Golfers need to abide by re-opening rules or we will all pay the price
THE eyes of the Irish sporting public will be on us and there’s an important message for all golfers when we return to the fairways on Monday next, which is ‘Obey the rules, or risk being shut down again’; it’s as simple as that.
There are those out there who think that we as golfers are a very privileged bunch and they would take great joy in seeing us mess up and have our courses locked up again as we head into the summer months.
Our sport has been chosen as a type of experiment on the road to recovery from Coronavirus, and we are all chomping at the bit to get back out there for the first time since the closure of our courses on March 24. Next Monday cannot come soon enough, but rules have to be obeyed.
Since May 1 when Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced that we could go back to playing on May 18, there has been an ongoing debate because of the 5km distancing rule that is in place and it has everyone arguing the toss about it.
Let us be clear: the Government made the rule about the 5km, not the GUI, ILGU, or Golf Ireland, all of whom are advising their members to adhere strictly to the measures that are in place.
I do not agree with it as
I think they didn’t think it through properly, but that’s easy for me to say that because my home is less than 1km from the golf course and I’m free to play, but at the end of the day, like it or lump it, it simply has to be obeyed.
Personally, I think that golf’s governing bodies were wrong in the first place to recommend closing golf courses as I could see no harm in playing golf in a wide open space whilst maintaining social distancing with your playing partner or partners, but lockdown came three or four days after, so right or wrong, that put paid to any argument about it.
I read online this week where one irate individual, a member of a Dublin club, claimed on a well-known Irish golfing forum, that although he lived nine kilometres from his home course, he had his subscription paid for the year and that nobody was going to stop him from playing.
He went as far as threatening legal action against the club if he wasn’t allowed to play, and this is the kind of attitude that will see courses closed again, but hopefully people like that are few and far between.
From Monday next, those living within 5km of their home courses are permitted to play casual golf, and this will be extended to 20km three weeks later, on June 8, in phase two of the road to recovery.
There are a few simple rules that we must obey, like booking tee times in advance for traceability, playing in a maximum of three, at fourteen-minute intervals and maintaining social distancing, so it’s not a lot to ask.
The same rules apply in phase two on June 8, while in phase three on June 29, fourballs will be allowed.
The onus is the clubs and us as golfers to ensure that our sport is conducted in a safe and responsible manner, and full adherence to the restrictions is essential or we’ll be spending the summer gardening or painting!