More than half the golf courses in the United States are now open for the first time in more than a month, according to this week’s Covid-19 update by the National Golf Foundation.
As of the week ending April 26, 58 percent of U.S. courses were open, based on a survey of more than 1,200 courses. That’s up from 49 percent open the week before.
Eleven states currently are closed entirely for golf during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the NGF’s report done in cooperation with the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. They are Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington. Illinois will allow its golf courses to reopen May 1, and Washington will allow its courses to open May 5.
Many courses are still closed despite having the option of opening. Those include the courses at several top resorts where golf might be allowed but hotel operations have been shuttered – with nowhere for guests to stay and amenities such as spas and restaurants closed, there wouldn’t be enough traffic to keep the courses open.
Some states such as California, Texas and Florida have counties or cities where golf courses are closed by local mandate despite no statewide ban.
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