Virginia Golfer May / Jun 2020 | Page 18

Playing Through BOTH IN VIRGINIA AND AROUND THE WORLD, GOLF FINDS WAYS TO COPE DURING THE COVID-19 EPIDEMIC by CHRIS LANG On A WARM, SUNNY FRIDAY AFTERNOON in late March, Independence Golf Club director of golf Elliott Wilson sat on the steps outside the club’s pro shop, checking players in. In all, he said, there were more than 120 players on the tee sheet that day. Business as normal on an 85-degree spring day, it seemed. “How busy has the golf course been?” Independence president Giff Breed said. “Really, it’s like nothing has even happened.” If only that were true. The novel coronavirus has changed just about every aspect of daily life in Virginia. On March 30, Virginia governor Ralph Northam signed an executive order directing all Virginians to stay at home as much as possible—save for a few exceptions— through June 10. Among those exceptions: The ability to go outside for exercise as long as citizens could follow social distancing guidelines put forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Golf, at its heart, is a solitary game. No one but the player needs to touch his or her equipment. Sure, there are team competitions and four-ball tournaments featuring partners. But the ability to get outside, away from others, and walk nine holes in the late afternoon, has always been cherished by golf purists. Not all courses in Virginia remained open during the COVID-19 crisis. Some voluntarily chose to close. Others closed due to mandates of local government, such as the Fairfax County Parks Authority’s courses and municipal, city-run courses in Harrisonburg and Charlottesville. Leadership at courses that have remained open leaned on advice from state and federal government officials in making their decisions to continue to allow play. “We chose to stay open to provide a safe environment for members, golfers and guests to come and enjoy clean, fresh air while getting exercise and enjoying the game of golf,” said Adam Engley, general manager of Bowling Green Country Club in Front Royal. “I felt it was important to help provide a safe outlet for people to get out of their houses and get away from all of the news and negativity.” Golf has always been an escape, and that’s true even more during challenging times. And golf allows a mix of exercise and social distancing unmatched in many sports. During an 18-hole round, a player can cover nearly eight miles, exercise that can become considerably more strenuous when carrying your clubs on your back. Staying six feet away from others is easy on a wide-open course. Clubs across the state have had those social-distancing guidelines in mind when setting their own standards for play. For those that remained open, some of the protocols in place to eliminate common touchpoints included: 16 V IRGINIA G OLFER | M AY/J UNE 2020 vsga.org