The Times analyses what opening up golf courses would mean

By Alistair April 15, 2020 14:23

The Times newspaper has carried out an analysis of what legislation that would force golf courses to be open to the public during the coronavirus lockdown would mean.

The analysis has been carried out after several politicians have called on golf courses to allow walkers to use them during the lockdown, to ease the burden on other areas, such as urban parks, where social distancing guidelines have been breached due to large numbers of people using them.

The Times states that opening all 3,087 of Britain’s golf courses would give an extra million people easy access to a green space.

‘These people live in urban areas without nearby public parks or playing fields, but within 1,640 feet (500m) of a golf course,’ it states.

‘There are about 481,000 acres of public green space in Britain. Opening up all golf courses, which take up 311,000 acres, would increase that by another two-thirds. In the unlikely event that every Briton took to the nation’s golf courses simultaneously and were evenly spaced, each would have nearly 210 square feet in which to self-isolate.

From The Times

‘Areas that would particularly benefit from opening up golf courses include the more densely populated parts of Surrey Heath, the Fylde in Lancashire, and Woking. About a tenth of the population in these places live in urban areas that are not close to a park but are near a golf course. Almost 25,000 Birmingham residents would benefit, and 17,000 in both Solihull and Bolton.’

The paper also covers Caversham Heath Golf Club, which allows residents of a retirement complex located next door to it to walk across the course during the Covid-19 lockdown.

“It’s quite strange for our members, but they see that people are respecting the property. These are exceptional times and our members were keen to help the community,” said the club’s Gary Stangoe, who has also said it would not be practical for all courses to allow walkers as some have wildlife management programmes, protecting wildflowers and bees.

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

David Williams, a golf course architect who designed the Surrey National and Reigate Hill greens, added: “Golf clubs should open up and do their bit for the community. They are often the biggest open green space in an urban area. It seems wrong that we prevent the public from walking and jogging on them while they’re closed. The average 18-hole golf course is about 150 acres of parkland — that’s huge compared with many of our urban parks.”

In Scotland, people already have access rights to cross a golf course, while a minority of English golf courses already allow public access.

A number of The Golf Business readers have said they are opposed to the idea of opening up their venues, due to damage and mess that can be created which members pay to clear up. While some readers have stated that the damage caused by walkers is probably less than what 100-plus golfers per day with spikes in their shoes create, there has been a broad agreement that dog walkers who leave bags of dog mess would be a significant issue.

Meanwhile, a member of Colville Park Golf Club’s committee, has told the Motherwell Times that a partial lifting of the lockdown, which would allow for golf to be played provided strict social distancing rules are followed, may not lead to the boom that some golf clubs might expect.

David MacFarlane was responding to these comments by Sir Nick Faldo: “I just think with a little imagination you could keep the actual courses open. What would be the harm in staggering tee-times and people going straight from the car park to the first tee and playing on their own?

“You’ve got hundreds of acres of open land where you could be belting a ball around with no one anywhere near you. Imagine how that would help keen golfers in terms of mental health?”

Sir Nick Faldo

MacFarlane said: “Exercise is exercise but I’m being honest, is there a lot of fun in playing golf on your own?

“One of the main aspects of playing golf, is the camaraderie and companionship with your fellow golfers.

“While it’s not impossible to do that and still maintain two metres distance, it’s certainly not the same.

“And much of the experience about competition golf in particular is about the clubhouse afterwards, talking about what happened in the event. And all that’s taken from you.

“So much of the enjoyment of the golf experience that most people want would be gone if you play under those restricted conditions.

“However, if you just want exercise there is no doubt there’s an argument that says if you can get to the golf course and walk around on your own, and we took all of the recommendations that were provided to golf clubs, you could play.

“These include not touching the flags, removing all the rakes from the course, converting the holes so you don’t need to bend down to the hole to get your ball out, not sharing a golf ball with anybody else and staying two metres apart.

“In principle, if we’re trying to prevent the NHS from becoming overcrowded, are we increasing the risk if we allow people to golf courses? I would say, to some extent we are.”