Source: The Boston Globe
On snowy winter days, parents often show up on the grounds of the Far Corner Golf Course in Boxford with children in tow, ready to sled on the same slopes they traversed as youngsters many years ago.
But when it comes to this favorite sledding venue, there's no going back. Due to liability concerns, the family company that owns the course has banned sledding at Far Corner as well as the two other private courses it owns.
"We welcome kids here," manager Tom Flynn said. "But sledding is out of the question these days."
Throughout the northern Boston suburbs, many golf course managers are sending the same message. The Norman Rockwell image of children sledding in New England snow is being replaced by a snowy hill with a "No Trespassing" sign posted.
In many cases, golf courses offer the best sledding in town, but higher insurance rates and in some cases a refusal to insure have pushed many golf course managers to ban the traditional winter activity.
The same company that owns Far Corner has imposed similar bans at its two other courses the Lakeview Golf Club in Wenham and the Windham Country Club in Wind ham, N.H. One of the most recent courses to ban sledding is Tedesco Country Club in Marblehead, which last winter began hiring police details on snowy days when school was out. Police Sargeant Tim Cassidy, a Swampscott native, said that when he was a kid he sledded on the course "all of the time. I think my father [former police chief Peter Cassidy] did, too. I think everyone did."
In 2004, the course also erected a fence near a favorite sledding area.
"Insurance companies in the last couple of years have really gotten hot on this," said John McCarthy, managing director of the Conifer Companies in Peabody, a risk management and insurance firm.
McCarthy, who estimates that 17 or 18 of his company's clients are golf courses, said that insurance applications for golf courses now include a question about whether other outdoor activities are allowed on the grounds a relatively new development.
As a result, sledding on the 10th hole is going the way of the privately owned skating rinks or the diving board at the country club pool.
"In this litigious society, it's tough to see people even walk on your property," said Bob Flynn, director of golf at Far Corner. A snowmobile enthusiast, Flynn said he's found some private trails in New Hampshire now closed because landowners are concerned about their liability.
Attorney Robert Lucas of Wakefield, who has represented clients on both sides of lawsuits filed by injured sledders against golf courses, said that when a private business makes space available to the public as a gesture of good will, it is still obliged to make that space safe.
"I'm not sure I believe that people are shutting down golf courses to [sledders] just because of insurance costs," he said. Courses also may not be willing to cover the costs involved in keeping the property safe for that activity, he said.
"Litigation isn't successful just because a person got hurt," Lucas said. "Litigation is successful because a person got hurt because of someone's negligence."
Not every private golf course has specifically banned sledding. Although "No trespassing" signs went up at the Salem Country Club in Peabody last year, general manager Guy Bytof said his board of directors has never taken up the issue of sledding, which is neither encouraged nor discouraged.
In the cities and towns north of Boston, the golf courses that do allow sledding are generally municipally owned, such as Mount Hood in Melrose, which Lucas represents, or Gannon Golf Course in Lynn. A municipality is protected to an extent by legislative immunity, which limits the amount for which an individual can sue. Some golf courses, including Mount Hood and Gannon, qualify as public parks.
This designation establishes a higher standard in court, requiring the plaintiff to prove that the city was not only negligent, but reckless, according to Michael Barry, city solicitor for Lynn.
There is no official policy on sledding at Gannon, Barry said, and the city neither encourages nor discourages the activity. But he sledded there as a child, as did his children.
"I'm 54, so it goes back at least 50 years," he said.
In Melrose, the tradition of sledding at Mount Hood goes back even further, to the winter carnivals of the 1930s.
Melrose Recreation coordinator Chuck Person said the city will take precautions at Mount Hood, such as allowing cars to be parked only at the bottom of the hill, a safe distance from sledders. Loitering after dark is not permitted and posted signs inform sledders that they do so at their own risk.
"I've been sledding since I was a kid," said Person, who now sleds the hill with sons Ryan, 10, and Travis, 8. "It's sled at your own risk. If people get hurt it's unfortunate, but I haven't seen too many get hurt."
Susan Cann, chairwoman of the Melrose Park Commission, noted that the Mount Hood charter was written to include many recreational uses besides golf, including hiking trails and a tot lot. "It's a traditional winter sports place," she said.
In practical terms, Barry noted, if the city tried to limit the public's choice of activities and areas to explore at Lynn Woods, where Gannon is located, "we'd have to station a police officer every 100 yards."
"We can't do it, not that we'd want to," Barry said.
Within limits, Barry said, people should be allowed to use a public park as they wish.
"In the Declaration of Independence, it says people have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," Barry said. "So, let them pursue happiness. Why not?"