Do statewide stay-at-home orders apply to golfers? Like so many things during the COVID-19 pandemic, the rules seem to depend on where you live. The result is a patchwork of policies that has led some golfers to cross state lines in order to sneak in 18 holes.
As of now, 32 states currently allow golf courses to open during the COVID-19 pandemic, while roughly a third of states have decided that golf is non-essential.
Ambivalent stay-at-home orders have left many golfers unsure whether their favorite courses would open this year. Most governors did not specify which recreational services were considered essential, leaving it open to interpretation. States were often compelled to go back and spell out whether golf courses are essential during the pandemic.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee clarified that the answer is no in the Evergreen State. Likewise, in New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo updated New York’s list of essential services to make his view crystal clear: Parks and other open public spaces can stay open, “however, golf courses are not essential.” Earlier this week, the governors of Texas and Nevada specified that golf courses are not essential businesses.
As you might expect, there have been flip-floppers. A Golf Digest article describes how Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont had at first deemed golf courses to be non-essential. “Shortly after, the Connecticut State Golf Association circulated an email imploring golfers to contact their state representative or the governor’s office to ask them to reconsider.” The measure worked. Yes, there would be golf in the Nutmeg State.
Ohio officials originally said golf courses were non-essential. Four days later, the state’s health department did a 180-degree turn, allowing golf courses to operate as long as people comply with social distancing requirements and a one-person-per-golf-cart rule. It wasn’t long before golfers started traveling from Michigan, where courses are closed, into Ohio to enjoy a round. In some cases they were turned away, according to local news reports.
Not every governor has relented to the squeakiest wheel. A “Let Wisconsin Golf” petition on Change.org is asking for the state to overturn its decision to close golf courses. The petition suggests compromises such as electronic payments, closed clubhouses, no flag sticks, no golf carts and, of course, social distancing must be followed. So far, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has stood firm, though the petition has garnered more than 65,000 signatures so far.
In Florida, which has the largest concentrations of seniors in the United States, Governor Ron DeSantis has decided that it’s A-okay for golf courses to stay open, but some individual counties, including Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, are preventing play.
States Where Golf is Currently Allowed
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida (except Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach counties)
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Utah
Virginia
West Virginia
Wyoming
States Where Golf is Not Currently Allowed
California
Illinois
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Texas
Vermont
Washington
Wisconsin
