Willowdale to hold emergency meeting to resolve
Contrary to what several residents have heard, Willowdale Country Club is not going out of business, but is instead looking at ways to restructure how the club operates in order to get out of financial difficulties.
Ron Cantrelle, the club’s president, says that some residents took a statement from a recent club newsletter out of context. In that statement to Willowdale Country Club members, Cantrelle said that unless the club makes some serious changes to its overall operation – like some cost cutting measures – the club could be looking at closure.
“We are having financial difficulties right now, but we are not closing,” Cantrelle said. “We are currently looking at restructuring how we operate – that’s it.”
Willowdale Country Club’s Board of Governors has developed a business plan that will be unveiled to all members at a special emergency membership meeting on Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. in the clubhouse. This meeting is for all members whether they’re a stockholder or not and is open to any non-member that resides near the golf course.
The plan includes selling some parcels of land that the country club owns to homeowners that border the golf course. The club made a similar move in 1992.
Cantrelle says that the weather has had a lot to do with the club’s recent difficulties.
“The weather has really put a strain on us because it has rained so much for the last month and a half,” Cantrelle said.
Hurricane Gustav wasn’t too kind to the club either.
“We had a lot of trees down, but we were able to open on Sept. 10 – a week earlier than we opened after Katrina,” Cantrelle said. “All our fairways and greens are open and everything is operating just fine. We pushed all the debris to the side and it will probably take us a month to get it all out.”
Right now, the club is running a hurricane recovery special until Oct. 31. The fee is $25 per person, including a cart, and is valid Tuesday through Sunday. For more information and tee times, call 985-785-2478.
Be the first to comment