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