Common sense needed over course maintenance

VIRTUAL highfives to Greg Turner (letter, 2.4.20). There is absolutely no logic to stopping independent selfemployed contractors going about mowing lawns and cutting hedges. Is the worry that somehow they may spread Covid19 to native birds? Get a grip. We will still need some people left standing after this is over.

Philip Temple Dunedin Central

I HAVE been reading with interest the present use being made of golf clubs and while one can marvel at the wide open spaces they provide for the public. Yet the powers that be will not allow a minimum number of professional staff to maintain them. Why not 300,000 golfers are asking?

There are close to 400 golf courses in New Zealand and while some are nine hole courses, the majority are 18 which leads one to believe there may be 6000 plus holes of golf in this country. Based on the present cost of at least $1 million per hole to develop (yes, I know many courses were built years ago for a lot less) you are talking about an asset to members of around $6 billion. If let go to a state of disrepair, it would take years and many millions of dollars to bring them back to a playable level.

When I look at the considerable number of people shopping, going about essential business, walking, cycling the wonderful tracks we have in this area, stop and consider the wide rural area of a golf course. What on earth could be wrong with two staff on mowers maintaining the crucial areas such as greens, tees, and fairways.

Where is the problem in having people maintaining such a crucial asset for not only members but, once the virus is clear, for getting people back to the healthy habit of fresh air and exercise.

Let common sense prevail and preserve our courses.

Joe Bagrie Queenstown [Abridged]