Linacy Greens will not open this spring.
Romeo Roy, owner of the 18-hole golf course, said Friday he made the decision to close the course because it wasn’t economically viable anymore and because at 87 he was getting too old to run it.
“We haven’t been able to get ends to meet in 10 years,” he said. “I don’t think we have much hope. It’s too bad. I like this golf course and so do a lot of other people.”
Roy opened the course in 2002 as a nine-hole course and added another nine holes a couple of years later. While he said it’s disappointing they weren’t able to make a go of it, he treats it very matter of factly.
“Que sera sera,” he said.
The course employed about 20 people during the summer and they were all good people, Roy said, but there wasn’t enough money in the region to sustain it. He said he hopes that now that his course has closed the others in the area will be able to do a little better.
Roy has been trying to sell the business since last year when he was battling prostate cancer.
“There was some interest, but they wanted it for nothing,” he said.
He said he will get rid of the equipment from the business piece by piece and try to sell the property. Thursday someone came and bought all the folding chairs.
Former course manager Jason Allen said he found out about the closure last month.
“It’s disappointing for all the work we put into it,” he said.
At the same time he understands why Roy is ready to get out of it and retire.
“We all kind of seen it coming,” Allen said.
He said he enjoyed his time there and will miss it.
“Every day was something different,” he said. “It was never a repeating task.”
He hopes that the course might be bought and reopened but knows the longer it sits idle the harder it’ll be to bring it back into use.
amacinnis@ngnews.ca
On Twitter: NGNewsAdam
