Twosomes the trend for golf under the new COVID rules

Alberta isn't out of the woods yet when it comes to COVID-19'S squeeze on sports and recreation.

But fortunately, we're not entirely out of irons, either.

The good news is golf courses can remain open and operational, albeit under enhanced policies and procedures brought about the province's ongoing struggle against rising COVID -19 numbers.

As for the bad news, well, it just got more difficult to book a tee time over the next three weeks.

From Monday to May 30, courses looking to continue operating under the new public health measures announced last week have been scrambling to impose protocols, starting today, to satisfy the concerns government and health officials have about all outdoor recreational activities.

Needless to say, it's not the way golf enthusiasts were hoping to swing into spring after having already spent an entire season in a COVID -19 rough patch.

“I might call this more significant than last year, because last year you could golf in foursomes with whoever you wanted,” said The Ranch Golf and Country Club general manager and co-owner Murray Mccourt, host of The Golf Show on TSN 1260.

While the specifics can vary from course to course in the way staff and their guests go about complying, one big trend that has emerged is seeing the usual foursomes cut in half.

“If you weren't part of a single cohort or in the same household, you had to take your own power cart,” Mccourt said of last year's regulations, which weren't as stringent. “But now, most golf courses are switching to allowing twosomes-only right now, including us.”

So, while four people from the same household or cohort would technically be allowed to golf together in one group under the guidelines, they will be split into two groups. The concern, Mccourt says, lies in having the monitoring of it all fall to the staff.

“As an example, a husband, wife and two kids want to go golfing together, but at the majority of golf courses, they wouldn't be able to play together, which seems backwards because that's perfectly allowed,” he said. “The issue is, if golf courses allow foursomes, what we all know from what we saw on patios and restaurants, that almost nobody would be following the rules.

“Yes, this family would be following the rules, but the majority of groups would not be, so that's one reason why most golf courses are going with twosomes only.”

The other part is, a golf course full of twosomes would invariably be slowed down by one group of four, legitimate or not.

“That's the same thing as having an eight-some on the golf course when you normally have foursomes,” Mccourt said. “It would take so much longer for them to play that it would negatively affect the experience of everybody else on the golf course.

“It's a no-win situation.”

Not every course in the province necessarily sees it that way.

“Some golf courses are doing different things and accepting singles, where you can go play by yourself, or twosomes,” Mccourt said, pointing out that twosomes still have to be in the same household or single cohort. “Every golf course has to decide what makes best sense for their business and their clientele under the rules and follow them as best as possible.”

Still, as a whole, golf has survived much better than many other recreational endeavours over the past year. And besides, what's playing a round without having to avoid some hazards along the way?

“Golf became kind of the thing to do last year. Most golf courses, I would say, had a pretty solid year last year.”