Entering a weekend that some consider to be the unofficial start of summer, area golf courses are just happy to be open again.
“We’re open,” said Jason Harris of Orr Lake Golf Club. “We got the go-ahead and we’re ready to go. Hopefully, we’ll be busy. Based on how often the phone’s been ringing, we’re hopeful.”
Midland Golf and Country Club also opens today, but for members only while Brooklea Golf and Country Club just down the highway is also open and tells players to call for tee times, noting on its Facebook page: “New rules, but still the same great golf!”
Harris, meanwhile, said clubs have also had to adopt and adapt to a new set of rules that has nothing to do with balls landing out-of-bounds, water hazards or sand traps.
Harris said everybody seems to understand that it won’t be quite business as usual as a number of new rules now apply that centre around safety and social distancing while not just playing, but also paying for green fees.
“They won’t be allowed in the clubhouse unless it’s to use the washroom,” he said, adding there’s also a plexiglass shield separating staff from golfers checking in and tape marked outside to separate people to ensure no one gets too close.
“We’re asking everybody to pre-book. We don’t want any lineups and want maximum one group checking in at a time.”
Carts and keys are also being disinfected between rounds with carts limited to one person unless players live in the same household.
“And the pin stays in the cup,” Harris said, noting the cup has been turned upside down to allow golfers to take out the ball with just a putter since the hole is now only about a half-inch deep.
Harris said Ontario courses are fortunate in one way, however, since they’ve been able to learn what worked and what didn’t from courses in Alberta and British Columbia that opened earlier.
Balm Beach Golf Club located not too far away is also open with special instructions on what golfers should expect to ensure they make the most of their day.
“Golfers must arrive no earlier than 20 mintues before their tee time and must leave the golf course immediately following their round,” the club’s Facebook page noted. "There will be an increased presence of starters and marshals on the course and we will be enforcing physicial distancing at all times."
Coldwater’s Bonaire Golf Club is also open for the season.
“We are organized and ready to open Saturday,” noted owner Randy Fielder, adding the facility will have “many regulations in place related to social distancing and sanitation.”
He said each golfer will have to ride in their own golf cart, but stressed: “Golf is easy to keep the clients and staff safe as it is a large open area.”
-with a file from Dave Dawson
