BY AAGD STAFF
April 13, 2020 — So many things have changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and when it comes to playing golf the rules seem to depend on where you live. In Atlanta, Georgia, all of the public golf courses are closed, seen as nonessential activity by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. As of now, 32 states currently allow golf courses to open during the COVID-19 pandemic, while roughly a third of states have decided that golf is non-essential. Most governors did not specify which recreational services were considered essential, leaving it open to interpretation. States were often compelled to go back and spell out whether golf courses are essential during the pandemic. But, if you’re in Atlanta, and you know where to go, you can still get in 18 holes.
For instance, one of Atlanta’s premier golf destinations, Buckhead’s Bobby Jones Golf Course, has remained open, announcing their COVID-19 Awareness to patrons on both their telephone call-in line and on their website. As of April 6, the course posted this on their website: Bobby Jones Golf Course is taking extreme measures to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. As always, the health and safety of our associates and guests is our highest priority. The recent Shelter In Place executive order for the state of Georgia states that essential services include “engaging in outdoor exercise activities so long as a minimum distance of six (6) feet is maintained during such activities between all persons who are not occupants of the same household or residence.” Under this description, golf is defined as an essential activity and as such, we remain open with thorough precautionary measures in place.”
Dan Copeland
The website statement from Bukhead’s Bobby Jones Golf Course accompanied a long list of stipulations.
While many of Atlanta’s businesses have shuttered in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, area golfers who enjoy playing the public courses are becoming a bit perturbed about the situation and seek solutions for getting their municipal playing grounds open again.
Consider avid golfer Dan Copelan. The management consultant who buys and sells screenplays is a 7-10 handicap golfer and, has been playing golf for decades in Atlanta. At 60-years-0ld, the Morris Brown graduate penned a short, very polite letter to Mayor Bottoms outlining his solution for reopening municipal courses:
Dan Copeland
In many cases, golfers are sneeking onto courses to get their fix. In New York players have been seen cutting through chain fences, carrying their golf clubs onto closed courses to play free rounds, which would normally cost $90 a round, according to NewYorkPost.com. During this critical time of a global COVID-19 pandemic, governments across the world are taking extreme measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Across the country, golfers are getting antsy and tired of being holed up in their houses. Most see golf as a safe sport that can be played during the COVID-19 outbreak. In Atlanta, will one such letter, like Copeland’s, make the difference for thousands who live there and wish to still play municipal golf courses? Only time will tell.
