Should you open up your golf course to walkers during the lockdown?

By Alistair April 12, 2020 18:26

Three MPs have called on golf clubs to allow members of the public to walk across them during the lockdown, but some golf club managers disagree.

Several golf clubs such as Reading GC have said members of the public can use their venues for exercise as golf is forbidden, but many clubs have also chosen not to do this – and some have reported that individuals have not just ignored this, but they have behaved inappropriately at the time of a national crisis.

In addition, the manager of Reading Golf Club, Gary Stangoe, said that while this policy works for his club, it won’t for most.

“Every club must be left to make their own choice and for most it won’t be appropriate,” he said.

Now, MPs have started calling on golf venues to open up to the public.

Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, tweeted: “It’s surely common sense to create as much open space as possible to allow socially-distanced exercise.

“Let’s open up golf courses to the public (there are 300,000 acres of them across UK) and give people more room to walk and run.”

She added that she has backed a change.org petition, which says: ‘Don’t close parks – open up golf courses so there’s more space to exercise safely.’

Labour’s Dulwich and West Norwood MP, Helen Hayes, agreed. She said: “Access to open space is vital for maintaining our physical and mental health at this very difficult time.

“In order to alleviate pressure on our parks and help make sure they stay open, I’d encourage any organisation with a large area of private open space to consider opening it up to the public, where this doesn’t compromise the safeguarding of children on site.

“I know that some of the local schools are already doing this where they are able to without compromising safeguarding and it would be really great to see golf courses and sports clubs opening up their grounds too.”

Labour MP for Camberwell and Peckham, Harriet Harman, added: “All who own large green space in our crowded city centre should share them with those locked down in flats.”

Harriet Harman MP

A council leader in Southwark, where a park was closed down recently because too many people were using it and not observing social distancing rules, has also called upon golf clubs to open up to the public at this time.

However, the general manager at Sittingbourne & Milton Regis Golf Club, Steve Bootes, disagrees. He told Kent Online: “We would not entertain having any Tom, Dick or Harry running around our golf course, that’s for sure.

“The members pay a lot of money for the upkeep of the place and to have people running around it would just be a mockery to be honest, that is why you have parks and places like that.

“I don’t think us, as a private members’ golf club, would be interested in allowing it to be opened up to the general public for that.

“We don’t want people turning up for a walk, thinking it is their hour’s exercise. Exercise should be from home or very close to home.

“People would have to travel here and that would come under the unnecessary travel restrictions. We are trying to deter anyone from coming to the golf club at the moment.

“From a business sense, we would love to have the course back open, so people can come and play, but for that to happen there would have to be some really strict guidelines from above coming down.

“We can do all we can but to police it would be a nightmare. I know Denmark are looking at doing things to play on but would it work here? I don’t think it would.

“The sooner people start bunkering down to the rules the sooner we can see light at the end of the tunnel being nearer.”

His comments come as another golf club has reported that members of the public have been having picnics on the greens.

Recently we reported on Lochwinnoch Golf Club, which said day-trippers have visited the club from miles away and created a mess on the course.

Now, the chairman of Rushmere Golf Club in Ipswich has said people were seen picnicking and sunbathing on the course over the weekend.

Greenkeepers say they have seen up to 75 people on the course. People were seen meeting for bike rides, sunbathing in bunkers and even having picnics on the greens.

Steve Potts told the Ipswich Star: “I’ve heard from our greenkeepers that there were many people out on the common this weekend.

“It is really disappointing to see that some people are not following the guidelines and it is really emphasised at Rushmere Common because a few hundred yards up the road is Ipswich Hospital where nurses and doctors are working hard and sadly people are dying.

“Apparently there were children cycling on the fairways and people having a picnic on a green.

“I know people are allowed to go out for one form of exercise a day, and most people are adhering to those guidelines, there are clearly a minority who are not.”

The golf club has asked Suffolk Police to increase their presence in the area in a bid to discourage revellers from disregarding government advice.

Mr Potts added: “We have contacted the police and asked them to increase patrols.

“Firstly my concern is that people are not adhering to government guidelines. We all want this to be over as soon as possible and the way to do that is to follow the guidelines.

“But we are also concerned that the golf course, which we have just spent a considerable amount of money on, will be damaged by people not using it for its purpose.

“We expect it to be busier on the weekends, but my concern is that, if we are going to have a period of nicer weather, that people will come out during the weekdays as well due to them working from home.”

And another golf course has been vandalised during the lockdown.

Melrose Golf Course’s greenkeeper has reported on Facebook that he found several unrepaired pitch marks on a green, as well as damage to the sixth fairway.

Alongside a picture of damage to the course, the post reads: “Today our greenkeeper came across this on the 6th fairway along with unrepaired pitch marks on the green.

“This truly is a despicable act carried out by someone who has no care to the current government lockdown, respect for the club and the course.”

Club secretary Steve Ervine told the Border Telegraph: “There’s not much action that can be taken. The greenkeeper hasn’t noticed anyone playing – our members are adhering to the closure.

“There are still dog walkers on the course, but we can’t stop that.”

Reflecting on the damage, he said: “It’s not a lot of damage on the fairway – it’s barely a square-metre.

“The damage on the fairway is all in one place where someone has repeatedly hit a ball in the same spot. The damage on the green is from pitch marks.”

There have been several reports of courses being vandalised despite the government’s pleas for people to stay in doors.