Resort industry urges planning and patience for golf trips this season
It ’ s been a difficult year on many levels with the novel coronavirus and the disease it causes — Covid-19 — striking the United States this spring and changing just about every aspect of our lives .
Jobs , businesses , schools , recreation , travel , religious services , sporting events and even spending time with loved ones has been challenged as the pandemic continues on a global scale .
Recreationally , most golf courses closed in March and April of 2020 and operation of golf facilities has continued to differ from state to state using local , state and course-specific restrictions . With less than 50 percent of the nation ’ s courses open by late spring , your own golf game likely also took a hit this year .
But slowly , golf has come back . Most courses have reopened , albeit with new guidelines and restrictions . In late October , the
National Golf Foundation reported a 26 percent increase in rounds played when compared to the same time in 2019 . NGF estimates that 2020 rounds in the final three months of this year will surpass 2019 ’ s rounds by 15 percent .
And now that courses have reopened on a widescale basis , you have the itch to play , but exactly how do you make plans for a golf excursion during the pandemic ? And what has changed from what you and your golf buddies normally expect during your winter golf trips ?
“ We ’ re going way beyond what is necessary or needed and I think it ’ s a good thing that we do that because we ’ re making sure we let our members and guests know that our No . 1 goal is their safety ,” said Joe Burbee , director of golf at Bay Creek Resort in Cape Charles .