Petition To Open Alberta GCs Nears 50K

By JEFF SUTHERLAND, Inside Golf

An online petition by a Calgary golfer has caught the interest of many golfers across the province who would like to see courses be allowed to open.

Mark Graham put the petition up earlier in April and was shocked by the response.

In a post on April 13th, Graham commented on the then 25,000+ (electronic) signatures it had received, "This thing has exploded more than I ever thought. Thank you for your support! With the media coverage, it's really helping with signatures and getting the debate out there. My hope is to find a safe way for staff and golfers alike to get out of their heads and their houses and help at least one industry in a sea of so many that will suffer during this pandemic. It would be amazing if this could encourage more conversation into other activities or sports that can be modified during Covid-19, after all not everyone plays golf."

People have been even sending donations to the effort which Graham was definitely not expecting saying, "Apparently there have been donations through Change.org, once I figure out how that works, if there are any proceeds I will forward that to the Food Bank here in Calgary."

His petition has spawned others for provinces across the country and also a couple in Alberta saying that golf courses should not be allowed to open. To date, those have received 11 signatures... combined.

Based on where he is as of April 22nd, the number showing support for courses opening should exceed 50,000 sometime before the end of the week.

To see the petition, click here.