[jwplayer hTRJDb4x-9JtFt04J]
#StayAtHome is trending.
Many celebrities, government officials and medical professionals are encouraging social distancing to hopefully slow the spread of coronavirus.
But social distancing is not an easy task.
Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas played a round Thursday along with Fowler’s wife, Allison, according to videos Fowler posted on his Instagram story.
It’s encouraging Fowler and Thomas found some semblance of normal life as COVID-19 rages across the globe. However, their social media posts raised the question of whether they ignored the responsibility of social distancing — the only known weapon to battle COVID-19.
The pandemic is responsible for more than 16,500 confirmed cases and 215 deaths in the United States as of Friday. It has claimed more than 11,200 lives worldwide.
The videos Fowler posted certainly put a smile on the faces of deprived sports fans and gave the pros time in the sun. However, neither golfer mentioned if any precautions were taken on the course.
Fowler and Thomas weren’t the only pros to play this week. The Cactus Tour is holding an event in Arizona in which a handful of LPGA pros are competing. Tour organizer Mike Brown said he is committed to keeping no more than 10 people together at a time.
Is golf exempt from the dangers?
Central Florida women’s golf coach Emily Marron addressed the concern saying social distancing and staying inside during this unprecedented time are more than civic duties — they’re moral obligations. For everyone.
“How does that exempt us if we’re being asked by the CDC and our government for everybody to just take a break, stay home and only essential business should be going on?” said Marron, who’s been at UCF for eight years. “I just don’t know how that exempts us as a golf community and I can kind of sense people’s frustration with where do you draw the line with that.
“I think it’s our civil responsibility and more importantly your moral obligation to do your part in this. It’s not about me and you … It’s a dangerous enemy. We don’t even know we have it.”
The European, LPGA and PGA Tours quickly adjusted their schedules to address coronavirus concerns. While every canceled event brings unexpected financial strain to many, it’s a sacrifice being made for the health and future.
LPGA commissioner Mike Whan summed it up best when the tour postponed three events including the ANA Inspiration.
“Can I live with (not canceling) if I’m wrong?” Whan said. “If I’m wrong, I regret that the rest of my life.”
The LPGA has canceled eight events due to COVID-19.
Marron echoed the sentiment that this is a time of sacrifice for everyone, including those in the golf community.
‘We all want to play’
“It stinks. We all want to play,” Marron said. “We all want to go to the gym we all want to do these things. It’s not like anyone’s like, ‘I don’t want to play golf.’ It’s a leisure sport. It’s recreation and I just think we have to do our part and maybe play some Wii golf and Tiger Woods golf or something for at least for a couple weeks and then we come out on the other end and we’ll all appreciate it a lot more when were able to have that freedom to go play as much as we want.”
Last week, Augusta National postposed the Masters Tournament, which Marron called “the benchmark of golf”, and even shut down the club “until further notice” to combat the spread of COVID-19. The risk posed to fans in attendance, golfers, members and club staff was too great.
While medical professionals encourage time spent exercising as long as proper distancing is applied, Marron said even playing a solo round is risky right now because players are never truly alone.
The New England Journal of Medicine reported COVID-19 can live in the air for three hours and on surfaces like plastic and stainless steel for two to three days.
“I think it can maybe look safe to go out and play golf I guess if you’re completely by yourself, but if you’re going to a club or someone’s working there and they’re having the restrooms open, they’re having facilities open, obviously somebody has to clean that. So it just goes down the chain of it’s not just you,” Marron said.
Marron’s recreational pastimes like golf and going to the gym aren’t the only disruption COVID-19 has brought to her life. Her coaching responsibilities have also taken a hit and she has few answers for her players, recruits and their parents.
She hasn’t heard any new NCAA updates since hearing athletes in spring sports will get an extra year of eligibility.
The UCF men’s and women’s teams have no seniors on their rosters this season so the question of another year of eligibility isn’t of paramount concern. Marron’s current concern is for her players and their safety, especially for her international players who all returned home safely this week.
“We want them to be with their families and be safe but I think there was that uncertainty about, ‘When can I come back,’ and ‘Will I be able to get back,’” Marron said. “We just didn’t have those answers for them and I know that was a little bit unsettling…
“We’re just kind of all in the same boat at this point.”
It’s a time of concern and sacrifice for all.
If it saves lives, what will it hurt to miss a few rounds?
“I just think that it’s just a couple weeks,” Marron said. “Why don’t we just do our part and see if it works?”
[opinary poll=”would-coronavirus-fears-prevent-you-from-wx4Cdk” customer=”golfweek”]
[lawrence-related id=778032387,778032329]