Virginia Golfer May / Jun 2020 | Page 20

Sanitation, safety and social distancing are top of mind for Virginia golf courses as they navigate the fallout of COVID-19. of the COVID-19 recovery timeline will continue to wreak havoc on event planning in the coming months. Teaching has also been adversely affected, as person-to-person coaching has been all but eliminated during the crisis. Professionals are finding ways to creatively keep clients and members engaged, however. On Easter weekend, Bay Creek Resort head professional Zach Pfingst conducted a free instructional clinic which was livestreamed on his Instagram page. To adhere to guidelines, the clinic was limited to 10 in-person attendees with proper social distancing, and all equipment was sanitized before, during and after the clinic. Bay Creek is still trying to conduct member tournaments, though with some modifications. Tee times will be spaced out in lieu of shotgun starts to avoid groups of larger than 10, and players will be instructed to stay six feet apart. Additionally, instead of signing cards at a scoring table and participating in an awards ceremony, competitors will email or call in tournament scores and receive a results email after the completion of play. “We have a very engaged membership who loves to play golf and stay active,” Bay Creek director of golf Joe Burbee said. “During this challenging time, we’re constantly looking for creative solutions that allow our members and guests to enjoy golf and other activities within a safe environment.” A RESCHEDULED WORLD The evening of March 11, the moment Utah Jazz forward Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus, proved to be a tipping point for professional sports across the country. By the next day, nearly every major sport had shut down. Professional golf tried to soldier on, but on the Friday of The Players Championship, the PGA Tour quickly pulled the plug and sent everyone home. The Masters, PGA Championship and U.S. Open were postponed. The Open Championship, scheduled for July in England, was canceled. The USGA bagged its two Amateur Four-Ball Championships (the women’s scheduled for late April, the men’s for late May). The men’s and women’s U.S. Senior Opens were called off as well. There simply was no path to holding qualifying with much of the nation closed to gatherings, thus no chance to host a fair championship. On April 27, the USGA canceled the U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Girls’ Junior, both of which were scheduled for July. Professional golf in Virginia was not exempt. The annual LPGA Pure Silk Championship at Williamsburg’s Kingsmill Resort—scheduled for May 21-24—was canceled but will return in 2021. The Dominion Energy Charity Classic, an annual PGA Tour Champions playoff event held at Richmond’s Country Club of Virginia, is still on for October for now. But as with everything, that is subject to change. A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, held annually in West Virginia, has been canceled and not be a part of the PGA Tour schedule going forward. On April 6, the world’s governing bodies released a revamped schedule, and the PGA Tour followed suit 10 days later with plans for a tentative no-fan restart on June 11 at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Texas. The PGA Championship, slated to be held at San Francisco’s TPC Harding Park, moved to early August. The U.S. Open, at Winged Foot in New York, will move to mid-September and be limited to 144 players rather than the usual 156, thanks to the dwindling daylight of the late summer. The Ryder Cup in Wisconsin will take place on schedule a week later. The Masters moved to Nov. 9-15, long after the last azalea has bloomed in Augusta. Even in that announcement, though, The Masters noted that “it intended” to contest its event that week. Everything is written in pencil in an ever-evolving world. The one certainty? In Virginia, at least, you can still get out and play, a comforting thought in an uncertain time for everyone. CHRIS LANG 18 V IRGINIA G OLFER | M AY/J UNE 2020 vsga.org