Page 48 - BusinessWest Sept. 29, 2021

Swinging in the Rain
Weather Dampens, but Doesn’t Wash Out the Golf Season
By George O’Brien
Mike Fontaine has been working in
the golf business for more than three decades now. As the general manager
at the Ledges Golf Club in South Hadley, he speaks from experience when he says this season has been unlike anything course own- ers and managers have seen in a long while, if
“In all my years in golf, this weather pattern has been the toughest I’ve seen.”
ever.
The rain has been almost constant, bringing
with it lost rounds, lost days, damage to fairways and greens, logistical problems when it comes to all that has been postponed, additional expense on the course-maintenance side, and ... well, you get the idea.
“It’s been a challenge at best,” said Fontaine, with a heavy dose of understatement in his voice. “In all my years in golf, this weather pattern has been the toughest I’ve seen. It was probably the wettest July on record, and August brought the
humidity and more rain. And with no one want- ing to work and it being very difficult to find people in all departments, not just food and beverage...”
His voice tailed off, but he got his key points across: 2021 has been a struggle, in every way. But it hasn’t been a lost year by any means.
Indeed, it’s been a solid season for many golf operations, especially those that are member- ship-based or are mostly private but allow public play. That’s because a good number of those who took up the game, or rediscovered it, during the pandemic, when there was seemingly nothing else to do, stayed with it.
At least ... when the weather would allow them to.
“When we were open, it lived up to the expec- tations we had at the start of the year,” said Kevin Piecuch, head pro at Country Club of Greenfield, a quasi-public operation, noting that, based on last year’s strong numbers, the bar was set fairly high for 2021. “It wasn’t quite as busy as last year, but it has still been a solid year, although the weather has certainly hurt us.”
Fontaine concurred. “When it’s not raining, we’ve been packed.”
E.J. Altobello, head pro at Springfield Country Club, a private club in West Springfield, went fur-
When it hasn’t been raining, Mike Fontaine notes, this has been a very solid year for the region’s golf courses.
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48 SEPTEMBER 29, 2021
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