WOODSTOCK - Longtime golfer Rodney McInnis says he fears what would become of the Mill River Provincial Golf Course if it were sold into private hands.
In Wednesday's provincial throne speech, the Ghiz government indicated it is still seeking proposals on its four provincially owned golf courses.
But McInnis said private ownership would not be in the best interest of the Island's golf reputation, nor in the best interest of the golfers who use the courses.
"If they sold them off to private situations they would never keep them in the condition they are now. Everybody loses then - the members, the tourists," McInnis suggested.
Cathy Bullied is slightly more optimistic.
"It probably wouldn't matter anything too much, one way or the other, as long as whoever buys it has deep pockets," suggested the president of the Western P.E.I. Tourism Association. "I would hope whoever buys it would maintain status quo and life would go on."
Ghiz hinted Wednesday the Province would also consider leasing the courses.
"We're not necessarily looking to sell them," he said.
The premier added the province is going to put out a proposal to see the type of interest coming back.
"You know, the provincial golf courses, when you take the whole picture into consideration, are a net winner, tourism-wise and everything else. The fact that they lose a million and a half dollars or something is a minor problem," McInnis suggested.
"If the provincial government can't make money on it, how can a private investor make money on it keeping it at a lesser level? Tourists just won't come to play."
See more on this story in Saturday's Journal Pioneer