A public golf course in New York has rescinded a policy that asked some players to take a breathalyzer test after their rounds following a social media backlash.
The Buffalo Tournament Club, located in the suburb of Lancaster east of the city, began asking all players this season to pay a $5 “corkage fee” that permitted them to bring their own alcohol to drink on the course. Any player who didn’t want to drink could have the fee refunded at the end of the round if they paid $1 to take a breathalyzer test to prove they hadn’t consumed any alcohol. (If they passed the test, they’d get the $1 fee refunded as well.)
Course owner Timothy Davis told the Buffalo News that the club had lifted its restriction on outside alcohol during the pandemic but revived the policy in 2022 with a new wrinkle. Players bringing alcohol purchased elsewhere onto the course would be asked to pay the $5 corkage fee. Compliance was less than unanimous, to say the least.
Davis said only 668 players paid the fee, out of more than 30,000 players who played last season. Employees, meanwhile, collected an estimated 100,000 beer bottles from the course. With the honor system having failed, Davis decided to make everyone pay the fee and offer sober players a way to get their money back.
When the Twitter account for Buffalo Golf & Social, a golf simulator bar, posted a screenshot of Buffalo Tournament Club’s announcement, the post received nearly 200 replies, almost all of them blasting the club for its new policy. As a result, Davis reversed course.
“We said, ‘Look, too many people are unhappy and we’re going to discontinue it immediately,’” he told the News, adding that only a few customers complained about the policy in person.
“In line with the current state of events and based on direct feedback from our patrons, we have updated our policy to provide the most user-friendly experience for our valued guests,” an announcement on the club’s website now reads.
Davis told the News that while outside alcohol remains banned, players are allowed to bring their own coolers onto the course and course employees will not search those coolers. You fill in the gaps.
