One thing about a pandemic in the digital age is there’s no shortage of information. It’s the good information that has been more elusive, and that extends to our understanding of the coronavirus in a golf setting. Can you get the virus from even walking past another golfer? Is there danger in reaching into the hole for your ball? Should we be playing while wearing masks?

In consulting a series of infectious disease specialists, all of whom are still learning more about the virus themselves, several consistent themes emerge. The good news? Golf is relatively safe, especially during a time when so much else seems rife with hazard. “Golf has got to be one of the safest sports under the current circumstances,” said Dr. Charles G. Prober, a professor of pediatrics (infectious diseases) and of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University.

But since nothing is without risk these days, we put a series of common golf-specific questions to three experts, Dr. Prober of Stanford, Dr. Amesh Adalja, a Senior Scholar at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Health Security, and Dr. J. Trees Ritter, DO, Fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America. Their responses should help you understand what should and shouldn’t be off limits, and where uncertainty remains. Above all, they might provide assurance that a golf course, navigated properly, can still be a refuge.

Can I contract the virus just walking by other golfers at the course?

This you shouldn’t sweat. Though the virus’ main form of transmission is through person-to-person contact, all three experts emphasized just walking by other players on the course or in the parking lot was not a significant risk. “The virus doesn’t teleport from one person to another. It has to have some mechanism to get there,” Adalja said. Yes, an infected golfer could emit respiratory droplets by sneezing or coughing in your direction, but that’s why the doctors all cited the now-standard practice of maintaining a six-foot gap as a precaution. “More is better, but these respiratory droplets really don’t spread much more than spitting distance,” Dr. Ritter said. “When you’re outside, the risk is even lower.” Of course, the most important advice in this context is to tell anyone who is sick or symptomatic to stay home.

What if I’m sharing a golf cart with someone?

No question sitting within close proximity of someone for 18 holes invites more risk than walking a sufficient distance apart, which is why many courses are temporarily restricting the use of carts, or at least limiting their usage to one person per cart. Although the experts say riding in a cart is not a significant risk, they do acknowledge it violates the six-foot rule. Additionally, they say golfers sharing carts sends the wrong message at a time when caution is still paramount. “While it maybe isn’t a huge risk, there are other factors to consider,” Ritter said. “It’s better to be pretty rigid up front on what people can and cannot do just to keep them in that mindset.”

The other variable when using a golf cart is touching a surface, like a steering wheel, that someone else has touched before you, a risk that courses can mitigate by sanitizing their vehicles between uses. If not, the experts advocated two other steps that you’re surely familiar with by now: 1. Don’t touch your face. 2. Wash your hands. And since washing your hands is not always an option in the middle of a course, an alcohol-based (at least 60 percent alcohol) hand sanitizer might be as valuable in your bag these days as an adjustable driver.

Forty-nine percent of golf courses in the U.S. were open for play last week with more expected to resume play in the coming weeks, according to the National Golf Foundation’s most recent COVID-19 survey.

“This figure has risen slightly over the past weeks and we expect it to continue to do so as warmer weather creeps further north, Wisconsin allows walking-only play, some private clubs re-open to members in New York, and golf operations resume in a few California counties,” NGF President Joe Beditz said in a Friday email about the results.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and the coronavirus pandemic continues to coax creativity out of golf course operators when it comes to finding ways to keep golf courses open and as safe as possible. One place that creativity is happening is at the cup, where flagsticks and cups themselves are seen as potential vectors for the virus. As soon as the pandemic started threatening courses with closure, superintendents sprung into action, raising, inverting and stuffing cups with things like sawed off pool noodles to make a holed ball easy to grab without golfers’ fingers touching anything else.

At Cobblestone Golf Course, a popular municipal layout outside Atlanta, there is a new solution that might be the best yet. It’s a little steampunk, but the slide-whistle-looking contraption, called the Golf Ball E-Z Lyft, enables any golfer to remove a ball from a cup by touching their putter to the hook and gently lifting upward. The convex cup inset lets the ball fall out without any skin-to-cup or skin-to-flagstick contact whatsoever. A set of 18 devices costs just under $500. Unsurprisingly, the course’s tweet of a video showing how it works has gotten significant pickup by golf media in the last day or so.

Some courses have remained closed, but among those open are Oak Quarry Golf Club (pictured) and Indian Hills Golf Club, both in Riverside. Golfers should call ahead to make sure the course they want to play has reopened.

The closing of golf courses has been a point of contention between the county and the golfers and golf courses in the county, which wanted to limit large gatherings of people that can happen in golf course clubhouses, restaurants and bars.

Golfers have argued, apparently successfully, that the sport allows for social distancing and with proper limitations can be played safely. They also argued that the sport is a recreation such as hiking or walking and should be treated as such by the county.

In the new county order, golfers must wear face coverings at all times. In addition, food and beverage facilities at golf courses cannot provide in-clubhouse dining, only delivery and pick-up serve.

The order also insists that courses follow the “Park and Play: Making Your Course Social Distance Ready” program developed by the National Golf Courses Owners Association. That requires six feet of distance between players except for household members.

Ventura County released a statement saying that public and private golf courses can reopen with some restrictions, with no more than four golfers allowed to play in one group.

“We are positioned to focus on the road to reopening because our residents and businesses have sacrificed so much to comply with the Public Health Orders and slow the spread of the virus in our community,” Ventura County CEO Mike Powers said in a statement.

“Our current situation is further strengthened by the work of our local hospitals to expand their capacity. These steps are critical because we know that, while the virus poses an unprecedented health threat, efforts to stem the virus come at a significant economic and health toll as we have seen with so many business closures and lost jobs.”

As of Monday, Ventura Country had by far the fewest number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in Southern California, with 428 Coronavirus cases and 13 fatalities.

“Hopefully, it brings some sanity back to your life in a safe and orderly way,” General Manager Keith Brown of Soule Park Golf Course in Ojai said.

Orange County supervisors voted in a meeting that was streamed live online that courses in the county can reopen.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered that marinas and many golf courses can reopen with safety restrictions after initially being closed to contain the COVID-19 virus.

Following appeals from frustrated golfers, and lobbying from boaters, the decision to reopen also came from the governors of New Jersey and Connecticut, CBS2’s Jennifer McLogan reported Monday.

When asked if he’s pleased by the news, fly fishing shop owner Paul McCain said, “Oh, absolutely. I actually own a fly shop, a fly fishing store, so I actually just came down to see if the ramp was open.”

Marinas and boatyards may now open for personal use under strict social distancing protocols that include new sanitizing and mooring rules.

“You’re not taking it out to the bay and tying it together to have a party out there. We have to do this smart,” Hempstead Town Supervisor Donald Clavin said.

In addition, private and municipally owned golf courses can once again allow players to walk the fairways, but they must carry their own bags.

“The governor has said that municipalities can start putting plans in place to reopen golf and that is exactly what we’re doing,” Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said.

No employee may work on any course unless involved in essential services. Clubhouses and locker rooms remain closed.

“Have to be very, very careful. This virus is very contagious,” one person said.

“Precaution and everybody is safe and I think it would be a good idea to gradually get everything back working,” another person said.

Golfers and boaters must adhere to strict social distancing rules by keeping at least six feet apart at all times. Public safety officers will join police and bay constables to enforce the law.

“Respectfully as we can, we are going to ask them not to gather in those social groups. People have got to start using common sense. This is the new norm,” Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said.

The changes come amid an effort to rein in the coronavirus. Golfers and boaters were leaving to find open courses and marinas in other states and returning home, McLogan reported.

There is pressure from the industries. Boating and golf on Long Island combine to produce 100,000 jobs and generate $5 billion a year in the local economy.

After more than a week of complete shutdowns, some golf courses are partially re-opening in central New York this weekend after the state modified its rules for the kinds of business operations that are allowed under the state’s coronavirus-related emergency restrictions.