Golf Australia have advised that common sense has prevailed and the Health department are now allowing us to open the course. There are strict guidelines and staff will be advised of these.
- Definitely 1 person per cart.
- No congregating in groups of more than 10.
- You must maintain a 1.5m social distancing guideline.
Staff are now setting up the course and the golf shop will be open. There will be notices about these rules and any future changes around the club. Please take a moment to read them EACH time you visit the club to ensure you have the latest information.
We’ll post more information about competitions shortly.
For the time being the following changes will take place with golf:
Golf’s ruling body, the R&A, have announced a number of temporary modifications to the Rules of Golf in response to the growing Covid-19 pandemic. The golf committee at our club has discussed these over the weekend and will implement the following immediately to address the safety of everyone at our club.
All these changes are aimed at reducing contact points which have the potential to lead to infection. Your cooperation is sought with the least amount of whinging possible as we all know that it is a disruption.
- SCORE CARDS – All players are to mark their OWN score cards during the round. Also record the markers score on the card for verification. At the end of the round players alone will sign their own card then proceed to the pro shop where the cards will either be scanned or verbally communicated to a staff member. It is still the responsibility of the player to check that the scores entered are correct. N.B. the staff member will not physically handle the card. The card will be discarded by the player once scores have been uploaded.
- FLAGSTICKS – All flagsticks are being removed from greens, again, to reduce contact points. The greenkeepers will cut the holes for all i8 holes either at the front, in the middle or at the rear of the greens. Staff will advise players where the holes are placed when they collect their cards.
- BUNKERS – All rakes will be removed and players will be allowed to take preferred lies in bunkers. It would be great if players could attempt to smooth the bunkers with their shoes before exiting the bunker.
A week ago these changes would seem like an effrontery to the game of golf but these are new and difficult times for many and these changes may well save some of our ‘at risk’ players and staff from a particularly nasty virus.
Unfortunately, failure to commit to these changes may see our operations closed for a time to guarantee safety.
What happened to the STAY HOME message being screamed at us from every device? I realise that it will be the personal choice of those who decide to turn up to play, but I, as an ex nurse, strongly believe that the Club should close, removing that choice from the idiots who refuse to self-isolate. And yes, I include my husband in this description if he decides to ignore my pleas to stay home.
CLOSE THE CLUB AND DO YOUR PART TO KEEP THIS KILLER FROM SPREADING WITHIN THE GOLFING COMMUNITY.
Hi Liz, The health department and golfing bodies have all agreed that social distancing guidelines are easy to apply on the golf course, and that options for exercising are also going to be important . They have given golf clubs the go ahead to open, so long as some additional rules and guidelines are met. We are enforcing those to the letter, especially with regards separating people and not allowing people to congregate before or after their game. Needless to say, if things change we will follow the advice immediately.