Foot and Mouth Update

With the media reports emanating from the UK, about its problems with the out break of mad cow disease, Perry Golf President, Gordon Dalgleish issued a letter of assurance to his company’s clients. With this year’s Ryder Cup taking place at The Belfry, many making the trek may be put off with what appears to be a most unappetizing issue. Dalgleish stated, “We believe it is prudent to clarify our position on this issue and explain how we propose to handle our clients upcoming golf vacations. This includes a guarantee of the price paid for the land tour (accommodations, golf, and ground transport) should a client wish to cancel a trip in the extremely unlikely event that we cannot deliver ALL stated elements of their trip due to any restrictions associated with Foot and Mouth Disease.” According to Dalgleish, this disease has no documented health implications for humans. “It is however a highly infectious disease for susceptible animals (cloven hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep and pigs) which humans can also spread via, for example, footware, if they come in contact with infected animals. The disease has been compared to a bad cold for animals and ruins their economic value,” he continued.

The majority of reported cases have been made in England. At present all cases in Scotland are confined to the Borders area and the British and Irish governments have adopted stringent measures to control and eliminate the disease. Dalgleish stated, “In the event PerryGolf cannot deliver every element of the golf tour to the British Isles as itemized on their confirmed schedule for travel through October 31, 2001, due to any restrictions which may apply as a result of Foot and Mouth disease, we will offer our clients the following options: Accept alternative golf for any affected rounds. Permit the client to cancel their trip with a FULL refund of the price paid for the land tour without penalty, including golf, accommodations and ground transportation.” Dalgleish further stated that it, “applies even if only one golf course is unavailable, and we will let each client be the judge of the relative importance of that course within their schedule, whether they wish to cancel or proceed. Should any courses on their schedule be affected we will notify the traveler approximately 7 days prior to scheduled travel date and offer them a 48-hour period to make a decision.” In summary Dalgleish remarked, “Everyone at PerryGolf wants our clients to enjoy the golf vacation they have been planning and anticipating. Rather than offering a few words of reassurance, we wanted to clearly and unambiguously demonstrate our position regarding the impact of this disease on forthcoming travel.”

Content Provided by GolfBiz.net