Stornoway Golf Club lies on the grounds of a Victorian castle in the town of Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland. The 18 hole golf course has trim, sloping fairways lined with mature woodland, and panoramic views of Stornoway Harbour.
Stornoway is reputed to be a friendly and sociable club where visitors are made to feel welcome. The course is host a number of amateur events including the recent Western Isles Open, part of the Hebridean Festival of Golf, where local golfers get a chance to channel their inner John Daly... at least that's what it looks like they're doing in the photo below.
So here's the thing: this friendly, fun-loving club has a rather strict landlord, namely the Stornoway Trust, which forbids the employment of staff on Sundays. ~ And it seems there are quite a number of ultra-dedicated golfers who aren't letting the absence of said staff deter them.
This is understandably irksome for the club as they're not only missing out on Sunday greens fees but also on... the day's beer cart revenues.
So the club dutifully submitted an application for a Sunday drinks licence... and that's where the Presbyterian church groups came in. They argued that such an exception to the blue laws could "damage morality" and "weaken the integrity of the community".
In the end, the local council took the side of the
This would never happen in a Catholic township.
ReplyDeleteInteresting story.
ReplyDeleteTavistock, NJ was formed for the purpose of allowing the members of Tavistock Country Club the ability to play golf on Sundays, which was prohibited by a local blue law prohibiting sporting activities on Sundays. As I understand it they just created their own tiny municipality.
This was way back when, but parts of NJ still have monster blue laws today. Don't know how they currently handle golf. ;)
No blue laws in Miami. Anything goes down here:-)
ReplyDeleteThat place sound absolutely idyllic! The golf course looks beautiful and the people just seem so friendly and fun.
ReplyDeleteShark you still can't shop in Paramus on Sunday but golfs OK. Yeah it's kind of crazy but cuts way down on traffic. ;)
ReplyDeleteIt looks like LoudMouth is now an international golf haberdasher. Who Knew?
ReplyDeleteA couple of years ago we spent a week on the Island of Skye off the coast of Scotland. The people were so friendly and the landscape was stunning. It sounds like Stornoway has a similar flavor and I'm sure the golf course is delightful.
ReplyDelete