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.
Check out the new EZ Lift ball retrievers that we have installed on all flagsticks. No need to ever touch the flagstick again! pic.twitter.com/h5oKyXQME5
— Cobblestone (@CobblestoneGolf) April 16, 2020
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.
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About Tagmarshal
Tagmarshal has tracked over 10 million rounds of golf. Real-time data collected by the system using small “tags” clipped onto golf bags, installed in buggies or offered on handheld or cart-installed proprietary 2Way screen devices, transmits information to on-course staff or personnel in the pro shop identifying groups that are out of position before issues arise. Player assistants can then support in a proactive, objective, non-confrontational manner resulting in improved player experience, consistent round times and player time freed up to enjoy on-site food and beverage items as well as opportunities for additional tee sheet capacity.
More than 25 of the top 100 US courses partner with Tagmarshal including over 250 leading courses globally.
To learn more about how Tagmarshal improves the golfer experience, through on-course optimization, watch the free demo here.