Has COVID-19 Affected Your Golf?

[WillieT]

2 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

Before our courses closed on Tuesday I did not get to experience no flagsticks, hole in center of green.  Probably would have forced me into a better score.  But I wonder how long they can do that before the center of the green gets worn thin?

Good thought - then again, the course was soaking wet everywhere - greens, fairways, sandtraps...there had been heavy rains the night before.  I would suspect they will "recut" the holes once they see wear, maybe somewhere else in the "center" of the green. 

[cooke119]

On 3/25/2020 at 4:18 PM, jmanbooyaa said:

@cooke119 very odd how Monday 3/22 no golf at Sunken or Bethpage. Now tee times limited. Too bad the weekend is a wash. All county courses are also open. Again. Rain out all weekend. Good luck. Maybe I will see you out there. I play sunken quite a bit. 
 

I think they just aerated the blue last week or so. Maybe green. I can’t remember 

Played West Sayville this morning, great to get out. Didn't play well at all given I haven't played in like a month or so. Shot a 98, short game and putting killed me. Course is in nice condition, temporary green on number 6, no rakes, ball washers covered, PVC pipe cut and put in the holes so you don't have to reach in to get your ball, no touching the flag pole. But a nice day, now back to the range.

[NM Golf]

Our governor just shut down schools for the rest of the year. No idea what it's going to look like for the golf courses. I played on Tuesday which was the last day city courses were open. Two hours after we finished the state police showed up and kicked everyone off the course. 

Not sure why it was necessary to have the state police come out and kick everyone off the course. I had a buddy playing as a walking single and they drove out on the course and made him leave. Seems to me there could have been a better use for those officers. 

The weather's been lousy the last couple days anyway, but we will see what happens once the weather gets nice. Golf is just as "social distancing" friendly as going out for a walk. To deny people access to the courses just seems petty.

[dennyjones]

Today our Governor was specific and closed all golf courses. 

[Yukari]

Interestingly, they are reopening some of the golf courses in the front range area.  With many changes: mostly walking only, no carts, payment over the phone or online only, no restaurant services, no rakes, etc.

[DeadMan]

1 hour ago, Yukari said:

Interestingly, they are reopening some of the golf courses in the front range area.  With many changes: mostly walking only, no carts, payment over the phone or online only, no restaurant services, no rakes, etc.

I've only seen Raccoon Creek. Anywhere else?

[cooke119]

On 3/25/2020 at 4:18 PM, jmanbooyaa said:

@cooke119 very odd how Monday 3/22 no golf at Sunken or Bethpage. Now tee times limited. Too bad the weekend is a wash. All county courses are also open. Again. Rain out all weekend. Good luck. Maybe I will see you out there. I play sunken quite a bit. 
 

I think they just aerated the blue last week or so. Maybe green. I can’t remember 

Played West Sayville yesterday, course is in good condition, temp green on number 6, restrictions we've all talked about, (PVC in the cups, etc.). I played like crap but what can you do, short game and putting were off big time.

[Yukari]

11 hours ago, DeadMan said:

I've only seen Raccoon Creek. Anywhere else?

Colorado National is also open.  Walking only and no in-person payment.

[jmanbooyaa]

Good to know. Was thinking of doing Bergen Point before work Monday. Only 9. 

[NZ Golfer]

Gutted with our local course in such brilliant conditions ... now nothing for least 4wks >>

General Guidance
New Zealand is now at COVID-19 Alert Level 4.

This means New Zealanders not working in essential services must stay at home and stop all interactions with others outside of your household. This is a major step for the country however eradicating this disease is vital to protect people’s health and ensure our health system can cope and look after New Zealanders who become sick.

The move to Alert Level 4 has major consequences for the golf sector. From Wednesday 25 March at 11.59pm, all operations at golf clubs must cease for at least four weeks.

This means all golf courses, practice facilities, clubhouses, pro shops, bar, function and catering facilities must now be closed. While this a major move for the country, the government is trying to save lives and we urge the golf sector to do all we can to play our part.

Regarding the maintenance of golf clubs and facilities during the four-week shut down period, we are working with the government (with the support of Sport NZ) to seek urgent and critical advice. We accept that if golf courses/facilities are not maintained to at least a basic standard over the next four weeks, the task of repatriating to current conditions may not be achievable nor affordable for a great number of clubs. With that in mind, we have asked for two exemptions on behalf of golf facilities:

a) If essential and critical maintenance of golf facilities is necessary, it can be undertaken in a strictly solo manner by an individual who lives within the golf facility property.
 

b) If essential and critical maintenance of golf facilities is necessary, it can be undertaken in a strictly solo manner by an individual who lives outside of the golf facility property.

We have been seeking an urgent response to these requests for many days and we remain hopeful that advice is imminent.

Until formal advice to the contrary is received, we recommend that no maintenance of golf facilities is undertaken during the shutdown period.


New Zealand Golf will continue to communicate any updates through our website, social platforms and via direct correspondence.

[WillieT]

On 3/25/2020 at 6:24 PM, WillieT said:

While the virus has not affected me directly - it has changed the way we play.   Cases in point - last Friday, the course we played had done limited measures - inverted cups on all the holes, i.e. the ball goes in but only about 1/2-3/4", flagsticks were to stay in the cups otherwise pretty much normal.  Yesterday (Tues) - different course, different rules - course pro (using social distancing) told us no ball washers, no coolers, no bunker rakes, all carts disinfected, all holes had pins cut to center of green, no flags and 2" spacers placed at top of cup.  He said, "if your ball hits the cup, count it as going in".  The hardest part was "seeing" where the cup was on approaches.  However in terms of putting, I personally found it easier to "make" putts as I could lock in on the exposed rim.  Over all, pace of play was good....of course, my score was not anything to write home about, then again it never is. 

 

Played another course Friday - minimal practices in place, primarily solo carting if doing so.  Rakes in bunkers, flagsticks in the cups (not inverted or raised lips)....we (my son and 4-yr old grandson) used w/in a grip length a "made putts" to keep rolling.  It was hard for a 4-yr old to realize he could not putt all the way in the cup.  Before we started the course pro was concerned that NC's governor would be closing all courses in the Friday announcement.  However that is not the case (at present) as he has indicated that golf represents the same social distancing as a walk in the park.  Whether that means no carts, walkers only remains to be seen.  May go play again this week as the missus has indicated she would like to get out as well.  

[snapfade]

On 3/25/2020 at 6:29 PM, Double Mocha Man said:

Before our courses closed on Tuesday I did not get to experience no flagsticks, hole in center of green.  Probably would have forced me into a better score.  But I wonder how long they can do that before the center of the green gets worn thin?

They have removed our flagsticks and put up a sign on the pro-shop door letting you know hole locations for the day. Generally they are centerish of the green, but they put little marking flags in the cups, like the ones surveyors use. 

[cooke119]

23 hours ago, jmanbooyaa said:

Good to know. Was thinking of doing Bergen Point before work Monday. Only 9. 

You should call and get a tee time, they've spaced tee times out to every 15 minutes vs 8 minutes for separation. 

6 hours ago, NZ Golfer said:

Gutted with our local course in such brilliant conditions ... now nothing for least 4wks >>

General Guidance
New Zealand is now at COVID-19 Alert Level 4.

This means New Zealanders not working in essential services must stay at home and stop all interactions with others outside of your household. This is a major step for the country however eradicating this disease is vital to protect people’s health and ensure our health system can cope and look after New Zealanders who become sick.

The move to Alert Level 4 has major consequences for the golf sector. From Wednesday 25 March at 11.59pm, all operations at golf clubs must cease for at least four weeks.

This means all golf courses, practice facilities, clubhouses, pro shops, bar, function and catering facilities must now be closed. While this a major move for the country, the government is trying to save lives and we urge the golf sector to do all we can to play our part.

Regarding the maintenance of golf clubs and facilities during the four-week shut down period, we are working with the government (with the support of Sport NZ) to seek urgent and critical advice. We accept that if golf courses/facilities are not maintained to at least a basic standard over the next four weeks, the task of repatriating to current conditions may not be achievable nor affordable for a great number of clubs. With that in mind, we have asked for two exemptions on behalf of golf facilities:

a) If essential and critical maintenance of golf facilities is necessary, it can be undertaken in a strictly solo manner by an individual who lives within the golf facility property.
 

b) If essential and critical maintenance of golf facilities is necessary, it can be undertaken in a strictly solo manner by an individual who lives outside of the golf facility property.

We have been seeking an urgent response to these requests for many days and we remain hopeful that advice is imminent.

Until formal advice to the contrary is received, we recommend that no maintenance of golf facilities is undertaken during the shutdown period.


New Zealand Golf will continue to communicate any updates through our website, social platforms and via direct correspondence.

Just visited your beautiful country last December on a cruise, loved it. Stay safe and hope you and your's are all well. 

[Edsland]

Illinois is in a complete shut down even tho 75% of the cases are in Chicago, which makes sense, 8 million people. The thing that I don't  get is every county in Illinois has the same shutdown rules yet many county's have 0-1 cases. Many states in the United States have a lot more relaxed rules with hundreds of cases.  

[Mr Puddle]

On 3/27/2020 at 8:17 PM, NM Golf said:

Our governor just shut down schools for the rest of the year. No idea what it's going to look like for the golf courses. I played on Tuesday which was the last day city courses were open. Two hours after we finished the state police showed up and kicked everyone off the course. 

Not sure why it was necessary to have the state police come out and kick everyone off the course. I had a buddy playing as a walking single and they drove out on the course and made him leave. Seems to me there could have been a better use for those officers. 

The weather's been lousy the last couple days anyway, but we will see what happens once the weather gets nice. Golf is just as "social distancing" friendly as going out for a walk. To deny people access to the courses just seems petty.

In the UK you can't even get a police officer to attend a house burglary because they claim they are short staffed, however all of a sudden they are everywhere. I suspect all those police sat at speed traps have been diverted 

[snapfade]

3 hours ago, Mr Puddle said:

In the UK you can't even get a police officer to attend a house burglary because they claim they are short staffed, however all of a sudden they are everywhere. I suspect all those police sat at speed traps have been diverted 

HaHa, that sounds like something Jeremy Clakson would say on a Top Gear/ Grand Tour episode.

[dsc123]

Maryland's stay at home order today specifically closed all public and private golf courses.  Most if not all were already closed, but this is more clear now.  And he says he has instructed the police to enforce it, which most states have not done.

DC & VA followed suit with stay at home orders, but they specifically ALLOW golf.  Though all the DC courses are owned by the national park service and are closed anyway.  I think most in Northern VA are closed, too. 

Our governor says we're about 2 weeks behind NYC.

[Buckeyebowman]

We still have some golf, including at the course where I'm supposed to play in league this year. I have no idea if that's going to happen. 

I'll tell you one course where it WON'T happen! Well, I honestly don't know if I should display their name. It's a local course that we really like, a Brian Huntley design. He's out of Canton, OH and has done a few courses in this area. The front nine is mostly like playing through a housing development, but there are a few holes where you can get away from that. The back nine is like playing through a nature preserve! It's gorgeous! And tough! 

They sent an e-mail saying they were open and outlining their COVID-19 precautions. First of all, they were charging "in season" rates in March, in NE Ohio, where it's mudball, plugball! Then to have a cart by yourself would only cost you 10 bucks more! Per nine! Are you serious?! 

We scratched that one off our list. We wont' go back until they come to their senses, which they may never do. The course is extremely popular, and put a locally owned course that was quite nice, out of business shortly after it opened. So, I figure that they rule the roost down there.