Club Clarifies Wildlife Policy Following Incident on North 4: Fox Protected, Possums Are Not
The Grounds and Fauna Subcommittee has issued formal guidance distinguishing between animals the club considers residents and animals the club considers problems.
The fox, which has denned in the rough along the left side of North 4 since at least the spring of 2023, is not to be disturbed. This has been the position of the club since its first confirmed sighting, and it remains the position of the club today.
The possums are a different matter.
“We are not anti-wildlife,” said a Grounds Committee spokesperson at Tuesday’s briefing. “We are pro-fox.”
The fox, a red female referred to in internal communications as The Resident, holds no formal membership but has been granted what officials described as “informal course access with full right-of-way on all nine tracks.” Golfers whose balls come to rest within ten feet of the den are permitted a free drop, no closer to the hole.
The possums, which have been observed crossing the cart path on Middle 6 at irregular hours and eating from an overturned trash receptacle near the North starter’s booth, are not covered by this protection. The Subcommittee declined to enumerate what options remain available to grounds staff, citing what one member called “operational discretion.”
A formal amendment to the McCabe Wildlife Charter is expected by the end of the quarter. Until then, members are asked to treat any fox sighting as a positive omen and any possum sighting as a private matter between themselves and the animal.