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Golfers were among those encouraged by last week’s government announcement of the ‘Roadmap for Reopening’.
But when the doors finally open on May 18 after closing on March 24, you may find that the available departure times are very high, possibly on par with Royal Portrush tickets last July. The only sensible advice is to book early or risk getting lost.
If the experience in Denmark has anything to do with it, demand will be very high after almost two months in which Irish golfers have received their solution from the advice of Pádraig Harrington on Twitter and countless tournament replays on subscription television .
David Shepherd is CEO of The Scandinavian, one of the best facilities in Denmark located about 25 km from the center of Copenhagen and which has two courses (think Carton House or K Club).
Shepherd’s advice to countries like Ireland is to expect high demand. He said, “Imagine that each of your members wants to play in the first three days of opening and, if you have that in mind, you can put in the correct restrictions and rules to make sure you handle that.
“We immediately had a lot of members who couldn’t get a tee time and just yelled!”
“The first day we announced the reopening and opened the timesheet, we received this surge of panic bookings. We allowed members to book as they normally would with a 28-day booking window, but what we found after one day was that the next seven or even ten days were already completely full.
“So right away we had a lot of members who couldn’t hang out and just yelled! We were pressured to change our normal rules for this unusual situation.”
Echoing the general approach to slowly reducing restrictions in Ireland, Shepherd says: “It is much easier to soften it later than to back off if you make a little mistake. It starts very, very safe. It starts very limited and then relax as your members get used to and you you will feel comfortable. “
John McCormack is general manager of Castle Golf Club in Dublin and president of the Irish Association of Golf and Club Managers (IGCMA), which has received weekly Zoom calls with up to 50 participants.
The learning from the Danes, in addition to the experiences in Sweden and New Zealand, have helped shape the protocols that will come into force in Ireland, where the governing bodies of the sport are also emphasizing a conservative approach.
“You’re going to be in restricted groups and with longer gaps between tee times, so there are fewer slots available and you have to set up your timesheets so everyone has a fair shot at getting a game,” says McCormack.
“The logic behind that is that we are trying to avoid meeting in parking lots, in or around the clubhouse, in or around the first tee box or even the tee boxes on the golf course.”
So what will golf be like from a player’s point of view on May 18?
The good news is that you may find your course in better condition than expected. After some alarm during the last weekend in March that the courses would be neglected, the Government confirmed that the maintenance of the course could continue.
And with no golfers on the trail, greenkeepers were able to work unhindered and many clubs posted pristine fairway photos on social media.
Some things will be different. Initially, departure times must be reserved in advance. In addition, time sheets should be kept for six weeks in case contact monitoring is required. Memberships in some clubs are hard to come by, but Covid-19 can go everywhere.
The Irish Golf Union and the Irish Ladies Golf Union now have plans parallel to the easing of government restrictions at three week intervals and initially the maximum number of players in a group will be three and at 14 minute intervals . This should restrict the Total Number of Players in the Course at any time to 60, which is approximately 55% of normal capacity.
Almost all locker rooms and clubhouses will be closed, so you should arrive no more than 15 minutes before your departure time, dressed to play and change your shoes in the parking lot. A visit to the bathroom will be the only access to the clubhouse.
If you are used to doing a few practice putts before heading to the first tee, you will be surprised to discover that there are no holes on the green. There are no shared surfaces, remember? It will be a case of sticking a shirt on the ground and putting it towards that.
Clubs are encouraged to have hand sanitizers and social distance signs on the way to the first tee, but when you get there, don’t expect to sit on a bench. Nor find a ball washer. Almost all the furniture of the course will be removed.
Remember that it is an informal golf game to start with, no competition, so if you lose a ball, don’t walk again from the original position. Just drop another.
If you land in a bunker, it is probably not as well maintained as usual as there will be no rakes. Don’t do a Patrick Reed. Straighten the bunker when you go out with your club or shoe.
There may be variations on what to do on the green, but you are not supposed to touch the flag or the flagpole. World number 55 Adam Hadwin is so scared by the idea of putting on the flag that he would consider postponing his return to the PGA Tour if that’s mandatory.
For club golfers, it’s all about “getting over it.” Some courses will have the hole liner reversed so that the ball does not fall below the surface of the putting green, while several companies have come up with clever ideas for allowing the ball to be retrieved with your putter and not your hand. Here is a solution:
With many courses having both the first and tenth tee near the clubhouse, starting from both and limiting players to just nine holes is an option that will allow more people to come out, but wherever you finish your round, remember Do not shake hands or kiss the air!
Unlike club nights of tents, such as the ‘Captain’s Award’, there will be no drinks at the bar. You will be encouraged to vacate the premises quickly. The Irish Open is postponed, there may be no club competition on this island in 2020, but for the thousands of golfers who have missed the game, that pint or cuppa after the round can wait. A rinsed disk, a crispy iron, or a decent putt will work well.
The complete protocol for the reintroduction of golf in the Republic of Ireland can be found here. An additional communication specifically related to Northern Ireland will be issued after the UK government / NI Executive confirms the deals.
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