COVID-19 and golf

[big mac]

Ford says golf courses can get ready to open, but won't be open on Monday...

I was under the impression that the courses were already getting ready to open ? Maybe the courses have been given the regulations but not the general public ?

[mathc38]

Courses have been preparing for a bit now so this announcement is nothing new for golf. The way I see it now is that courses will open mid may - may long weekend. My best guess unless things spike between now and then.

hey, at least we know that when we all get back onto the course, they will look prestine! They need another 1-2 weeks of heat anyway to really grow in and look green!

[White Light]

What Ford is saying is that golf courses can continue the preparation work. Nothing new. He is not saying anything. Typical politician.

[ayoubi]

IF you know Doug Ford, you should know what he meant was:

YOU are next, for the golf courses



so keep your fingers crossed folks...

[Gofish2]

IF you know Doug Ford, you should know what he meant was:

YOU are next, for the golf courses



so keep your fingers crossed folks...

Not superstitious but lets cross the toes as well !

[big mac]

Hmmmm---if the numbers keep going the way they are I would not get too excited. I had a conversation with a good friend in Florida when this thing hit in late January--his comment on the whole thing at the time was " I am pretty sure this is a lot bigger than they are letting on. " I will remember that statement for the rest of my life. At my age I am not to worried --lived a good life. I really wonder what the younger generations will have to look forward to ???? This is a *&%&*&$ of a situation---people are busting their asses to fix it but the main concern now is "when do we get our freedom back ?" The government will only be able to hold back the masses for so long...………….and personally I think they are doing their best. Unless we come up with miracle cure really quick there will be a lot of hurting in the near future. I may be painting a picture of doom and gloom, but stop and think about it. Have you noticed how your emails have dropped in quantity and facebook posts have dropped ? After seven weeks we are all getting tired of hearing the same thing---day after day after day. The pressure is mounting---when it takes 3 hours to go and buy groceries---2 hours to pick up paint etc etc. something will give. The weird thing about this is that we are fighting something we can't even see---god help us. Just had to vent a little.....yes it's getting to me in case you are wondering.

[ayoubi]

If that is the new reality, then we must live thru it, since we can't change it;


Aside from political correctness, feelings and training people on how to live under the circumstances(social distancing, sensitization etc.), having your neighborhood golf course opened is not adding to the risk (at least mathematically)

If your neighborhood grocery store is allowed to be opened (being essential service or not- the virus doesn't care) then the risk added by an opened golf course in the same neighborhood is negligible;
Actually the added risk can be deemed to be zero, considering the fact that the main contributor to virus transmission is human, and that same human can't be in both places (grocery store/golf course)at the same time.
In fact, it is much more likely that every visitor to a golf course, also counted as a visitor to a grocery store; but very very few visitors to a grocery store are counted as visitors to a golf course.
So the [set] of risk made up by visiting a golf course is only a [ [subset] set] of the much much larger [set] of risk composed by visiting a grocery store, a subset yield zero increase to it's parent set.


If I'm not mistaken, my point was actually echoed by one of the host doctor's on one of the national news broadcaster, when asked his opinion on opening golf coursed in Alberta (today)


Let's hope some measures to ease-up people frustration be realized the next few days, or weeks;

[Jeany1]

It is opening May 15

[Gofish2]

Stats , functions ? Who let DeChambeau in ?

[boylebj]

Golf will be okay as long as physical distancing and cart disinfecting is done. Pull cart players are safest as they generally are not close together except for drives and putting. Just be conscious of your distance during these times and things should be fine. No handshakes at end of round...maybe a flip of the cap. No hi-fives after a great shot. Cart sharing might a thing of the past except for couples. A few more little inconveniences to enjoy a day of frustrating golf.

[leftylucas]

ORONTO ― The Ontario government has announced it is allowing certain businesses and workplaces to reopen as long as they comply with strict public health measures and operate safely during the COVID-19 outbreak.


As part of the announcement which took place this afternoon, Ontario golf courses were granted the ability to prepare their courses for the upcoming season, but not open to the public. The resolution takes effect Monday, May 4 at 12:01 a.m. EDT.

Prior to the announcement, golf facilities could complete essential work that allowed them to preserve their courses, such as mowing and brush clearing. As pointed out in this article by TSN’s Bob Weeks, additional work such as bunker preparation, gardening, stump removal, hiring of seasonal staff and more, will now be permitted.

There is no specific timeline set for Ontario courses to open their doors for play.

[Gobble_It]

ORONTO ― The Ontario government has announced it is allowing certain businesses and workplaces to reopen as long as they comply with strict public health measures and operate safely during the COVID-19 outbreak.


As part of the announcement which took place this afternoon, Ontario golf courses were granted the ability to prepare their courses for the upcoming season, but not open to the public. The resolution takes effect Monday, May 4 at 12:01 a.m. EDT.

Prior to the announcement, golf facilities could complete essential work that allowed them to preserve their courses, such as mowing and brush clearing. As pointed out in this article by TSN’s Bob Weeks, additional work such as bunker preparation, gardening, stump removal, hiring of seasonal staff and more, will now be permitted.

There is no specific timeline set for Ontario courses to open their doors for play.

I don't see the opening of the golf courses until they also announce the reopening of public parks and fields. It would mean at least another 2-3 weeks.

[golfmajic]

Just Released!
Published Wednesday, May 6, 2020 8:43AM EDT
TORONTO -- The Ontario government has extended all emergency orders in the province until May 19.

[Sakuraba]

Just Released!
Published Wednesday, May 6, 2020 8:43AM EDT
TORONTO -- The Ontario government has extended all emergency orders in the province until May 19.

Nooooo! the bridge to Ontario where I am is supposed to open up May 11, I was really hoping that Ontario courses would re-open by the long weekend.

[jvincent]

I don't see any announcements on the government website / news feed.

[mikelaurin]

no skins games, tournaments, scrambles golf wont be the same

[jvincent]

Nevermind, the extension was buried at the bottom of the notice for electricity rate relief.

[Gobble_It]

Just Released!
Published Wednesday, May 6, 2020 8:43AM EDT
TORONTO -- The Ontario government has extended all emergency orders in the province until May 19.

Yup, not too surprised

[cpal]

There are new studies indicating very, very few transmissions (like within a rounding error) occur in outdoor environments (unless standing like 1ft away from an infected person for a prolonged period). Evidence also seems to suggest heat harms the virus and its ability to persist/spread on surfaces or in the air.

At this point, there's basically no logical reason to keep people indoors. Being in a public park or beach or golf course is a MUCH safer than going to buy groceries (assuming social distancing is maintained).

It's frustrating getting very little information from the government and watching them make decisions like it's still early April. Hoping for good news soon ... for golf and the economy in general!

[spackler]

Whether or not Ontario extends it's emergency powers has nothing to do with when golf courses will open. They must be extended/renewed every two weeks.

[pwoods72]

It's frustrating getting very little information from the government and watching them make decisions like it's still early April. Hoping for good news soon ... for golf and the economy in general!

I'm hoping be the end of the week we get some good news in both provinces. However, I don't think they will single out golf courses; more likely they will need to do something broader with open spaces and parks. Speaking of information as you noted, Ford was pretty frustrated with the testing quotas from certain regions and we don't know who those are and what are the reasons for the swings in test results. We know that the number of tests and the efficiency of contact tracing is what will be key with things opening up and its imperative that the public receives answers for Ford's questions/frustrations. Along the lines of transparency, why does Ontario produce daily stats on number of tests completed and pending but the regions (Ottawa) that report to them do not? And why hasn't this been explained to us?

[big mac]

This whole thing is starting to become a logistical nightmare. Too many governments dealing with too many problems. Here is one not even addressed yet----insurance companies still taking monthly premiums and not providing a service------albeit the amount of driving has been decreased---how many of you have been offered a premium reduction ? Pension plans with health insurance that can not be used---got a rebate on any of them or even an explanation ? I am in accordance with "cpal"----no reason why a golf course can't open---except to say this would be "unfair" to other businesses. Why can't you allow kids to run around on a soccer field at 15 miles an hour and their parents stay 6 feet apart on the side lines ? The figures do prove that this virus is much more prevalent in the long term nursing and care homes and severely crowded and condensed conditions. I think this is telling us something----why have there been no discussions on solutions for these conditions ? Personally I think lets look after 75% of the problem that we actually can remedy. Less crowding---more staff--proper PPE. When it comes to civil engineering---lets forget about high density housing----more green space. 8 to 12 homes on 1 acre-----2000 people living in a high rise---give me a break. This world is living in a "petri dish" It's not as if we have not been warned that something would happen----it IS happening and the doctors and scientists are now starting to say "there may never be a vaccine".
LISTEN----I am a senior citizen---I'm pissed because I can't play golf---I'm pissed because it takes 3 hours to buy groceries etc. If that is all I have to worry about then I have to consider myself one of the fortunate----I may survive this. What about the family of 4, the farmer or the small "mom and pop" business. After 4 months what's left?
I guess what I am trying to say is lets use some common sense here---lets listen to the scientists and the doctors and figure some way to relieve the pressure on the population----------not the politicians. At first I think they were doing a great job, but lately their focus has been more aimed at lets control the masses...……….well the masses are only going to be controlled so long---there will be a breaking point.
Let's do the things that make sense---PLEASE.

Good grief, another rant---Oh well--feel better now

[jvincent]

Thankfully not everyone in this thread is in charge of urban planning or high level decision making.

[ex-mailman]

This whole thing is starting to become a logistical nightmare. Too many governments dealing with too many problems. Here is one not even addressed yet----insurance companies still taking monthly premiums and not providing a service------albeit the amount of driving has been decreased---how many of you have been offered a premium reduction ? Pension plans with health insurance that can not be used---got a rebate on any of them or even an explanation ? I am in accordance with "cpal"----no reason why a golf course can't open---except to say this would be "unfair" to other businesses. Why can't you allow kids to run around on a soccer field at 15 miles an hour and their parents stay 6 feet apart on the side lines ? The figures do prove that this virus is much more prevalent in the long term nursing and care homes and severely crowded and condensed conditions. I think this is telling us something----why have there been no discussions on solutions for these conditions ? Personally I think lets look after 75% of the problem that we actually can remedy. Less crowding---more staff--proper PPE. When it comes to civil engineering---lets forget about high density housing----more green space. 8 to 12 homes on 1 acre-----2000 people living in a high rise---give me a break. This world is living in a "petri dish" It's not as if we have not been warned that something would happen----it IS happening and the doctors and scientists are now starting to say "there may never be a vaccine".
LISTEN----I am a senior citizen---I'm pissed because I can't play golf---I'm pissed because it takes 3 hours to buy groceries etc. If that is all I have to worry about then I have to consider myself one of the fortunate----I may survive this. What about the family of 4, the farmer or the small "mom and pop" business. After 4 months what's left?
I guess what I am trying to say is lets use some common sense here---lets listen to the scientists and the doctors and figure some way to relieve the pressure on the population----------not the politicians. At first I think they were doing a great job, but lately their focus has been more aimed at lets control the masses...……….well the masses are only going to be controlled so long---there will be a breaking point.
Let's do the things that make sense---PLEASE.

Good grief, another rant---Oh well--feel better now

Mine gave me 15% each month for April and May. and it will revisited after then.

[cpal]

The decisions (including today) to open up retail before outdoor spaces like parks and golf courses is astounding.

[jeffc]

The decisions (including today) to open up retail before outdoor spaces like parks and golf courses is astounding.

Not really. In the eyes of the public, golf is often viewed as a rich persons sport. I expect the outdoors spaces and golf courses to be next on the list and to happen in the next week or 2. The next week is crap anyways.

[cpal]

Not really. In the eyes of the public, golf is often viewed as a rich persons sport. I expect the outdoors spaces and golf courses to be next on the list and to happen in the next week or 2. The next week is crap anyways.

That may be true, but politicians today love to "listen to science!" and there's just no supporting data to suggest opening retail first is "safer" than outdoor spaces.

I agree though - I think the announcement should come soon as it's the logical next step.

[jeffc]

That may be true, but politicians today love to "listen to science!" and there's just no supporting data to suggest opening retail first is "safer" than outdoor spaces.

I agree though - I think the announcement should come soon as it's the logical next step.

yes but as you said, they are also politicians. And Doug likely doesn't want to be seen pandering to the 1%, at least not right away.

[White Light]

Not really. In the eyes of the public, golf is often viewed as a rich persons sport. I expect the outdoors spaces and golf courses to be next on the list and to happen in the next week or 2. The next week is crap anyways.

Golf was a rich persons sport 50 years ago. Not true anymore. I think the public knows that. A lot of people spend a lot more money on a cottage, fishing, boating, traveling, etc.

[jeffc]

Golf was a rich persons sport 50 years ago. Not true anymore. I think the public knows that. A lot of people spend a lot more money on a cottage, fishing, boating, traveling, etc.

I think the public thinks differently, especially around the GTA where Doug is located and where the average cost of a round is $100 and and private memberships run into the high 5 figures for some initiations. It is still looked at as a elitist sport by many. Sure you can play cheapish around here and other spots around Ontario but think of where the message is coming from.