Golf

Case study: Palm Springs officials dedicated to keeping golf clubs open as coronavirus surges


As coronavirus cases were rising across California in April, state and Riverside County officials were worried.

With a lockdown in place and officials shutting down many businesses to slow the spread, Palm Springs’ expansive golf industry was not immune. Golf courses were ordered to close for a three-month period that later turned out to be just three weeks.

Eight months after that brief closure of public and private courses, the story is repeating itself. New COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are climbing again, and restrictions and even a statewide curfew are being put into place by Riverside County and Gov. Gavin Newsom.

But this time, golf officials believe their game is in a strong position to remain open as a healthy and safe outdoor activity.

“It is as important today or more so with the current spike that we pay attention to the protocols from the golfing associations and the (Centers for Disease Control),” said Tom Addis, executive director of the PGA of Southern California.

When the shutdown of golf courses hit April 2, many snowbird golfers in the Coachella Valley had already left the desert, some as scheduled and some a bit early because of concerns over COVID-19 and rumored travel restrictions.

As the coronavirus again rises in November, desert golf courses are busier than they were in April, with snowbirds returning to their second homes in the Coachella Valley. But the protocols remain the same now as they were in April, and adhering to those protocols is what will keep golf courses open, officials say.

“We will stick with what is proven, which is golf as it is being played now,” said Craig Kessler, director of governmental affairs for the Southern California Golf Association. “We made a case and we have proven it.”

That case is that golf should be treated like other outdoor activities such as hiking and bicycling, something that wasn’t true in April. As golf courses were ordered closed, people were allowed to hike and bicycle and go for walks. Golf’s ruling bodies argued that their game was not only healthy, but that the game naturally socially distances players throughout an 18-hole round.

While some wonder if golf might get caught up in the latest surge in COVID-19 cases and restrictions, county officials say they aren’t looking at a golf shutdown.

“I’ve got to tell you, in the conversations I have had internally and externally, those kind of issues have not been in the forefront,” said Jose Arballo, senior public information specialist for Riverside University Health System. “We have talked more about indoor-outdoor dining, gyms.”

Not closing, but still restrictions

Arballo said that while there have been no talks about restricting golf, pickleball or other activities that were shut down in the spring by Riverside County, he can’t say for sure the state might not make some decisions on those activities.

When golf was allowed to reopen three weeks after courses were closed, the PGA of America, the United States Golf Association, the National Golf Courses Owners Association and other organizations issued strict protocols for how golf needed to be played during the pandemic. Called “Park and Play: Making Your Course Social Distance Ready,” the program pushed for social distancing and making sure contact at golf courses was limited for objects like flagsticks and bunker rakes. Addis stresses those protocols are still in effect.

“As we see this second wave coming, members are much more educated,” said Josh Tanner, general manager and CEO of the 36-hole Ironwood Country Club in Palm Desert, one of dozens of private facilities in the desert reopening in November after fall overseeding and with the return of snowbirds and part-time residents.

The social aspect of the game was a major issue when the courses were shut down, Arballo admits.

“Our biggest concerns with things like golf and other big events has been the associated activities,” Arballo said. “The restaurants, the bars, the 19th hole, if you will. If you are sitting there with 20 or 30 golfers after a round, that was a big concern.”

Arballo says in the golf rounds he has played in the last six months, he has noticed small things courses are doing to prevent the COVID-19 spread, from not taking cash and requiring online payments to pro shops asking people to put masks on if they enter the facility without a mask.

“That shows me that people in golf are paying attention,” Arballo said.

Changes in behavior

Tanner says his facility has been busy with its reopening this month, putting about 180 rounds through the South Course while the North Course was still closed for the overseeding. But with both courses now open, protocols are still evident, with the clubs deciding to err on the side of caution.

“You can see it in the members,” Tanner said. “We have seen an increase in golf, obviously, and outdoor activities. But the people are picking and choosing who they want to socialize with, the number of people they have in a gathering. We still have outdoor dining.”

With the PGA of Southern California covering golf courses from central California to the Mexican border, Addis he has seen very little backsliding by course operators since the pandemic began.

“One of the reasons that we were approved and are an approved activity is because of the ease we have in distancing,” Addis said. “Right away, we eliminated the touch points. The key protocols are face coverings, distancing, not touching things that other people have touched for fear of exposure. That would be things like flagsticks, bunker rakes, things like that.”

Still, there are some who wonder if golf is doing enough to satisfy state and county restrictions. Among the concerns are golfers who do not wear face coverings during a round or golfers who share the same golf cart, sitting next to each other.

Addis said the face coverings are a byproduct of the distancing, where three foursomes might be on a hole 400 yards long and perhaps 30 or 40 yards wide. The key, Addis said, is wearing a mask in and around clubhouses as well as on the first tee where other golfers might gather.

As for carts, two golfers from the same household are allowed to ride together with no restrictions under county and golf association guidelines. A single rider in a cart is one of the protocols, but many courses simply don’t have that many carts in their barns. Plastic dividers that limit contact between players in the same cart are available at many courses, but not all. Tanner said his course spent thousands of dollars in the summer to purchase dividers for Ironwood’s carts.

“Honestly, I thought the single rider in a cart was silly at first,” said Patricia Hall from Mission Viejo, in the desert to play golf with some friends. “But now I’m not sure I would feel comfortable without some of these protections. We’ve been playing with the masks and the device in the cup for so long now. We’ll get back to normal someday.”

Staying the course on the course

For now, it seems like golf and other outdoor activities such as tennis and pickleball won’t follow the path of movie theaters and indoor restaurant dining and be shut down by the COVID-19 surge.

“If golf was probably the first thing to shut down last time, it will be the last thing to close this time,” Kessler said.

But Addis said golfers must stay conscientious to protect themselves, course employees and the game itself.

“If we want to stay on the course, we need to exhibit what we do best, and that is following those protocols,” Addis said.

Larry Bohannan is The Desert Sun golf writer. He can be reached at (760) 778-4633 or larry.bohannan@desertsun.com. Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter at Sun.@Larry_Bohannan. Support local journalism: Subscribe to the Desert Sun.



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