While officials opted to close golf courses in states on Iowa’s borders during the COVID-19 pandemic, Iowa opted to keep its courses open.
So, naturally, out-of-staters came flocking in.
Three of Iowa’s six border states — Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin — had implemented or are currently enforcing no-golf policies under stay-at-home mandates. With many of Iowa’s 400-plus golf facilities located near state lines, countless golfers have hopped borders for a day of normalcy on the greens.
“It’s been a marked increase (in out-of-state golfers), so the golf is actually up as compared to a year ago,” said Rustic Ridge Golf Course owner and manager Kevin Wohlford, whose Eldridge property resides about 18 miles from the Illinois border. “I get golfers from Wisconsin. I’ve got golfers from as far away as Chicago.
“They’re loving it.”
The joy and gratitude permeating Iowa’s links at least provides one sliver of good during a time of uncertainty.
Rustic Ridge Golf Course in Eldridge (pictured here) sits about 18 miles from the Illinois border. It’s one of Iowa’s many courses that’s seen an uptick in out-of-state golfers during the coronavirus pandemic.
Rustic Ridge Golf Course in Eldridge (pictured here) sits about 18 miles from the Illinois border. It’s one of Iowa’s many courses that’s seen an uptick in out-of-state golfers during the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo: Courtesy of Rustic Ridge Golf Course)
Essentially, all courses have closed everything outside of the fairways and greens — that’s pro shops, restaurants, bars and other moneymakers — resulting in financial hardships across the board. Staffs have been reduced. Leagues are in jeopardy. Pair those with the numerous course restrictions installed to follow social distancing recommendations, and there’s little that resembles a typical golf outing.
But none of that seems to matter to golfers.
“Tons of positive response,” said Rice Lake Golf & Country Club manager Travis Laudner, whose Lake Mills course sits roughly 15 minutes from the Minnesota state line. “Frustration on their end that they couldn’t play at their normal facilities, but (our out-of-state golfers were) very excited to be able to get out, come down and still get a little bit of activity outside.
“… Fortunately, for us, we had a vendor booth at the Minnesota golf expo at the Minneapolis Convention Center downtown back in late January. This was our first time up there, and we were just trying to cast a wider net to see if we could get some early-season and late-season revenue from that area. And then you parlay that with the restrictions going into place, and we were in front of a lot of those residents a couple weeks to a month prior to everything getting shut down.”
The bulk of Laudner’s out-of-state traffic, as well as Iowa’s other northern courses, came in the immediate days and weeks after March 16, when Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz halted play with a stay-at-home order. A follow-up executive order issued on April 17 allowed for several outdoor activities, including the opening of Minnesota’s public and private golf courses.
Wisconsin isn’t far behind. Gov. Tony Evers recently extended the state’s safer-at-home order until at least May 26, but he included some flexibly for a handful of businesses — including golf courses — to re-open with restrictions. Wisconsin golf was allowed to reopen on April 24.
Illinois, meanwhile, is looking at a re-opening strategy but hasn’t locked anything in yet. With the state’s stay-at-home order extended until the end of May, Gov. J.B. Pritzker is allowing golf courses to open on May 1.
The chatter for such a move is growing. Seeing places like Iowa open amid modifications will amplify the noise.
“We feel like it’s been really good,” said Chad Pitts, executive director of the Iowa Golf Association. “It’s hard because we’ve only been in this for a month, so it’s not like you can take some big survey and have a bunch of data to back up (the positive elements of Iowa keeping golf courses open). You just go by conversations that you’ve had with people — golf course operators and things like that. Some of those places around the border have definitely seen a lot of people come in from out of state.”
Even with no blanket ruling to do so, a handful of Iowa’s courses have put out-of-state restrictions in motion.
Out east, courses owned by the city of Davenport and Scott County are respecting Illinois’ stay-at-home order and limiting golf to only Iowa residents. The same goes for many courses located in northeast Iowa’s RMCC Region Six, which recently reached a 10 on a 12-point scale that Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Public Health are using to weigh mitigation efforts. That prompted Reynolds to issue an activity limit there, including keeping visits to only immediate family members.
Among those with stipulations is Dubuque’s Meadows Golf Club — owned by the city of Asbury and run by general manager and head golf professional Jeremy Hawkins. As an extra precaution, the course has been open solely to Dubuque County residents since April 1. That stretch covers the entire time Meadows has been open this spring, aside from two days.
Those final 48 hours of March, though? Hawkins was engulfed with out-of-staters looking to squeeze in one more round.
“We had probably half of our available tee times for those couple of days we were open taken from out-of-staters,” Hawkins said. “We had Chicago, Milwaukee, a ton of play from Madison. We had play from Rockford (Illinois). They were coming from all over. For them to make the effort — in some cases, you’re looking at a three-hour drive or more — they were just happy to be able to get out and go somewhere. We were basically selling out.”
The trend will likely slow as neighboring states loosen limitations in the coming days. While Iowa’s lack of an official stay-at-home order has drawn criticism, that decision has inadvertently provided other states with a blueprint on how to run golf courses in a COVID-19 world.
“The feedback from everyone has been super positive,” Wohlford said. “I’m hearing about people getting back in the game who haven’t golfed for years.”
Dargan Southard covers Iowa and UNI athletics, recruiting and preps for the Des Moines Register, HawkCentral.com and the Iowa City Press-Citizen —all part of the USA Today Network. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.