Golfers making adjustments as Newfoundland courses reopen

ST. JOHN'S — It was just the transfer of a little bit of possible future compost, but for Jacki Northcott, it was an indication things were working out fine.

“I saw someone take a banana peel out of their golf bag at the end of their round and bring it back to their car,” said Northcott. “And when you see something like that, it just shows how much people are willing to adjust to the new rules, to the way things have to be done these days.”

Northcott is general manager of The Willows, the nine-hole golf course in Holyrood that opened Monday. It was the first in the province to do so as a result of the lifting of restrictions as Newfoundland and Labrador’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic moved down to Level 4.

The Willows was fully booked Monday, with 124 golfers, or 26 foursomes, taking to the fairways and greens as many of them have done for decades. But while the game was familiar, it was being played in a new reality.

Players had to wait in their cars until 10 minutes before tee times (which they'd booked onlin) and needed to adhere to social-distancing rules when checking in. Those same distancing rules were strictly applied on the course, especially since the majority of groupings didn’t completely involve people from the same family bubble.

“The good thing is that golf is inherently conducive to social distancing,” said Northcott, “but we’re reinforcing the need to do so by having signage everywhere so that it’s front of mind.

“We also have handouts that outline protocol and yes, we’re giving those handouts out with gloves on,” she added.

Check-ins are done individually, with lineups only involving the golfers from the next foursome, standing two metres apart.

Tee times, normally spaced by 10 minutes, will come 15 minutes apart until Wednesday. The plan is to reduce that to 12 minutes Thursday and Friday and back to the norm on Saturday.

“After a few days, I think people will know what to expect, but right now, there’s a learning curve for both the staff and the golfer, and we want to allow people time to adjust,” said Northcott. “We need to make sure we keep the pace of play on the course by first explaining to people the new rules, what they can expect — and what's expected of them — when they are on the course and then to send them on their way.”

Golfers will find there are no ball washers and no garbage cans (hence the importance of the lugged banana peel).

It is part of the elimination of touch points, which means flags stay in the holes and the absence of bunker rakes. Disturbed sand in traps will need to be smoothed out by the golfer using his or her foot.

At The Willows, there will be no traditional “holing out.” The cup inserts in the holes have been raised so that the edge if above the green’s surface, meaning putts are “made” when the ball hits the plastic.

"We have our own rules that obviously need to be followed in these times, but there’s also a lot of common sense being applied by the golfers themselves.” — Jacki Northcott

It probably is a good idea to bring an extra sleeve of balls so as to avoid having to spend too much time searching in the woods after a shot has gone astray, thereby potentially creating a backlog of players. And it would be wise to avoid too much coffee before your game, since washrooms at The Willows are closed.

Northcott notes that when it comes to the latter, it helps that The Willows is just nine holes in length, and laughingly agrees the situation could aid in speeding up the pace of play, especially over the last couple of holes.

She also finds that golfers are developing there are own ways of dealing with the changes on the course,

“I’ve heard a lot of chatter within groups about making their own rules,” she said. “We have our own rules that obviously need to be followed in these times, but there’s also a lot of common sense being applied by the golfers themselves.”

As of early Monday afternoon, tee times for Tuesday at The Willows were becoming scarce. And while the forecast calls for a chance of showers in the afternoon, Northcott is predicting plenty of sunshine at course level.

It also helps that the course was in very good shape, with Northcott saying many golfers declared “they couldn’t believe how green things were.”

But while this may an area that recently emerged from snow-filled months, the latest winter might have actually benefitted The Willows and other provincial courses.

“The reality is that it might have been a hard winter because there was so much snow, but there was also very little ice,” said Golf Newfoundland and Labrador executive director Greg Hillier.

“Any course superintendent will tell you that when you have little ice and a lot of snow, that’s a good thing, because snow is a great insulator and if that isn’t too packed down, it still allows the greens to oxidate.

“And greens are the biggest issue, not so much tees and fairways.”

As of early Monday afternoon, Tuesday tee times at The Willows were becoming scarce. And while the forecast calls for a chance of showers in the afternoon, Northcott is predicting plenty of sunshine at course level.

“The air has been chilly today, but other than that it’s a great atmosphere,” she said. “People have been patient with the new process, where they have been having to wait a little longer for their tee times. You can see where being able to get out here is something that is wanted, something that is actually needed.

“Just to see people so happy to be getting out and in some cases, getting to catch up — from an appropriate distance — with people they haven’t seen a while, you can’t help but smile when you see them smiling and laughing and just feeling good.

“It makes you feel good, too.”

Twitter: @telybrendan