s unsanitary for the staff and it also causes a disruption in preparing the golf course. We’re very busy in the spring trying to get the golf course ready for play and we might be out there two or three hours every couple of days picking up dog feces.
“If my dog did his business on someone’s front lawn and I left it there, it’s just not right. It’s disrespectful.”
Curran said he doesn’t mind if people use the course to walk their dogs in the offseason, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when getting outside is important for people’s mental health.
“All we ask is that you not leave a mess and respect the property,” he said.
Curran was so annoyed, he took to Facebook to express his feelings and a warning.
“Bally Haly will continue to allow usage of our facility in the off-season, but it will be monitored,” he wrote. “If we find that individuals are still not being respectful of our property, we will be forced to make some unwanted restrictions. Bally Haly is not public property nor is it a walking trail.”
In explaining the post, he said, “I got a little frustrated, but I had to put it out there.”
Sean Kelly, chairman of the board of the Pippy Park Commission, said the issue of dog feces on Admiral’s Green Golf Course and the nearby Three Pond Barrens trails comes up frequently.
“It’s a problem every year,” he said. “Some people are not respecting the rules regarding keeping dogs on a leash and cleaning up their mess.”
Kelly said there are plenty of garbage bins around the park for dog walkers to dispose of their dog’s feces.
“Most people respect the rules, but it is a problem and that’s difficult for us to regulate,” he said. “So, we really just have to ask people every year to be more respectful for other users.”
Blomidon Golf Club manager Kelly Newman in Corner Brook also made a Facebook post about the issue a few days before Curran did.
“Please know that we find this practice to be offensive, and quite frankly, disrespectful!” Newman wrote.
She later told The Telegram, “I found (a plastic bag filled with dog feces) outside my office door. I felt I had to address it.”
She said with maintenance crews already busy, cleaning up dog feces is not something workers should be wasting time on.
“The boys are out with the machinery and it causes issues for them,” Newman said. “They don’t want to be picking up dog crap. It’s not their job. They’ve got enough to do right now.”
She hopes the public plea will help improve the issue.
“We’ve given (dog walkers) the option of using the course for a big dog course, pretty much, and they don’t look after it,” she said. “If it continues, they’re just going to lose their privileges.
“And my next post won’t be so nice.”