(March 22, 2020) — As of 8:00 PM on Sunday, March 22, all New York City golf courses must close, said an important notice sent to subscribers of GolfNYC.com on Saturday. The dismal news hit like a tidal wave, as the closures will impact the one dozen 18-hole public courses where nearly 600,000 rounds are played annually throughout its five boroughs. Over the last four weeks, while the number of positive coronavirus (COVID-19) cases has been increasing and devastating residents throughout the country, some golf courses have resisted shutting down and remained open, albeit with some stipulating prepaid, walking rounds only and where prepayment must be done through a reservation system.
Members at the prestigious Pinehurst Resort and Country Club have also received a disturbing email: It told them that outside of immediate family only one golfer would be permitted per cart. Golfers were also told to break some of golf’s most sacred traditions by practicing social distancing, discontinue shaking hands and use a head nod, club tap or hand gesture instead. It recommended golfers wash hand whenever possible, use sanitizer regularly during their rounds, and afterward, and play with the flagstick in, so as not to touch it. Golfers were also asked to rake the bunkers with their feet since, as all rakes were being removed from the course.
Augusta Municipal Golf Course General Manager Ira Miller (photo WJBF)
With the Masters postponed Augusta’s Municipal Golf Course (The Patch) is counting its losses. The Muni gains a surge of rounds during Masters Week and it is the site of this publication’s Augusta GolfFEST, which has also now been postponed. “We’re probably losing anywhere between 15 and 20 thousand dollars for that one week with the guests coming in from out of town,” said Golf Course General Manager Ira Miller.
As golf courses around the country desperately try to rescue their declining businesses amidst COVID-19, the adherence to recommendations advised by the CDC is overwhelming them.
Renee Powell, Head Golf Pro, Clearview Golf Course, East Canton, OH
Renee Powell, head golf pro and owner of the Historic Clearview Golf Course in East Canton, Ohio has not yet opened their course for the golf season. Her brother, Larry, still serves as the course’s superintendent. “We are not open yet, and do not do so until April. It will be just before mid-April before we see the immediate impact of what this horrible virus has on our business,” she told this publication today. “When we finally do open it will be to follow all the same precautions as all other courses in the country.” Clearview is the first and only golf course in the U.S. designed, built and owned by an African American. Late patriarch William Powell hand-created the course, which was established in 1948.
Kevin Purcell, the executive director New Jersey Golf Association, is headquartered at one of the area public courses that’s closed, Galloping Hill in Kenilworth, N.J. He told the NYPost.com that closing the courses is “the prudent thing to do,’’ but said he’s delighted that a lot of other courses are open.
On last Friday morning, Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point, a public course in the Bronx, invited guests on Twitter to play a round: “Looking to get some #freshair? The golf course is a great place to relieve stress and exercise social distancing #openingday.” Similarly, the president’s golf club in Hudson Valley, N.Y., was closed for the winter season but opened its course to members last Wednesday as a sort of cure for cabin fever, according to an email reviewed by The New York Times. “Governor Cuomo (D-NY) has recommended that we use public spaces and parks for exercise and relaxation,” the club said in the email to members. “With this in mind, we are opening the golf course to give you an opportunity to get out of the house and enjoy the great outdoors!”
The Los Angeles Times reported that although daily routines were altered throughout much of Los Angeles on Friday, golfers were still driving, putting and chipping at the city’s public courses — a sign of normalcy at a time upended in dizzying ways by the pandemic. But, who’s sure how much longer this will last before the courses are also shut down. All last week, golfers showed up in their golf shoes and hats, getting in a round before work — or during working hours because their work has slowed down dramatically or because there is no work.
Signs at the counter at the Rancho Park Golf Course alert players to precautions taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. (Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times)
In the last three weeks, major golf tournaments have made similarly disappointing announcements. The Players Championship was canceled after just one day of play, while the Masters, held annually in Augusta, Georgia has been postponed, as has the PGA Championship. The Advocates Pro Golf Association Tour (APGT), which brings greater diversity to the game of golf by developing African Americans and other minorities for careers in golf, is examining how COVID-19 will impact its remaining 2020 season. In a Friday email to APGA Tour Members, APGA Tour CEO Ken Bentley wrote, “The first priority of the APGA Tour board is the health and well being of our players and staff. All decisions we have made and will make in the future will be with this in mind.” His message continued, “We have decided to cancel APGA Tour Scottsdale April 27-28 and APGA Tour Louisiana May 18-19. We are hopeful we can start the season in June with a revised schedule.” For millions of ticket-holding fans, their search for tournament refund policies is taking an even deeper toll.
Safety for all golfers during this epidemic is important, as we work together to protect each other.
