Willowdale club struggling, but doesn’t plan to close

A letter sent out to Willowdale Country Club members this month had some people convinced that the club would be closing on Sept. 19.

But the club’s president, Dwain Fuselier, wants to assure members that the club will not be closing this month.

“The letter stated that if certain bills were not paid by certain days…then that would force us to take some action,” Fuselier said. “But we were able to cover that.”

Fuselier said that the club has no plans to close its doors at this time.

But he said that being able to stay open does not mean that the club is doing well.

“We’re like any other country club in the country right now - we’re struggling to make ends meet because of the poor economy,” he said.

After a Sept.1 meeting, Fuselier said that the club is putting some of the burden to survive on the membership as well as other initiatives by the club’s board.

For example, the club will be offering a $35 community membership that allows for limited time on the golf course and in the pool.

“It’s really targeted for the non-members that live on the golf course and the neighboring communities,” he said.

Fuselier said the club is also doing some property sales to raise funds.