Maintenance and operational staff ushering in “new era” of golf through COVID restrictions

Course maintenance staff at Greenbryre Golf & Country Club were busy preparing for the opening day of the 2020 golf season Thursday, ready to usher in a “new era” of the sport.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way everyone now has to approach sports, including golf. It would seem that golf would be a game where it is easy to practise social distancing, but the staff at Saskatchewan’s golf courses had a long list of guidelines to follow before opening day on Friday.

Many staples of the game, even as simple as putting the ball into the cup, are barred due to the restrictions given by public health experts.

This had many in the industry, including Greenbryre’s General Manager and Head Golf Pro Brad Vinnick, leaving plans and mainstays of the game in the past.

“COVID-19 has changed the golf industry to an extreme. Hopefully, everybody can adapt. Understand that we’re just trying to keep everybody safe,” he told 650 CKOM Thursday afternoon during a break from the lengthy course set-up.

Greenbryre Golf & Country Club employees (L-R) Kristian Ballantyne and Preston Slater prepare for opening day of the golf season amid the COVID-19 pandemic on May 14, 2020. (Brady Lang/650 CKOM)

The sanitization of golf courses has been one major aspect of opening and opening safely. With restrictions and guidelines in place that eliminated benches, ball washers, and closed public golf course washrooms, Vinnick explains that there’s a lot behind the scenes that needs to be done before opening day.

“It’s attention to detail all the time. Right from our first customer coming in now, to basically when they leave. We have to look after the washroom facilities, to (minimize) the contact points, which are the ball washers on the golf course to our benches to the handrails. (It’s) been a big adjustment.”

Additional signage can be seen from the moment you enter Greenbryre’s parking lot, to the moment you drop off your cart— from a safe, physically distanced area at the end of your round.

Vinnick says Greenbryre’s pro shop will remain closed to the public until May 18 but will allow one customer at a time to use the washroom to abide by provincial law.

If you’re looking for a beverage before or after your round, or something from the kitchen, you’ll have to pre-order and pick up curbside at the pro shop.

All of these changes were announced on April 23, as part of Phase 1 of the province’s Re-Open Saskatchewan plan.

That gave course maintenance staff 22 days to prepare for opening, something Vinnick says altered the business drastically.

“Everything’s come at a quick and fast pace. In terms of league play, to members, to what the government mandates are, to staff interviews,” he said. “It’s been a very trying period.”

Another major push for Vinnick and his staff is eliminating gatherings or the potential of gatherings.

“At crossover points, turns. (We’ve) marked off areas to direct people to proceed here, or here.”

Once you get to the green, putting is also going to be a bit different. You won’t be able to putt the ball into the cup to finish the hole.

Vinnick says they installed an attachment at each pin that stops the ball from falling into the cup. That eliminates the need to touch the flagstick, something now mandatory in the province.

Washrooms on golf courses in Saskatchewan will need to remain closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Brady Lang/650 CKOM)

“(The ball) doesn’t go down into the bottom of the hole. You can pick it out with two fingers, you can pick it up with the toe of your putter without having to touch the flagstick,” he explained.

Golfers aren’t able to pay before their round or walk on without a tee time. They must pre-pay, then check-in when they get to the course at their tee time. Tee times are now spread out by 12 minutes per group, with those groups not allowed to be more than a foursome.

When it comes to power carts, it’s one rider per cart unless you’re golfing with those that you live with.

Vinnick says power and pushcarts, along with range buckets, will be sanitized before each use by their team behind the scenes. Once they finish sanitization, they mark each item with a pink ribbon that golfers can dispose of during their round.

The game may seem to have changed drastically, with Vinnick coining Friday as the “new era” of golf in Saskatchewan.

He said he understands that the game isn’t the same as where we left it in 2019, but Vinnick said one thing is for certain:

“We’ll get through it together.”