Let there be golf

Writing from Chicago

Friday, April 24, 2020

The Year of the Pandemic took a slight turn for the better on Thursday, when the fine print in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s latest sheltering order included the lifting of the prohibition against golf, effective Friday, May 1.

In other words, you have a week to get your game in shape.

The departure of winter and the onset of the COVID-19 coronavirus all but coincided in early March. Players, especially in southern Illinois, were venturing out for their first rounds of the year when the first safety-first stay-at-home order was issued, first prohibiting golf, then allowing it for about 36 hours, and then clamping the lid down again on March 19. (This was also true in Wisconsin, where courses were open, then shuttered until today.)

Devotees of the game instantly argued that golf was the perfect sport when “social distancing,” a phrase heretofore on few tongues, needed to be taken into account. A course itself encompasses acres by the dozen, only four people at a time are in any one group, nobody hits the ball in the same place, and so on. At the very least, a quartet could keep six feet of distance on the tee, then so their various ways, either walking or on a quartet of carts.

Health officials decided otherwise – one reason likely the notion that if golfers were involved in a serious auto accident to or from the course, that could make a potentially disastrous emergency room situation even worse – and so golf, like most other recreation beyond a job around the block, was ruled out.

But on Friday next, the lid comes off.

As was the case for those brief shining moments in March – and has been the case in Indiana – procedures will be a bit different from the norm. All payments will be in advance, by credit card. Reservations are a must. Tee times will likely be spread out.

The cup will be raised so hitting the edge of it with the ball will constitute holing out. (The USGA is accepting scores made in this fashion for handicap purposes.) The flatgstick must stay in. There will be no rakes for the bunkers – use a foot swipe to wipe out your trail.

Not yet clear at this hour is the status of motor carts. The game may resume as purists favor it, walking only, though that would cut down on play of some, seniors especially, who aren’t used to a five-mile walk. So having your own push cart may be imperative.

Clubhouses will be closed. Restaurants at courses will be grab-and-go only, if they’re open at all. And a private clubs, don’t expect the friendly face of a caddie. That would crowd the neighborhood.

As yet unknown: Whether the municipal courses controlled by the Cook County Forest Preserve District and city of Chicago will open. Early Friday morning, the websites associated with those courses still said “temporarily closed.”

In general, expect the privately-owned courses, including Cog Hill, Makray Memorial and Mistwood, to be open on May 1. The same will be true of Canal Shores, which had been operating before the shutdown.

The reopening will throw a lifeline to the private layouts, all of which depend on a steady revenue stream to stay alive. Losing play in March and April, typically poor weather months, was painful, but every day in May brings with it the prospect of better weather, and to be closes would mean revenue never to be recovered.

The Chicago District Golf Association and Illinois PGA, along with groups downstate, had been lobbying Pritzker’s office to bring the game back, noting the social distancing part of the game would take care of itself. How much their argument carried weight with the decision-makers is unknown, but the continual drumbeat from the general public couldn’t have hurt.

The revised stay-at-home order announced Thursday carries with it a caveat. Should there be a spike in infections, everything being opened, golf courses and some state parks included, could be closed down. The same may be true if potential spot checks show courses or areas around clubhouses are overcrowded. Golfers are – as they are filling out their scorecards – on the honor system.

That sounds like something everyone can handle.

– Tim Cronin

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We’ll have a full report on the success of the argument to open golf courses in the season-opening May issue of Illinois Golfer, available on this website next week.