Ireland, England Close Golf Clubs Again…

[Nail 63]

No golf again for 6 weeks while we are in a lockdown, it was announced today that golf courses would have to close again after 48 hours of discussions between the golfing union of Ireland and the government.

The golfing union of Ireland have let us down badly, it is easy to prove how golf is one of the safest activities out there and is the only outlet for so many people. 
 

I don’t know what I’m gonna suck at for the next 6 weeks 😂😂, in all seriousness though, devastated with the news today. 

[JPJeffery 1]

FFS.

No sign of the same here in England.

[Double Mocha Man 788]

1 hour ago, Nail said:

 

I don’t know what I’m gonna suck at for the next 6 weeks 😂😂, in all seriousness though, devastated with the news today. 

Find a soccer field (they play soccer in Ireland, yes?😃) and hit full pitching wedges.  That's what I did during our lockdown in April.  When I was craving hitting the driver I went to a recently closed driving range, snuck on, and hit old balls.  Good thing 'cause the grass had grown to almost 7-8" and I lost almost every ball.

Edited October 21, 2020 by Double Mocha Man

[bkuehn1952 853]

18 hours ago, JPJeffery said:

FFS.

No sign of the same here in England.

Welcome to TST, JPJ.  😉

[ghalfaire 94]

I don't suppose to know the correct answer to this pandemic.  But, like most, have an opinion. My opinion is that closing golf courses is not going to do much to minimize the spread of Covid-19. Especially if the proper measures are taken by the course management to avoid the contact with the virus.  Almost all of the courses here have pool noodles in the holes, no ball washers, no rakes for the traps, allow one person motorized golf carts (trollies?), and masks required to enter the clubhouse/proshops.  

I have also observed a change, not mandated by Government, in golfers' behavior.  No handshakes, no high fives, and no picking up your fellow foursome's golf balls or clubs for them.  I only point this out because I think this observation says that given the opportunity to play most golfers will play, but behave to be as safe as possible.

Finally there is no way to be 100% safe in life.  Today, the probability of dying of this virus is small, even for an old guy like me. The consequences of being locked down with no outlets for stress is pretty well documented.  These consequences ought to be balanced against the probability of contracting the virus for a given activity.  But that isn't the Doctors' job, but it is the job of Government to make these trade offs.  But many don't and take the path that seem the "safe way", when in fact it well may not be the safest way for the individuals.  

[mcanadiens 553]

I do get a bad feeling that we're going to see a lot more of this fairly soon in the U.S. The numbers they've been announcing in the last few weeks don't sound good. Maybe the politicians are trying to get to the election without upsetting would-be voters more than they have to.

A long frosty winter spent indoors 99% of the time sounds like a terrible idea to me as far as the virus is concerned.

Then again, us in the northern parts of America don't get much golf in the winter anyway, so I do feel badly for @Nail.   

 

[Double Mocha Man 788]

It is likely that a certain percentage of golfers are infected with the virus. So it is a good thing that they are, at least for a few hours per day, removed from the general population inhabiting restaurants, coffee shops, public places. Lucky for us our governor is a golfer and his father-in-law is a golf pro.  Thus he has two people in his ear giving him perspective.

[DaveP043 2,437]

22 hours ago, Nail said:

No golf again for 6 weeks while we are in a lockdown, it was announced today that golf courses would have to close again after 48 hours of discussions between the golfing union of Ireland and the government.

The golfing union of Ireland have let us down badly, it is easy to prove how golf is one of the safest activities out there and is the only outlet for so many people. 
 

I don’t know what I’m gonna suck at for the next 6 weeks 😂😂, in all seriousness though, devastated with the news today. 

You have my sympathy, I feel bad for anyone who isn't able to play golf for an extended period.  I'm not sure you should blame the Golfing Union, however, it may be that they simply weren't able to overcome the political pressures to close everything.  To allow golf clubs to remain in operation could appear to be favoritism, even though golf is about as safe an activity as there is.

[FlyingAce 171]

Golf is a safe activity until irresponsible golfers get in the equation.

My current club caters to visitors, mostly from out of state. The parking lot is full of out of state plates every day. There is supposed to be a 14-day quarantine/travel restrictions but I doubt any of them are following the order.  My club is not enforcing it either.

From what I have seen in the last few months, many people came as a group in the same car. No masks. They shared carts and sat next to each other at the bar/patio to hangout. They pulled out the flag and they spit. Eventhough masks are required in the proshop, I have witnessed many who didn’t wear one because they were just going in “for a second”.

At my old club, masks and social distancing does not exist. People do whatever they want because they say it is a private club. Large groups congregate at the tee boxes and they hangout on the patio afterwards. Many times I couldn’t even walk thru the patio because there were so many people (and I didn’t want to either). There has been multiple positive cases at my old club, I am surprised there aren’t more sick people there yet.

My husband works at a hospital and he treats covid patients. So far, they have zero cases in the department staff because everyone takes covid seriously. Unlike the idiots who think just because they are outdoor playing golf, they don’t have to follow safety protocols. We cannot have nice things because of a few bad apples.

[Double Mocha Man 788]

I have a friend I play with on occasion, we call him Larry the Cable Guy, because of his attire and looks.  Fun guy, great golfer.  Shoots in high 60's and low 70's.  But I've never seen him wear a mask.  He's jovial, so when we walk down the fairway, Larry telling a story, he gravitates toward me, easily breaking the 6 foot barrier.  By the time we reach our shots, because I try to maintain a 6 foot buffer, we end up on one side of the fairway, depending on which side of me he walks.

21 minutes ago, FlyingAce said:

Golf is a safe activity until irresponsible golfers get in the equation.

My current club caters to visitors, mostly from out of state. The parking lot is full of out of state plates every day. There is supposed to be a 14-day quarantine/travel restrictions but I doubt any of them are following the order.  My club is not enforcing it either.

From what I have seen in the last few months, many people came as a group in the same car. No masks. They shared carts and sat next to each other at the bar/patio to hangout. They pulled out the flag and they spit. Eventhough masks are required in the proshop, I have witnessed many who didn’t wear one because they were just going in “for a second”.

At my old club, masks and social distancing does not exist. People do whatever they want because they say it is a private club. Large groups congregate at the tee boxes and they hangout on the patio afterwards. Many times I couldn’t even walk thru the patio because there were so many people (and I didn’t want to either). There has been multiple positive cases at my old club, I am surprised there aren’t more sick people there yet.

My husband works at a hospital and he treats covid patients. So far, they have zero cases in the department staff because everyone takes covid seriously. Unlike the idiots who think just because they are outdoor playing golf, they don’t have to follow safety protocols. We cannot have nice things because of a few bad apples.

I totally understand Covid Fatigue.  But we need to stay vigilant, even though it is not fun and does not come naturally.  Your dying body will not understand Covid Fatigue.  But then it's too late to say, "Oh I should have just...".

[FlyingAce 171]

13 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

I have a friend I play with on occasion, we call him Larry the Cable Guy, because of his attire and looks.  Fun guy, great golfer.  Shoots in high 60's and low 70's.  But I've never seen him wear a mask.  He's jovial, so when we walk down the fairway, Larry telling a story, he gravitates toward me, easily breaking the 6 foot barrier.  By the time we reach our shots, because I try to maintain a 6 foot buffer, we end up on one side of the fairway, depending on which side of me he walks.

I totally understand Covid Fatigue.  But we need to stay vigilant, even though it is not fun and does not come naturally.  Your dying body will not understand Covid Fatigue.  But then it's too late to say, "Oh I should have just...".

Come to think of it, there are a few members at my new club who never wear a mask either. I generally keep my distance if possible. And I also try to limit talking even with a mask on...I wish more people can be vigilant about it. Times are weird now but this shall pass. My goal is to delay contracting covid until there is a vaccine/treatment/cure. 

[JPJeffery 1]

7 hours ago, bkuehn1952 said:

Welcome to TST, JPJ.  😉

Well you just get everywhere, dontcha!

 

7 hours ago, bkuehn1952 said:

Welcome to TST, JPJ.  😉

By the way, I joined before you, so...

Welcome to TST, BK!

[JPJeffery 1]

2 hours ago, FlyingAce said:

Golf is a safe activity until irresponsible golfers get in the equation.

My current club caters to visitors, mostly from out of state. The parking lot is full of out of state plates every day. There is supposed to be a 14-day quarantine/travel restrictions but I doubt any of them are following the order.  My club is not enforcing it either.

From what I have seen in the last few months, many people came as a group in the same car. No masks. They shared carts and sat next to each other at the bar/patio to hangout. They pulled out the flag and they spit. Eventhough masks are required in the proshop, I have witnessed many who didn’t wear one because they were just going in “for a second”.

At my old club, masks and social distancing does not exist. People do whatever they want because they say it is a private club. Large groups congregate at the tee boxes and they hangout on the patio afterwards. Many times I couldn’t even walk thru the patio because there were so many people (and I didn’t want to either). There has been multiple positive cases at my old club, I am surprised there aren’t more sick people there yet.

My husband works at a hospital and he treats covid patients. So far, they have zero cases in the department staff because everyone takes covid seriously. Unlike the idiots who think just because they are outdoor playing golf, they don’t have to follow safety protocols. We cannot have nice things because of a few bad apples.

I'm the Competitions Secretary at our club. We told the members that in competitions that require a scorecard they won't get cards prepared by the committee, nor should they prepare their own, instead the card they prep is for the player they are marking. At the end of the round they check the scores with their player, then input the score online on their behalf, then keep the card on the player's behalf - just in case we (the committee) need to see an photo of that card - so that no cards are swapped.

All pretty simple, right?

And yet, at our tee closure competitions, I still see members swapping cards at the end. I've even had a couple walk up to hand their card (or card) to me to input the scores for them, like we used to pre-Covid.

I just don't get it!

[Double Mocha Man 788]

12 minutes ago, JPJeffery said:

And yet, at our tee closure competitions, I still see members swapping cards at the end. I've even had a couple walk up to hand their card (or card) to me to input the scores for them, like we used to pre-Covid.

I just don't get it!

They're just not listening. Like kids.  Hold a mini walk-thru seminar for each foursome as they are preparing to tee off.  Show... don't tell.  Put peanut butter or jelly on your hands and show them how it comes off on the card.  Shake their hands wishing them good luck as they tee off.  (Last line, J/K)

[StuM 117]

3 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

I totally understand Covid Fatigue.  But we need to stay vigilant, even though it is not fun and does not come naturally.  Your dying body will not understand Covid Fatigue.  But then it's too late to say, "Oh I should have just...".

Yes, "COVID Fatigue" is an issue but I also feel the problem is when they go overboard with restrictions then people revolt at even the reasonable restrictions.  It is a little like a child, a few reasonable rules and the child is fine but but an over abundance of rules then some kids may rebel.  

In Michigan, they initially closed the courses but some private courses "Rebelled" at the start of the lock-down and said the members can walk the grounds and if they want to carry a golf bag with them it was their choice so then you had un-supervised groups with no precautions.  Then they opened  the courses but said "Walking Only" which impacted some players who could safely ride as a single, so then people claimed to be "Handicapped" to be allowed a cart.  Unreasonable/excessive rules provoke breaking the rules.

Yes, we are all tired of this mess and I fully agree we need to be vigilant, but we also need to be reasonable and closing a course is not reasonable to me.

[Double Mocha Man 788]

1 hour ago, StuM said:

Yes, "COVID Fatigue" is an issue but I also feel the problem is when they go overboard with restrictions then people revolt at even the reasonable restrictions.  It is a little like a child, a few reasonable rules and the child is fine but but an over abundance of rules then some kids may rebel.  

In Michigan, they initially closed the courses but some private courses "Rebelled" at the start of the lock-down and said the members can walk the grounds and if they want to carry a golf bag with them it was their choice so then you had un-supervised groups with no precautions.  Then they opened  the courses but said "Walking Only" which impacted some players who could safely ride as a single, so then people claimed to be "Handicapped" to be allowed a cart.  Unreasonable/excessive rules provoke breaking the rules.

Yes, we are all tired of this mess and I fully agree we need to be vigilant, but we also need to be reasonable and closing a course is not reasonable to me.

With some exceptions, courses should remain open.  Golfers need to respect the rules.  But I guess it looks like some kind of favoritism when everything else is in lockdown and the golf courses are open, so it's difficult to pull off.

In terms of restrictions in general, they need to fit the threat... and that threat is somewhat different for different populations and for those who are immune system compromised.

 

[boogielicious 2,891]

17 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

I totally understand Covid Fatigue.  But we need to stay vigilant, even though it is not fun and does not come naturally.  Your dying body will not understand Covid Fatigue.  But then it's too late to say, "Oh I should have just...".

Well stated. 

[DaveP043 2,437]

12 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

In terms of restrictions in general, they need to fit the threat... and that threat is somewhat different for different populations and for those who are immune system compromised.

The difficulty of this is that we ALL need to take certain precautions to protect the vulnerable population, outside of complete isolation they can't protect themselves.  Young healthy people may be only minimally affected if they get the disease, but they can (unknowingly) infect their more vulnerable friends and family.  So its important for everyone to take at least basic measures.

This doesn't say that golf courses should be shut down, I agree that golf is about as safe an activity as there is, allowing personal interaction and exercise while being easy to maintain reasonably safe distancing.