24 March 2020

Tagmarshal is supporting #SafeGolf, an initiative which promotes how to safely play golf during the COVID-19 pandemic, using social distancing and other tools.

As we work together to #SlowDownTheCurve during the COVID-19 challenge, many regular past times are not available. Team sports, gym, tennis, live sports and cultural events, meeting up in pubs or bars, parties, events, etc. are all off the table at this time, for the good of all.  Even following live sports on TV is substantially reduced with so many golf and other events cancelled or postponed. Golf has a unique opportunity to provide a welcome and safe escape and sense of balance.

“We have launched a #SafeGolf resource platform designed to provide golfers  and golf operators with insights, information and advice, regarding how to play the game and manage golf operations safely. The resources shared on the platform are designed to be shared, so that as many people as possible, can benefit.

“Expert health and medical care practitioners in both the United States and United Kingdom have agreed that golf is safe to play during this health crisis when effective measures have been put in place – this resource aims to educate and empower courses to manage @SafeGolf effectively,” said Bodo Sieber, Tagmarshal CEO and co-founder. 

The platform, www.tagmarshal.com/safegolf is now available for golfers and operators around the world.

“Tagmarshal has partner courses, clubs and resorts in 10 countries –all at different stages in their responses to the COVID-19 challenge. With our optimization and player tracking system, we are able to see which courses have full play, some play or in a very few cases no play. We can assist by pooling knowledge, insights and ideas to enable the golf community during this difficult time.” Sieber noted.  

 He added that with operations in four continents, a global network of more than 250 partners, and access to data from over 10 million rounds of golf, Tagmarshal is in a unique position to develop data insights and to draw on global resources and experiences which can be shared with the industry.

 Playing #SafeGolf has received the support from experts who recognize the outdoor nature of golf, the ability to engage in proper social distancing, and how the game provides a sense of balance, making golf a healthy and safe escape during challenging times.

Recently, Dr. Kelly Cawcutt, Associate Director of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, Nebraska Bio-Containment Unit, was quoted in Golf Digest, March 15, 2020, as saying, “Being in a wide-open, outdoor space is the least at-risk scenario. You’ll have to follow precautions that you wouldn’t normally have to, but I would play, under that guidance.” 

Additionally, Dr. Catherine Troisi, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, also in the March 15 issue of Golf Digest, said, “You’re not in contact with a whole lot of other people, and it’s not like basketball where you’re touching and very close to other players, so you could maintain several feet of distance between people. So, I would say in the actual playing of golf, you are not at much risk.

“As much as we know anything for now, we know that if you’re more than six feet from somebody, they are not going to spread it to you. So even within your foursome, you just stay a little bit farther away than you might ordinarily,” Troisi said. 

From the UK, Sir Patrick Vallance, UK Chief Scientific Advisor, COVID-19, agrees: “It is ok to play golf – if you keep a distance,” he told “The Golf Business, UK” on March 19, 2020.  

“These are unprecedented times. The more we work together, share and learn from each other’s experiences, the better the outcome will be for all,” concludes Bodo Sieber. 

Go to www.tagmarshal.com/safegolf for more insights, information, advice and tips on how to play and facilitate #SafeGolf.

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