Last Sunday, Brian Davis called a two-stroke penalty on himself to give Jim Furyk the victory at the Verizon Heritage on the PGA Tour. To have the tournament decided on a self inflicted penalty is certainly a unique situation, and almost unthinkable in just about any other sport. However, because much of golf is based on an honor system, players calling penalties on themselves is certainly not unique. It’s one of the reasons why golf is such a great game.
That honor system will soon be put to the test in a whole new way in Milwaukee County. In a couple of weeks, the clubhouses at all the county’s par 3 courses will be closed on weekdays. Golfers will be asked to leave their $7 in a pay box.
The county announced the move will save $30,000 a year. However, at least one county supervisor questions how many people will actually pay and believes the move is just the first step in phasing out the par 3 courses altogether.
“If there’s no one there to count who comes in, I could just see, a year from now, them saying: Oh, revenue has plummeted. We only got one-half of the people coming through. It’s not really worth doing anymore,” said Lynne DeBruin, Milwaukee County supervisor.
Chuck Ward with the Milwaukee County Parks Department told 12 News the county already uses the honor system at boat launches and dog parks and its working. “The people who maintain the courses will also be keeping an eye on that box and how many golfers are out there. So it’s not that we’re walking away and abandoning, not at all,” Ward said.
Click here to read the full article.
