ARE GOLF COURSES ESSENTIAL DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS? IT DEPENDS WHERE YOU LIVE

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Suzanne Rowan Kelleher
Suzanne Rowan Kelleher Senior Contributor Travel
Coronavirus Golf Courses
Golfers at Windsor Parke Golf Club on March 25 in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
 

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

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