If only it was under different circumstances, but golf has flourished in this year of the pandemic as a game that allows for physical distancing in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
What now, though? The season is over in most of the country, but that doesn’t have to be the case if you follow the lead of GolfNorth, a company that is offering winter golf at its golf courses this year.
Golfers won’t be driving off traditional tees. Instead, they’ll start each hole behind a nearby stake. Golf carts will be replaced by pull carts and traditional greens won’t be used in efforts to maintain the course for the warmer months.
In this year like no other, GolfNorth is breaking the boundaries of tradition and maintaining the momentum the game enjoyed this past summer.
Many golfers won’t be travelling south this year due to COVID concerns and while it will be far removed from playing under the palm trees, winter golf will provide an outlet for some stuck at home due to the pandemic.
For younger people and families recently introduced to the game, winter golf will provide a winter trip to the golf course to chase an orange or yellow ball.
The course will need to be well marked to indicate where players can or can’t go and warning signs will need to be used around water in case somebody contemplates venturing out on potentially unsafe ice to retrieve a wayward ball.
It would be a good idea to check with your insurance company to check for any significant risks involved and what can be done to avoid them, but it would offer the opportunity to keep people coming to the golf course in traditional down time, offer safe physically distanced fun and maintain the momentum established in the summer.
It may also benefit your food and beverage department if indoor dining is allowed or will be allowed later this winter. If not, an outdoor concession with hot chocolate, coffee, hamburgers, hot dogs and other fare might be an alternative.
It doesn’t need to be winter golf. Cross country skiing, skating, bonfires and other outdoor pastimes that allow for social distancing, even holiday charitable initiatives can let a golf course continue what it started in the summer.
