Golf season is here: How to stay safe and still play

March 31, 2020

This paid piece is sponsored by GreatLIFE Golf & Fitness.

Golf season might never have been so welcome.

Instead of staying home, you now can safely head out to nearly any GreatLIFE golf course by following some simple precautions.

“We know golfers always are excited for the season to start, and that’s especially true this year,” said Jason Sudenga, GreatLIFE’s vice president of golf.

“It is very important that everyone adheres to guidelines below. Other states have been shut down due to not following the guidelines. We want the golf courses to stay open and allow people a healthy alternative.”

Here’s what to expect:

Tee times

  • Please call the golf courses or go online to make your tee time.
  • Tee-time increments will be 12 minutes instead of nine minutes.
  • At this time, groups are limited to no more than four people.

Clubhouses

  • Access to the clubhouses will be limited to a maximum of 10 patrons at one time. Fox Run will not have access to the clubhouse. There will be a window on the north side of the clubhouse that players can use to check in.
  • Staff will monitor this to ensure compliance with the mandate. There will be markings with an “X” in the clubhouses to make sure everyone is practicing safe social distancing.
  • Please understand this is for the safety of everyone. GreatLIFE appreciates your understanding and complying with this procedure.

Checking in

  • You may check in by going into the clubhouse or by calling the pro shop.
  • The preferred method of payment is club charge – payment on file required – or credit card. If you like, you may call in and give your credit card over the phone to pay for any charges.
  • The pro shops will be open to buy merchandise. If you want to buy something but don’t want to come into the pro shop, please call the shop, and we will bring the merchandise out to you and put the charge on your account.
  • GreatLIFE will not have any scorecards and pencils available. We recommend downloading a scorecard app onto your phone to keep score. 18 Birdies is the recommended app for keeping score. It has a lot of neat features, including GPS.

Driving ranges

  • All driving ranges will be open to hit balls.
  • Please check in or call the pro shop for procedures for the driving range.

Golf carts

  • Golf carts will be cleaned and sanitized before going out on the golf course.
  • Any people not wanting to share a golf cart will be honored.
  •  Each course will have different procedures for picking up and returning golf carts. You may call or go into the clubhouse for these procedures.
  • Keys will be in each golf cart and turned on. Leave the key in the golf cart and in the on position when finished.
  • At this time, there will be no towels, tees, pencils, scorecards and coolers on the golf carts.

On the golf course 

  • To discourage gatherings, there will not be any tee markers on the golf courses at this time. Please feel free to tee off anywhere on the tee box that you are playing.
  • Please do not touch the flagstick, and keep it in the cup. The cups have been turned upside down on the putting greens so the ball will not drop completely to the bottom of the cup.
  • There will not be any rakes in the bunkers. Please smooth out any footprints with your club or shoes. If your ball lands in a footprint or where someone has moved the sand, you may move the ball to give yourself a preferred lie.

Food and beverage

  • Food and beverage service will be open at all facilities.
  • Gatherings will not be allowed in the clubhouse before, during and after play.
  • Takeout orders and carryout specials will be offered at each facility.

As always, golf will depend on course conditions. Here’s what to expect:

Bakker Crossing

Central Valley

  • All 18 holes open
  • Golf carts starting April 1 for the front nine. Back nine is to be determined.
  • Driving range open

Rocky Run

  • All 18 holes open
  • Carts open
  • Driving range open

Willow Run

Fox Run

Worthington Golf Course

The golf course is closed.

Affiliate golf courses

The Bluffs in Vermillion is limiting play to members of The Bluffs Golf Course and local residents only for April. The Bridges at Beresford is open with carts.

“We’re really glad we can offer a healthy alternative in this time of uncertainty,” Sudenga said.”There are places that are not as fortunate as we are right now, and we need to really stick to the guidelines so we can play this wonderful game in the foreseeable future.”

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Golf season is here: How to stay safe and still play

Golf season might never have been so welcome. Instead of staying home, now you can safely head out to nearly any GreatLIFE golf course by following some simple precautions.

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