Is Golf Available Where You Live? (COVID-19 Edition)

[bkuehn1952]

Played in a foursome of friends yesterday. With carts now allowed (single rider), some courses have adopted a system where each group is allowed a maximum of two carts. Many courses do not have enough carts to send out groups of four with four carts. Since we were a group of 4, two rode and two walked. I carried my bag for nine and put it on the cart for the back nine, while still walking. Things worked fairly well. We played in a shade under 4 hours (course is pace-rated as 4:15). The two cart guys would proceed to their balls and hit. Then they would go to the two walker's balls.  If the walker hit the green with his approach, he would pull his putter and the cart guy would be on their own. If the green were missed, the walker would pull his putter and a couple wedges, again leaving the cart guy on his own. 

Leslie Park is hilly and a fairly tough.  As a result, there were lots of twosomes as many were avoiding walking.  For midweek, the course was fairly busy.

I have noticed that social distancing seems harder to do when one has a group of friends.  When I have played with strangers, I had no problem staying more than 6 feet from the other players.  With friends, they revert to old habits of getting close and whispering.  I found myself constantly edging away from the others as them invaded my 6 foot bubble. I finally had to tell one of them, "Fritz, if you can touch me with your long putter, you are too close".

 

 

[Yukari]

9 hours ago, bkuehn1952 said:

Played in a foursome of friends yesterday. With carts now allowed (single rider), some courses have adopted a system where each group is allowed a maximum of two carts. Many courses do not have enough carts to send out groups of four with four carts. Since we were a group of 4, two rode and two walked. I carried my bag for nine and put it on the cart for the back nine, while still walking. Things worked fairly well. We played in a shade under 4 hours (course is pace-rated as 4:15). The two cart guys would proceed to their balls and hit. Then they would go to the two walker's balls.  If the walker hit the green with his approach, he would pull his putter and the cart guy would be on their own. If the green were missed, the walker would pull his putter and a couple wedges, again leaving the cart guy on his own. 

Leslie Park is hilly and a fairly tough.  As a result, there were lots of twosomes as many were avoiding walking.  For midweek, the course was fairly busy.

I have noticed that social distancing seems harder to do when one has a group of friends.  When I have played with strangers, I had no problem staying more than 6 feet from the other players.  With friends, they revert to old habits of getting close and whispering.  I found myself constantly edging away from the others as them invaded my 6 foot bubble. I finally had to tell one of them, "Fritz, if you can touch me with your long putter, you are too close".

 

 

I see that a lot.  Most people do not seem to adhere to social distancing with people they know.

[iacas]

4 hours ago, Yukari said:

I see that a lot.  Most people do not seem to adhere to social distancing with people they know.

More and more, it's becoming clearer that it's really not that important that they do so. Not outside. Just don't get breathed on much, for long periods of time.

[Cartboy]

COVID-related:

ClubHouse Online Performance

Dear ClubHouse Online Client,   ClubHouse Online is currently receiving an unprecedented volume of traffic, and as a result the system is experiencing some performance issues. Most notably, pages on your club website may be loading much slower than you would typically see. We are treating this situation as our number one priority by focusing all available resources working toward a resolution. With this said, there is no single immediate fix that we are able to deploy and as a result, a number of measures are being implemented in an attempt to improve your website performance.These include changing when some daily processes run, from peak to off peak times. We believe that the sudden increase in traffic is a result of the large number of clubs throughout the world beginning to reopen. As clubs take steps towards normal operations, we are seeing a significant spike in web traffic and online reservations, which is unlike anything we have encountered in the past. We sincerely apologize for any issues you or your members may be encountering, and thank you in advance for your patience as we work to enhance your website performance. We will provide more updates on this situation as information becomes available. Thank you, ClubHouse Online Team

On 5/13/2020 at 10:35 PM, iacas said:

More and more, it's becoming clearer that it's really not that important that they do so. Not outside. Just don't get breathed on much, for long periods of time.

Depends on your news source.

Actually, more and more, it's becoming clear that there is more and more yet to be learned about it.

Yesterday's update from the medical experts was that just talking (rather than coughing and such) can spread it.

But, yes, they did acknowledge that it spreads easier inside, but it still spreads outside.  Another acknowledgement, from New York, is that most of the new cases now are from inside the home.

Me and mine error on the side of living, so take as much precaution as we can.

I would say, "To each their own," if it only affected them.

Edited May 15, 2020 by iacas
Fixed bad formatting

[Cartboy]

7 hours ago, Cartboy said:

Yessterday's update from the medical experts was that just talking (rather than coughing and such) can spread it.

Study shows loud talking can generate over 1,000 respiratory droplets — but experts say 6 feet is still sufficient to protect against the coronavirus

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Researchers used laser light technology to track the respiratory droplets that were generated while study participants spoke.

 

 

[phillyk]

In WA, gov allows foursomes effective today. We were at twosomes only except family. 

[Cartboy]

Since country clubs are very social, it's surprising there hasn't been more spread through them.  Perhaps some of those early ones in SE Florida that are now being recognized as COVID were.

😷

[iacas]

1 hour ago, Cartboy said:

Since country clubs are very social, it's surprising there hasn't been more spread through them.  Perhaps some of those early ones in SE Florida that are now being recognized as COVID were.

😷

The virus spreads pretty well indoors, but not all that well at all outside. So, what are you even saying, really? Because most clubs have closed their indoor spaces for months now.

[saevel25]

21 minutes ago, iacas said:

The virus spreads pretty well indoors, but not all that well at all outside. So, what are you even saying, really? Because most clubs have closed their indoor spaces for months now.

Yep, I know of one course that has installed a credit card reader outside. So it's either prepay online or use the credit card reader. 

[Cartboy]

4 hours ago, iacas said:

The virus spreads pretty well indoors, but not all that well at all outside. So, what are you even saying, really? Because most clubs have closed their indoor spaces for months now.

Yes, really.

It is now being discovered that there were COVID cases in SE FL long before anyone was aware of it, as early as December.

I played my last round in FL in March, before there was much of a concern, but certainly after it was well entrenched, now that we know more.  

I was in close contact with many people that day.  The Pro Shop was crowded when I checked in, the dining room was open and had maybe 40 or 50 people, sitting in groups, eating and drinking and talking to each other like folks do at country clubs.

The practice tee, the chipping green and the putting clock all were packed.  The self-service ice and water dispenser was still in operation, with others at it when I was.  Litter had not been cleaned up and no disinfecting or cleaning was being done by anyone, anywhere.

It was just business as usual at a club that typically has 300+ players a day.

Then I was paired with three strangers.

Now that I remember, this is when the Diamond Princess was looking for a place to dock.  so . . . I joked about it when I introduced myself to my group.  "Anyone been on a cruise lately?  Anyone been to China?  Anyone been to Fort Myers?"

Coulda been not so funny.

So, since SE Florida is such a hot spot, and is now re-erupting, like Palm Beach County this past week, and there was a COVID outbreak reported at at least one Trump club, surmising that it might have been floating around country clubs back then does not seem out of line.

Partygoer at Trump National Golf Club dies of coronavirus – Daily Breeze

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The couple suspected of being the source of the contagion says it was not them.

 

Edited May 16, 2020 by Cartboy

[jmanbooyaa]

I am not sure I am following your point? 

[iacas]

5 hours ago, Cartboy said:

Yes, really.

You don't seem to have understood what I was asking you if you think "yes, really" is an answer. My use of the word really is to say "what are you trying to say?" Because you're not making much sense.

And then you go on to talk about the past… which is pretty irrelevant, given that we can't change it. We can only change what's happening now. Are country clubs being super "social" NOW? If not, you've not really got a point.

[Cartboy]

My point was simple, and accurately stated.

I was wondering if country clubs may have contributed to the spread of the virus during the period before the lockdowns and closings, Mid-March, m/l, before there was general awareness, a period which has now been confirmed to have been community-spread.

So, I was talking about December through Mid-March, and I related my experience at the end of that timeframe, when no precautions were being taken.

To be really specific, Pence visited Sarasota on February 27 for a fund-raiser on Longboat Key.  We got caught in the traffic lockdown on US 41 around the Sarasota airport, and it took us about two hours to find a way out of Sarasota.

On that day there were no confirmed cases in Sarasota, but we now know it was there, and spreading, but had not been diagnosed as COVID yet.  The first confirmed case in Sarasota was Friday the 13th (March).  So, I was golfing at a busy, busy course, with no precautions being taken, after there were confirmed cases in the area.

Although my speculation was not about the spread of the virus at golf courses since the lockdown/closings, there have been stories of continued socializing at some of the "Country Club" type courses in our neck o' the swamp, mostly couples congregating in groups in their golf carts.

But, cutting to the chase, we are now in a period of extremely widespread spread, and more than 80,000 deaths, so any contact with anyone anywhere can be problematic.

But, since we're going to cut everyone loose again, que sera sera.

Florida golfers caught ignoring social distancing rules at golf course

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Last Friday, at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, golfers strolled down the fairways as they would on a normal golf outing.

 

Edited May 17, 2020 by Cartboy
trying to improve my formatting

[Cartboy]

The good news is that golfing now is no more dangerous than going to WalMart or Home Depot.

The bad news is that golfing now is no more dangerous than going to WalMart or Home Depot.

😷

[phillyk]

@Cartboy if a golf course or club had been a hot spot for spread, it would be investigated and we would know. Where I live, had that choir practice where something like 80% of the people got the virus from one person. 

We have to remember that in December to March, it wasn’t that widespread, really. A CC back then was probably ok. As cases increase and community transmission is obvious, then it makes sense to close. In the beginning, obviously, everyone were not taking proper precautions with the virus around. I guess my point is any single business could have contributed, not just a CC.

Edited May 17, 2020 by phillyk

[pganapathy]

Am back in my coffee estate, working from home during this quarantine.  Finally, my home course will be opening from next week, albeit with strict conditions.  Caddies may only carry/pull your bag.  They may not touch your clubs/ball.  Hit the flag and stop within a foot is considered holed.  Ball within a foot but not touch the flag is given.  Only one two or three ball and book a tee time the day before.  Other than course nothing else open.  Get to the course shortly before your tee time, play your round and leave.

Oh well, at least I will be allowed to play.  Better than being stuck without golf.

[phillyk]

1 hour ago, Cartboy said:

But, cutting to the chase, we are now in a period of extremely widespread spread, and more than 80,000 deaths, so any contact with anyone anywhere can be problematic.

But, since we're going to cut everyone loose again, que sera sera.

Florida golfers caught ignoring social distancing rules at golf course

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Last Friday, at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, golfers strolled down the fairways as they would on a normal golf outing.

I think one of the questions has been, is the point of social distancing to try and stop the spread or slow it down knowing that anyone who is going to get it will get it, until a vaccine becomes widely available.

It is possible to interact with people while being “safe”

Edited May 17, 2020 by phillyk

[iacas]

3 hours ago, Cartboy said:

My point was simple, and accurately stated.

Your post said:

On 5/16/2020 at 10:35 AM, Cartboy said:

Since country clubs are very social, it's surprising there hasn't been more spread through them.  Perhaps some of those early ones in SE Florida that are now being recognized as COVID were.

This isn't "surprising" to most, because:

• When people were using "country clubs" the normal way, it was mostly pre-COVID-19. The U.S. didn't have very many cases.
• When people have used "country clubs" post-COVID-19, they've mostly been outside, with indoors being closed or very limited.

The Risks - Know Them - Avoid Them

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Please read this link to learn about the author and background to these posts. It seems many people are breathing some relief, and I’m not sure why. An epidemic curve has a relatively predictable upslope and once the...

3 hours ago, Cartboy said:

I was wondering if country clubs may have contributed to the spread of the virus during the period before the lockdowns and closings, Mid-March, m/l, before there was general awareness, a period which has now been confirmed to have been community-spread.

So, I was talking about December through Mid-March, and I related my experience at the end of that timeframe, when no precautions were being taken.

Again, there weren't many U.S. cases then, and since "country clubs" are a tiny fraction of where people spend their time… I don't think country clubs contributed much at all.

3 hours ago, Cartboy said:

So, I was golfing at a busy, busy course, with no precautions being taken, after there were confirmed cases in the area.

And, again, a lot of people were doing a lot more other things: sitting in offices, dining in restaurants, attending sporting events (through early March), etc. The % of people who visited country clubs AND spend a few hours indoors with someone else who was infected was incredibly small. Likely negligible.

3 hours ago, Cartboy said:

Although my speculation was not about the spread of the virus at golf courses since the lockdown/closings, there have been stories of continued socializing at some of the "Country Club" type courses in our neck o' the swamp, mostly couples congregating in groups in their golf carts.

Which is likely pretty darn safe, given the volume of air outside.