Solidarity through large donations and small aid projects
Support for the community in the area – provided by the local golf club. Anyone who thinks about sustainability in golf realizes that times of crisis are also times in which golf courses can prove themselves to be a firmly anchored part of their community or region.
No other club should find it as easy as Augusta National to distribute aid. The club announced midweek that it would donate $2 million to the city of Augusta. “We hope that this assistance will help to better address many of the challenges the city of Augusta and the surrounding area have posed as a result of the COVID-19 crisis,” Chairman Fred Ridley said in a press statement. “We believe Augusta National has a great responsibility to support and protect the community that has so generously and consistently helped us over the years. One million dollars is to go to the University of Augusta to support further testing procedures, the second million will go to an aid fund that directly supports people in emergencies.
Regardless of financial aid measures, clubs across Europe are currently offering their help in the Corona crisis to support people or companies in need. The GC St. Eurach in Munich, for example, offers its members a shopping service. After all, single seniors are plentiful at golf clubs, which is why members of a club in Glamorganshire, South Wales, for example, received the following message: “If you are self-isolating and need help, we are here for you. The team at the pro shop are on hand to drop off medicines, shop for essential groceries or deliver any other essentials….and our catering team cook plenty of meals for us to drop off for quarantined members.” The latter, of course, against payment. Incidentally, the catering idea in Germany came up at the very beginning of the crisis at GC Ruhpolding, whose Golfstüberl has been supplying golfers and non-golfers for some time.
Another example is the German club G&CC Seddiner See, which rushed to the aid of the neighbouring Ernst von Bergmann-Klinikum with e-carts. The Potsdam hospital with around 1100 beds is the main point of contact for people who are infected with the corona virus. The corona patients are housed in a separate hospital on the clinic grounds. With three e-carts, patient and medication transports should now be able to be processed more quickly. For the managing director of the G&CC Seddiner See Horst Schubert, this is an important sign of solidarity in the neighbourhood. In the club, the members have already collected 10.000 euros to support the catering staff after the club catering is closed.
Measures that connect and can ultimately also create a good, lasting relationship between golf courses, their members and the connected region.
