While organizers of major golf tournaments have been forced to cancel or reschedule events in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, some municipal courses across the country are re-opening their tee boxes to public play.
And other officials are contemplating similar decisions as recreation options are at a minimum.
According to the National Golf Foundation, which tracks data on courses and rounds played around the U.S., 74 percent of in-season courses remain open during the pandemic, based on a survey of 1,006 facilities on March 25-27 (the survey has a margin of error of 3 percent).
But of those that did stop play, some have since reversed that decision.
For example, in a 6-1 vote on Monday, the city commissioners of Lakeland, Florida, voted to reopen several parks and recreational facilities, according to the Lakeland Ledger. That included Cleveland Heights Golf Course, which opened Thursday after being closed for a week due to COVID-19.
Lakeland playgrounds, basketball courts and bathrooms will remain closed.
Meanwhile, in Topeka, Kansas, courses had originally closed, but now golfers will be able to tee it up at the course of their choosing by the end of the week, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal.
Topeka Country Club and four GreatLife Golf and Fitness Courses resumed play on Monday, and on Thursday the three county-run courses reopened for play. The Shawnee County Parks and Recreation Department made the announcement Tuesday that its courses — Lake Shawnee Golf Course, Cypress Ridge Golf Course and Forbes Golf Course — opened back up to play on Thursday under a list of restrictions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“Prior to the closure, our golf courses had been monitoring and employing best practices to properly sanitize golf carts and equipment and taking other measures to protect golfers,” Shawnee Parks and Rec Director Tim Laurent said in a news release. “As our courses reopen, our golf course staff will continue to employ best practices to offer golfers a safe way to get out and enjoy the outdoors, which is important to everyone during the stay at home order.”
Golf professionals from all the county’s public and private courses met late last week to come up with guidelines to allow courses to reopen for play following their closure after Kansas Governor Laura Kelly issued a stay-at-home mandate last week. The group took its lead from areas such as New York and Kansas City, which allowed their courses to remain open despite similar stay-in-place orders.
On Monday, Kelly amended her stay-at-home mandate, making exceptions for golf courses — a decision that superseded the local order to close the county’s courses made late last week.
The guidelines will reduce the contact golfers have with each other and course employees.
Similarly, the Ohio Department of Health rescinded its earlier order to close area golf courses because they weren’t deemed essential.
Courses like Sleepy Hollow Country Club, Sable Creek Golf Course and Tannenhauf Golf Club are among the area facilities near Canton, Ohio, given the green light to resume business operations following an order issued by the state late last week.
“We were notified last Thursday we had to close down and then informed Monday we can reopen for business with certain restrictions,” Sleepy Hollow general manager Mike Siefke said.
Meanwhile, golfers in some areas where courses have been deemed non-essential are pushing to get a reprieve.
More than 6,400 people have signed a petition in just a few days urging New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu to reopen that state’s golf courses despite the pandemic, according to Foster’s Daily Democrat.
The petition was started by 21-year-old North Hampton resident Peter Luff and his brother Will.
Peter Luff on Tuesday said he “wasn’t expecting so many people to sign the petition” when he started it Saturday. “But golfers are really passionate about the sport,” he said.
The petition, “Let New Hampshire Golf,” can be viewed at change.org/let-nh-golf. It acknowledges Sununu’s stay-at-home order makes sense, but adds “it does not make sense that public parks will remain open but golf courses will be closed.”
“Golf by the nature of the game and with limited modifications can comply completely with the intent of the Stay at Home designation,” the petition states. “In these difficult times, people need to get outside and enjoy the fresh air in order to maintain their health (physical and mental) while still following the rules in place.”
During his press conference Monday, the New Hampshire governor said golfers have reached out, but he’s yet to make a decision on the matter.
“We’ve had a lot people that want to golf and we can appreciate that and I guess that’s something we can look at down the road,” Sununu said. “One of the benefits of an organization like that is that it’s still only April. We’re in the shoulder season for a lot of businesses that weren’t expecting a whole lot of business anyway. I think the fear is where are we going to be in May or come Memorial Day and June and July.”
On social media, the decision to re-open the course in Lakeland, Florida, drew mixed reactions, with many expressing frustration about the timing of the decision as the number of Floridian and Polk County cases of COVID-19 continues to grow. Florida state health officials announced the county’s first death from the novel coronavirus on Tuesday as Polk’s confirmed cases climbed to 77.
“I’m disappointed in the decision to reopen the parks, because we need to focus on serious social distancing right now,” said Cindy Walsh Sternlicht via Facebook. “We’re still on the front end of the curve, and the evidence shows that stay at home directives help flatten it. Our City and County leaders need to take a stand, in the absence of State leadership.”
Contributing: Correspondent Joel Helm of the Lakeland Ledger and staffers Brent Maycock of the Topeka Capital-Journal, Golfweek’s Jason Lusk, Mike Keating of the Alliance (Ohio) Review, and Jeff McMenemy of Seacoastonline.com.
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