The owner of Wachusett Country Club and the Kettle Brook Golf Club is pushing back against Governor Baker's order for "non-essential" businesses such as hers to remain closed. Owner and manager, Cara Cullen, closed her golf clubs back in March when the lockdown order went out to statewide businesses but now with many other states (including neighboring New Hampshire) having plans set in motion for their golf courses to reopen, Cullen has had enough and wants Massachusetts to open golf courses such as hers. The original plan was for golf courses to reopen on May 4th but then it was extended till May 18th and even that date seems unlikely....
It has been 5 weeks that the courses have remained shut, putting 30 full-time employees and as many as 60 part-time employees who work at the property restaurants and banquet halls out of work. While Cullen says she understands the seriousness of COVID-19 and does not believe it is a hoax, as her family has personally suffered a loss (her mother-in-law) due to the Coronavirus, she does not like the delay it took Governor Baker to form a "advisory board" to reopen the local economy. She said this to Fox News regarding the matter: "Why wasn't that board formulated five weeks ago?. To me, that's a delay tactic. It's a political tactic just to appease us. Basically for five weeks, I've sat by watching my family business get destroyed while thousands of golfers have crossed the borders to go to Connecticut and New York, which is causing huge safety concerns. ... There's like 47 states that have opened golf courses. By not opening golf courses, [Baker's] actually creating a more hazardous condition."
Owner and manager, Cara Cullen says she is fighting to reopen this week and has been trying to work something out with the state. She told Fox News: "Honestly, I think it just comes down to we're not Walmart, we don't have big corporate lawyers and we can't fight him. But at this point, we are fighting him. I've put my faith in him and our patience is done. At this point, unfortunately, if we don't open in a few weeks, we're done."
When you visit the Wachusett Country Club's website, this is the message update you see:
COVID-19 UPDATE
Although we had high hopes for opening this weekend through possible town board approval, regrettably, Wachusett Country Club and Kettle Brook will not be opening. However, we are meeting with Lt. Governor Polito on Saturday to establish careful and consistent social distancing guidelines for all Massachusetts golf courses. We have the greatest respect for Lt. Gov. Polito and she has assured us that she is working tirelessly to open golf courses in a prudent manner as soon as possible. We appreciate your patience as we navigate through these unprecedented times. Keep in mind that National Golf Day is Wednesday.
What are your thoughts on the Wachusett Country Club and Kettle Brook Golf Club fighting back? Their business is clearly hurting. Is it time Governor Baker ends the lockdown and lets businesses such as golf courses reopen with safety precautions in place?
-Producer Lightning