Petersburg’s courses allow only four people in the pro shop at any time. Some have erected plexiglass shields to protect clerks. Many pro shops have put tape on the floor to remind people of social distancing. The pandemic’s impact is not restricted to the courses themselves. Traditional post-round handshakes are obviously out. Swing stations on driving ranges have been moved farther apart. There have even been stories of courses sticking styrofoam coffee cups in holes - if you hit the cup, it counts as a make.
All have the effect of creating a hole that’s less than an inch deep. Some courses have turned the holes’ plastic bottoms upside down, some have inserted sections of styrofoam pool noodles, some put PVC donuts in the bottom. The idea is to prevent players from reaching in for balls and instead knock them out with their putter. “Pretty much every touch point we can think of,” Place says. Carts, driving range baskets and other tools are routinely and meticulously sanitized. Ball washers have been covered or decommissioned. Other measures: Flag sticks must remain in place. Petersburg’s public courses always allow walking, says Jeff Hollis, golf courses director for the city.
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To mitigate the effect, Place’s facilities have instituted time windows during which players can walk the courses, usually during late afternoons. That can cause courses to run low on buggies, which can slow start times and play overall. Most impactful: one person to a cart, with exceptions made for family members who live together.
The virus crisis has prompted a whole new set of safety rules that are largely uniform across all golf facilities. “You’d be shamed and shunned and beaten to death with sand wedges.” “No one wants to be the one who causes the club to close down,” Libby says. During the COVID-19 epidemic, players must stay at least six feet apart at all times. Rarely during play are people in close proximity, except when they wait to hit off the tee or putt. Golf is arguably the original social-distancing sport, says Bill Place, president of Ace Golf, which owns four semi-private golf properties in the greater Bay area, including Pebble Creek in Tampa. We’re with a bunch of good guys having fun. “How bad can it be? We don’t have the virus. “It’s at the point where, if I’m having a sucky day or hit a bad shot, I don’t care nearly as much,” he says. He’s grateful for the rounds he plays three times a week at Seminole Lake Country Club, where he joins a close-knit group of participants that range in number from 20 to 35. At age 67, he’s been very good at it for a long time, with a handicap that ranges between 5 and 9. James Libby, of Seminole, took it up long ago. Kinda makes you want to take up golf - even if you’re atrocious at it. Imagine being out in the open air on beautiful expanses of green for four, five hours at a time, playing a game you love, with other people, and keeping score. While basketball, softball, flag football, soccer, volleyball, tennis and pickleball players are all sidelined - or should be - golfers are still in the swing of things, with most courses open.
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