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Coronavirus and golf: Don’t forget extra water if you’re heading to the course

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By Larry Bohannan, Golfweek

28 April 2020

After one of the milder springs in several years – a mild spring that added to the frustration of golfers who might not be have been allowed to play golf – things are starting to really warm up across the country.

People have been longing to get on golf courses that had been closed because of coronavirus. And 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.

However, here’s something to consider if you’re heading back to the links — golf courses might not be providing one of the keys to being able to play in the heat: Water.

Restrictions on golf courses that allowed them to reopen have caused some courses to change the way they do business. In some cases, that includes taking water coolers off of carts and not providing a larger water cooler on the courses. It’s a way to make sure there is less contact with other people, just as taking rakes out of bunkers means people aren’t touching and sharing rakes.

But in the heat of the summer golfers need access to cold water or ice to stave off the heat. Hydration is perhaps the key element in being able to play in the warmer areas like Arizona, Texas and the California desert during June, July or August.

So golfers are going to have to be smarter about hydrating in the coming weeks than they have in the past. They are going to have to bring their own water in many cases. It’s important to call the golf courses you will be playing to see what is and isn’t available. If they don’t have water coolers on their carts, make sure they let you bring your own.

And hydrating before getting to the course will be important, too. Most people don’t do this, but having water before you even get to the course makes it easier throughout the round to stay hydrated.

There are other things to remember as you scurry back to the golf course to get in those precious rounds golfers were missing in March and April. For instance:

1. Sunscreen: Scorching temperatures can cause a lot of skin troubles, including skin cancer. And the sun can turn your skin into leather pretty fast. Sunscreen is practically mandatory. You can pick your own protection number, though most people will tell you 30 SPF should be a bottom line.

2. Other precautions: Yes, this seems obvious, but wearing a hat helps. It keeps the sun off of your face and neck a bit (if you are wearing the right hat), and it will make you more comfortable. Another tip is to keep a cold towel around (perhaps in a cooler). Toss that towel around your neck two or three times a round and you’ll be amazed at the cooling effect.

3. Play early, if possible: The worst heat of the day is at 2 or 3 p.m., and in some areas, you can’t be on the golf course then. If you play at 7 a.m., you can get around in three hours and not have to face the crushing heat of the day.

4. Don’t be stupid: A round of golf is not worth your life or worth even short-term damage to your health. If you feel dizzy or can’t focus or you notice you’ve stopped sweating, get in your cart and get off the course immediately. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are real things, and you shouldn’t risk either of them for a round of golf.

So stay off the course if you can’t follow those simple rules. And remember that better playing conditions are on their way … eventually.

Please share these tips, articles and insights, so that as many people as possible can benefit from #SafeGolf.

View Golfweek article

ABOUT TAGMARSHAL

Tagmarshal, the market leader in on-course optimization technology, provides courses with full, real-time operational oversight and reporting, giving golf operators the tools to manage pace and flow of play effectively, resulting in enhanced player experiences, increased efficiency through automation, and additional revenue generation.

Tagmarshal’s technology has collected over 1 billion data points from more than 50 million rounds of golf and has relationships with in excess of 500 partners, including Hazeltine, Whistling Straits, Baltusrol, Fieldstone, Bandon Dunes, Serenoa and Erin Hills.

Tagmarshal partners with several golf management groups, private, daily fee, public and resort courses, including 35 of the Top 100 US courses, as well as many $30-$50 green fee courses, which are seeing excellent results using the system.

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NEWS

“ADAPTING GOLF OPERATIONS for SUCCESS DURING COVID-19 and BEYOND” WEBINAR ATTRACTS CAPACITY ATTENDANCE

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By The Golf Wire

24 April 2020

Tagmarshal, the global leader in golf course optimization, flow of play and distancing management, hosted a capacity webinar attended by PGA professionals, course, club and resort operators. 

“Adapting Golf Operations for Success During COVID-19 and Beyond,” was led by an expert panel of three distinguished PGA professionals including Matt Barksdale, PGA, Head Professional at Pinehurst Resort, Drew Dunn, Director of Golf, East Lake Golf Club, and Dennis Rye, Director of Golf, Mizner Country Club and moderated by Tagmarshal’s CEO, Bodo Sieber, a data and optimization expert. The webinar recording is now available to share with the golf community on tagmarshal.com.

With overcapacity registrations from 10 countries, attendees included senior management from courses such as Erin Hills, Pebble Beach, Hazeltine, Valhalla, Carnoustie, The Grove, Royal Portrush, Lahinch, Le Golf National, Praia del Rey and many more. 

“This webinar brought together the leadership of golf facilities to share insights, strategies and initiatives utilized during this challenging period. One of the most impactful outcomes from a survey conducted at the conclusion of the session was that 90 percent of attendees being in lock-down at the time of the event, 80 percent felt positive about the future of golf and 43 percent anticipated that golf will see more than regular play, once restrictions are lifted,” said Bodo Sieber.

Drew Dunn, Director of Golf, East Lake, added “I think there is going to be a high demand for a while. I don’t think there needs to be a reduction in guest (player) fees – it’s simple supply and demand.

This sentiment was echoed by Dennis Rye, Director of Golf, Mizner Country Club. “Once people are allowed to play golf, there is going to be a big surge in people wanting to play.”

Moreover, despite adapting to the challenges brought about by the pandemic, the panel along with a vast majority of attendees, agreed that golf is resilient and overall successful in developing innovative plans to adapt to the post COVID-19 era.

Topics receiving strong attention by the panel and attendees, who presented questions to them during the session, included the need to provide a safe playing environment by ensuring the practice of 6 foot social distancing, having fewer touch points on and off the course, and ensuring the availability of hand sanitizers as well as implementing cashless procedures.

Another key survey named “How your course will adapt to a new and different world, post COVID-19” found that the top three priorities were providing a safer environment for players (89%), followed by finding ways to work with less touch points and resources (73%). Over 55 percent acknowledged the importance of technology at their courses and will consider using technology formats to achieve greater efficiencies at their facility in the future.

With safety and the ability to do more, with less touch points and resources being key priorities – it made sense that technology was a top 3 priority, due to its ability to improve safety and efficiency, within golf operations. Other lower priorities were the promotion of walking golf (32%) and decreasing green fees/membership fees (5%) and increasing tee time intervals (32%). 

This last item led to a hotly debated discussion of whether to increase Gap Interval times between groups of players. Commenting on this, Bodo Sieber noted the recommended safe distance between playing groups is the 6-foot social distance marker – while most courses maintain a comfortable 10-minute interval (equating to approximately 300 yards).

“This constitutes a far greater distance than what leading experts have suggested. We caution that while player safety is paramount, adding any additional time over and above this, would have little to no impact on safety, yet would have a very negative impact on course capacity, and therefore, revenue. Courses looking to increase Gap Intervals should reconsider and instead focus on maintaining and proactively managing effective intervals to ensure both a safe environment and commercial success.” 

“We’ve remained constant at 10-minute intervals and feel that that is appropriate,” said Matt Barksdale, PGA Head Professional, Pinehurst. “The most important thing is adhering to that 10 minutes at the start of each round.”

Sieber added, “Efficiency is the key to the survival and success of golf courses in the future.

Many managers have recognized they can do more with less and that technology materially aids this objective.” The panel members strongly endorsed this and cited various protocols they have been implementing including requiring golfers to self-park rather than providing valet service, having players responsible for sanitizing their carts, and providing take away meals after the round. Sieber also noted that courses with closed ranges and clubhouses should provide each group with Tagmarshal’s “Park and Play” roadmap ahead of time to visually detail the route golfers need to adhere to from their auto to the mobile check-in area to the 1st or 10th tees.

At the conclusion of the webinar, attendees were offered a specially-designed program with a six months no-payment start enabling their courses, whether private, daily-fee access, resort or municipal facilities, to benefit from the advantages of Tagmarshal’s optimization system during this critical time.

Please share these tips, articles and insights, so that as many people as possible can benefit from #SafeGolf.

View The Golf Wire article

ABOUT TAGMARSHAL

Tagmarshal, the market leader in on-course optimization technology, provides courses with full, real-time operational oversight and reporting, giving golf operators the tools to manage pace and flow of play effectively, resulting in enhanced player experiences, increased efficiency through automation, and additional revenue generation.

Tagmarshal’s technology has collected over 1 billion data points from more than 50 million rounds of golf and has relationships with in excess of 500 partners, including Hazeltine, Whistling Straits, Baltusrol, Fieldstone, Bandon Dunes, Serenoa and Erin Hills.

Tagmarshal partners with several golf management groups, private, daily fee, public and resort courses, including 35 of the Top 100 US courses, as well as many $30-$50 green fee courses, which are seeing excellent results using the system.

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NEWS

Flagsticks, handshakes and masks: Infectious disease experts clarify coronavirus risks, say golf ranks as one of the ‘safest sports’

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By Sam Weinman, E. Michael Johnson & Mike Stachura –  Golf Digest

25 April 2020

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.

Speaking of touching stuff, my golf course says not to touch the flagstick or rake a bunker? Is that really a danger?

Danger is probably overstating it. Prober calls flagsticks “an extraordinarily ineffective way to get the disease,” because infection depends on a rare confluence of circumstances: someone sick contaminating the flagstick, the virus persisting on the flagstick despite exposure to ultraviolet light (which is believed to reduce the viability of the virus on a surface), then you touching the exact same part of the flagstick and ultimately your face. So in other words a lot has to happen, and the same can be said for rakes. But again, there’s always a chance. “Any type of touched surface has the potential for transmission,” Adalja said, which is why he said, the same rules apply: If you touch something someone else touched, better to wash your hands and not touch your face.

How about reaching into a golf hole to get my ball?

“There will be very minimal risk in those types of situations,” Adalja said. “You can dream up any kind of odd situation where the virus transmits in these special circumstances, but that wouldn’t be something I would be worried about.”

Similarly, there isn’t much use worrying about your putter clanking against someone else’s putter if that’s your new form of celebration.

“So much of what we talk about is that it’s all possible, but it’s pretty improbable many of these implied scenarios would result in infection,” Ritter said.

Should I be playing golf with a mask?

As in society as a whole, consensus around masks is elusive. But our experts were skeptical of masks helping, especially as a defense mechanism.

“Masks are not really to protect you, but to protect other people,” Adalja said. Also, Prober said, masks risk doing more harm than good because people tend to adjust them frequently. “So they’re probably got their hands on their face more, including their eyes and their nose,” he said.

What about a handshake?

Again, if the cardinal rule is to maintain distance, then handshakes need to be avoided. And if for some reason muscle memory takes over and you revert to old habits, you can probably guess what the doctors recommend. “If you’re going to shake hands with someone,” Adalja said, “you need to wash your hands.”

Please share these tips, articles and insights, so that as many people as possible can benefit from #SafeGolf.

View Golf Digest article

ABOUT TAGMARSHAL

Tagmarshal, the market leader in on-course optimization technology, provides courses with full, real-time operational oversight and reporting, giving golf operators the tools to manage pace and flow of play effectively, resulting in enhanced player experiences, increased efficiency through automation, and additional revenue generation.

Tagmarshal’s technology has collected over 1 billion data points from more than 50 million rounds of golf and has relationships with in excess of 500 partners, including Hazeltine, Whistling Straits, Baltusrol, Fieldstone, Bandon Dunes, Serenoa and Erin Hills.

Tagmarshal partners with several golf management groups, private, daily fee, public and resort courses, including 35 of the Top 100 US courses, as well as many $30-$50 green fee courses, which are seeing excellent results using the system.

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NEWS

Half Of Golf Courses Open With More Likely To Resume Play Soon

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By SGB Media

26 April 2020

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.

Here’s a quick rundown of other new information available on NGF’s COVID-19 impacts page:

  • One seven-state region had the biggest jump in facility openings – to 77 percent open overall.
  • Online searches for open golf courses have spiked again.
  • Find out which facility type (municipal, daily fee or private) had the most notable increase in openings.
  • Opposition among core golfers to government-mandated closures is growing. See which demographic is changing their tune the most.
  • Been practicing at home the last month? You’re not alone. Learn what core golfers have been doing.
  • Find out how significantly the COVID-19 crisis is increasing the “itch” to play golf.
  • Read about why playing golf during the pandemic is a matter of debate.

Please share these tips, articles and insights, so that as many people as possible can benefit from #SafeGolf.

View SGB Media article

ABOUT TAGMARSHAL

Tagmarshal, the market leader in on-course optimization technology, provides courses with full, real-time operational oversight and reporting, giving golf operators the tools to manage pace and flow of play effectively, resulting in enhanced player experiences, increased efficiency through automation, and additional revenue generation.

Tagmarshal’s technology has collected over 1 billion data points from more than 50 million rounds of golf and has relationships with in excess of 500 partners, including Hazeltine, Whistling Straits, Baltusrol, Fieldstone, Bandon Dunes, Serenoa and Erin Hills.

Tagmarshal partners with several golf management groups, private, daily fee, public and resort courses, including 35 of the Top 100 US courses, as well as many $30-$50 green fee courses, which are seeing excellent results using the system.

SOLUTIONS

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NEWS

This touchless ball retrieval solution is a Cool Golf Thing

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By Tim Gavrich, Golf Advisor

21 April 2020

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.

Who knows how long these solutions will be necessary in order to keep golfers safe, and if they’ll need to be augmented or adjusted in the face of some future threat. We can be sure of one thing, though: when things get weird, the creative go viral.

Please share these tips, articles and insights, so that as many people as possible can benefit from #SafeGolf.

View Golf Advisor article

ABOUT TAGMARSHAL

Tagmarshal, the market leader in on-course optimization technology, provides courses with full, real-time operational oversight and reporting, giving golf operators the tools to manage pace and flow of play effectively, resulting in enhanced player experiences, increased efficiency through automation, and additional revenue generation.

Tagmarshal’s technology has collected over 1 billion data points from more than 50 million rounds of golf and has relationships with in excess of 500 partners, including Hazeltine, Whistling Straits, Baltusrol, Fieldstone, Bandon Dunes, Serenoa and Erin Hills.

Tagmarshal partners with several golf management groups, private, daily fee, public and resort courses, including 35 of the Top 100 US courses, as well as many $30-$50 green fee courses, which are seeing excellent results using the system.

SOLUTIONS

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NEWS

California counties reopen golf courses

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By Tom LaMarre, CaliforniaGolf +Travel

21 April 2020

California Golf courses in Riverside County, Ventura County and Orange County, which had been closed down because of the Coronavirus pandemic, have been given permission to reopen with strict restrictions in place for golfers.

Riverside County’s Department of Public Health issued an amended order opening all golf courses on Monday. The amended order the county said courses throughout the county, including the golf-rich Coachella Valley, can reopen.

“Effective immediately, the Health Officer for the County of Riverside and the County Executive Officer as Director of Emergency Services hereby order that all golf courses in the County of Riverside, whether public or private, may be opened for limited use, as outlined herein,” the order states.

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.

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.

In Sacramento County, golf courses have been open throughout the Coronavirus crisis.

“We just want to focus on social distancing,” said Dr. Peter Beilenson, a non-golfer who is Sacramento County’s health services director. “The whole point is social distancing. I went out on the golf course and saw social distancing. The putting green could have been a problem, but everyone was six feet apart. “The driving range the same.”

Courses in the San Francisco Bay Area, which has been hit hard by Covid-19, remain closed. TPC Harding Park is scheduled to host the PGAChampionship in August and there have been reports the tournament might be moved if the course does not reopen soon.

Monterey County courses are under shutdown orders from government officials, including Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and the other famed courses on the Monterey Peninsula.

Los Angeles County and Santa Barbara County golf courses also are closed.

However, if California continues to flatten the curve of the Coronavirus, other courses can be expected to reopen in the coming days.

Please share these tips, articles and insights, so that as many people as possible can benefit from #SafeGolf.

View CaliforniaGolf + Travel article

ABOUT TAGMARSHAL

Tagmarshal, the market leader in on-course optimization technology, provides courses with full, real-time operational oversight and reporting, giving golf operators the tools to manage pace and flow of play effectively, resulting in enhanced player experiences, increased efficiency through automation, and additional revenue generation.

Tagmarshal’s technology has collected over 1 billion data points from more than 50 million rounds of golf and has relationships with in excess of 500 partners, including Hazeltine, Whistling Straits, Baltusrol, Fieldstone, Bandon Dunes, Serenoa and Erin Hills.

Tagmarshal partners with several golf management groups, private, daily fee, public and resort courses, including 35 of the Top 100 US courses, as well as many $30-$50 green fee courses, which are seeing excellent results using the system.

SOLUTIONS

Private Course Public Course Resorts Multi Course Operations Pace of Play Revenue generation More Solutions
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