Did You React To The ClubLink Incident?

By now, you’ve probably read that charges against 11 executives of ClubLink Corporation have been dropped after the tragic deaths of three youngsters following an evening of drinking at the Lake Joseph Club near Bracebridge, Ont. in the summer of 2008.

If you haven’t read the story, it’s in the News Now section.  It was determined that there was no reasonable prospect of conviction of the ClubLink executives.

We could get into some deep philosophical discussions on this matter, including personal responsibility of the person who is drinking, or whether controlling that person should be a legal or moral responsibility on the part of the establishment.

It could be – and has been – argued that an example was being made of executives who weren’t even on hand at the time, especially since two of the original 16 who were charged originally weren’t even with ClubLink at the time of the accident.

We can talk about right and wrong, what the law says and what our personal opinions are, but in the end, there are some nasty realities that don’t change.

Three young lives were lost that fateful night in Muskoka and three Lake Jo staffers still face charges, as does ClubLink Corporation itself.

The other realities for the golf industry were raised in detail by Jim Hylands, vice president of Simmlands Insurance Brokers, in the Jan. 13 edition of Hutch’s Blog. You can read it here.

This incident should be more of a wake-up call for the industry than ammunition for any debate, no matter which side you’re on, within the industry, which brings us to this week’s GNN Poll, which is directed specifically to owners/food and beverage managers/restaurant personnel.

Have the charges originally laid against ClubLink prompted you to rethink or re-examine your own policies/procedures on the serving of alcohol?

Be sure to cast your vote at the GNN Poll on the home page and, as always, readers are welcome to expand their thoughts inside the GNN Forum.

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Declining Participation: A convincing majority believes participation in Canadian golf is dropping, with 48 per cent of respondents to last week’s GNN Poll believing it’s down between one and 10 per cent.

Another 29 per cent believe it’s dropped more than that, somewhere between 10 and 20 per cent, while seven per cent say it’s dropped more than 20 per cent since the end of 2007.

There are some optimists out there as 10 per cent say the game has grown in participation, while six per cent believe it’s about the same as 2007 levels.

That poll is now in the archives, but remains active should you still want to cast a vote.

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• O Canada Or Woe Canada?
• Are You Going To Roll The Dice?
• Are We Fiddling As Rome Burns?
• Where Will Golf Be In 20 Years?
• Are Your Fees/Memberships Up, Down Or Status Quo?