WPCNR PRESS BOX. By Bob & Jenny Petrucci. March 13, 2004: Mr.Golf, Bob Petrucci, has been monitoring the way Westchester County golf courses have been selling advance tee times, and he claims the county has hit another fat hook into the rough off the tee for the new season. Mr. Golf writes:
Well, let's get the complaints rolling:
From what we hear, the county again (as predicted) sold EZ RipOff golf tee times beyond the proper time (8-9 am) limit, as was done last year..
The purpose of EZ RipOff is to accommodate those early weekend golfers with tee times so they would not have to sleep in their cars...at a fee of $250 for 25 rounds (plus greensfee, parkpass. etc.)...an increase from last year.
Instead, they already sold times (fear of loss times) thru 11:30am at Mohansic (Saturdays) and thru 11:15am at Saxon Woods (Saturdays) and will likely do the same tomorrow (for Sundays).
And that is a rip, again going beyond EZ RipOff's original intent, making MUNICIPAL courses semi-private and freezing out golfers from weekend times. EZ RIpOFF accommodates only a very small percentage of golfers..."the big bucks minority". This is the same policy that resulted in the financially-exclusionary, semi-private Hudson Hills golf course .
This RipOff fee, other increased fees, plus poor course conditions have caused a loss of about 70,000 rounds in a couple of years.
Any consideration of a $600 season pass now will be of a significantly lessened market because golfers will feel they will not be able to get starting times...just as happened last year...so why spend the money upfront.
So once again, everyone will lose...county golf and the majority of golfers.
It is disappointing that we made every effort to alert our elected officials of this probability and no one did anything to protect the "non-big bucks majority".
Bob and Jenny Petrucci
Resident Golfers Protection group
(914) 632-1765
