Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
PM decision to exclude golf is ‘sheer stupidity’
The boss of one of Kent’s leading hotel and golf resorts says the new lockdown is devastating for the business. Jonathan Callister, who is chief executive of The Cave at Boughton, has branded the decision to outlaw amateur golf as “sheer stupidity”.
“We have spent a fortune making the facilities Covid-safe and there’s absolutely no reason to ban what is effectively people walking apart outdoors in a 300-acre park,” he said. “There is a lot of emphasis on the need to keep fit, mentally and physically, which golf provides.
“For some of our members who live alone, getting out for a game of golf with a friend is a lifeline to them. We appreciate the clubhouse would remain closed but there is little risk with people playing golf outdoors with their own equipment.” Mr Callister, whose companies also run Etchinghill Golf Club and Pedham Place Golf Club in Swanley, is a member of a golf course owners consortium now lobbying government for the amateur sport to be exempt. England Golf has also signed a letter sent to Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging him to reconsider after he confirmed on Monday golf would be banned. It includes the fact that on average courses span a 60-metre area with about 96 people on it at any one time, giving each player 6,250 square metres of space that would be hard to find in any urban location. But Mr Callister is not optimistic. “Everything I am hearing is that it is being strongly resisted, which is very disappointing,” he said. Mr Callister says the lockdown will also be a huge blow to the hotel, which the company opened two years ago after investing £12 million, in what they billed Kent’s most luxurious stay. “We bounced back after the first lockdown after introducing all the necessary procedures so this really is hard to take,” he said. “And if the second lockdown is extended even further, as has been suggested, it would be truly horrific for businesses like ours.”