What will golf look like when courses reopen under eased coronavirus stay-home order?
For those looking desperately to get out of the house, get some fresh air and a bit of exercise along the way, some good news came from Gov. Jay Inslee’s press conference on Monday: Golf courses are reopening on May 5, as the state government eases shutdown restrictions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That’s good news for the South Sound and Washington state’s collective sanity, and potentially bad news for scorecards, which figure to show higher scores than usual as golfers shake off the rust.
So please, forgive yourself for that string of double bogeys on the front nine.
“We’re ready (to open) whenever,” said Greg Talley, head golf professional at Fircrest Golf Club, one of the area’s private courses. “(Golfers) are ready to get back to normalcy, some sort of normalcy, get out and use their clubs again.”
Count Mike Moore, whose family owns public courses The Classic Golf Club in Spanaway and Oakbrook Golf Club in Lakewood, among those a bit frustrated that golf courses were forced to shut down in the first place. With so much open space, Moore said he felt like it was a safe social-distancing approved recreation activity.
“I think that golf is by its very nature very inclined to social distancing,” Moore said. “With the emphasis on keeping that separation of 10 feet, we have 150 players on 150 acres on a busy day. I think there’s plenty of room there. I think golf is probably the safest sport out there. I’m pleased that our governor talked to someone that understood golf a little bit. Some of the recommendations (going forward) are a little onerous.”
New social-distancing restrictions
The biggest restriction moving forward as courses reopen is the restriction of groups to twosomes, with foursomes not permitted unless the foursome is made up of immediate family members.
“It limits us, we’re not able to hit our potential with twosomes,” Talley said. “We were anticipating 200 people per day as foursomes, as a potential number. Now we’re kind of cut in half almost. … The only frustration we’re all feeling is not being allowed in a foursome. I don’t think there’s much difference between twosomes and foursomes in open spaces.”
Still, restricted golf is better than no golf at all. And there will be other safety precautions in place. At most courses, holes have been flipped inside out, so players don’t have to dig deep into the cup to retrieve their ball. Golfers are instructed not to remove flag pins. Sand trap rakes have been removed, allowing players to move their lie or, at some courses, take a free drop. Golf ball washing stations have been taped off.
Many public courses, such as Allenmore in Tacoma, are restricting tee-time reservations to online or by phone, going cashless in the process and limiting how many people can be inside the pro shop at a time.
Work to do on staffing, new rules
Meadow Park Golf Course, which is owned and operated by Metro Parks — which has been forced to furlough and lay many of its employees due to the coronavirus situation — is looking into reopening, but will not be open by May 5.
“We’re focusing on creating an online pre-payment system, installing social distancing signage, and preparing our 27 holes for play to meet the high standards our customers expect,” wrote Metro Parks spokesperson Whitney DalBalcon in an email to The News Tribune.
Metro Parks plans to announce a reopening date for Meadow Park within the next two weeks.
For many, May 5 and the summer months could be an opportunity for folks new to the sport to give golf a try.
“Frankly, golf is a wonderful game of a lifetime,” Moore said. “There’s nothing like the pure joy you get out of hitting a good shot occasionally — that goes to the center of your being. Maybe it only happens once or twice a round. … Getting the exercise, it’s a great walk. It’s fun. And it’s relatively safe. Keep your six to 10 feet. … It’s a safe game; it’s a great challenge.”
This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 10:30 AM.
