The Golfing Union of Ireland has approved the provision of €250,000 in emergency loan funding to assist golf clubs in repairing damage caused by storms in the early part of the year.
Clubs with no other outstanding loans from the union are encouraged to submit evidence of the damage and an estimate on how much it will cost to repair. The maximum amount of any loans granted will be €12,000 to any one club, repayable over a period of ten years.
The purpose of making the loans available to clubs is to make repairs in a quicker time frame than might otherwise be possible through clubs own resources.
The West of Ireland was particularly badly hit with 300 trees being felled at Limerick Golf Club in winds that rose to over 150 kilometres per hour; and damage caused by erosion at Doonbeg estimated at around €1 million. It is unlikely that the latter will apply having recently been taken over by Trump International Resorts.
“It makes a lot of sense for the Union to introduce this scheme at a time when many clubs suffered damage to their courses, piling increased pressure on finances already hit by falling membership and green fee rates,” said the GUI’s Honorary Treasurer, Rollo McClure, speaking to the Irish Examiner this morning.
“The capital sum from Union reserves for the scheme would otherwise earn minimal bank interest, so there’s a negligible opportunity cost.”
Many homes and businesses are being denied flood damage cover and that number is likely to rise after the winter just passed. There is talk in recent days of another levy on all insurance policies of up to one per cent in order to help cover emergency costs of those affected.
In many sporting circumstances, it requires emergency fundraising and a sense of the community coming together to drain pitches and repair damaged buildings so they can quickly be returned to use.
One of the best examples of how clubs can overcome such natural adversity can be seen in the case of Glanmire GAA club from the summer of 2012.
