61SPORTS Bloomberg Pursuits May 18, 2020
7,500 rounds the course normally logs during the week of
the Masters tournament nearby.
To account for social distancing, many courses have
implemented longer waits between tee times. Heron Glen
Golf Course in Ringoes, N.J., opened on Saturday, May 2,
with 16-minute intervals between groups instead of the usual
four people every nine minutes. Playing groups were lim-
ited to two unless all members of a foursome were “imme-
diate family, caretakers, household members, or romantic
partners.” A similar measure will be in place at Grand Saint-
Emilion near Bordeaux, France. One of the course’s own-
ers, Kristel Mourgue d’Algue, told me the club will limit
groups to three golfers and won’t allow carts or rent trol-
leys (pull carts)—more touch points, more risk. And only
twoplayers at a time are allowed to use the driving range.
Some courses are going further. When you arrive on the
tee boxes at destination resort Sand Valley in Nekoosa, Wis.,
there are hand-sanitizing wipes. Michael Keiser, managing
partner and the son of famed developer Mike Keiser, says the
club had to “reverse engineer” the experience to accommo-
date guests staying overnight. “We’ve had to think through
all possible scenarios where both guests and staff interact
with each other, as well as guest-to-guest and staff-to-staff,”
he says. This includes asking golfers to remain in their car
or room prior to tee time.
ClubCorp, too, has policies that go beyond those issued
by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When
golf carts come in after a round, an employee in full protec-
tive gear performs a comprehensive disinfec-
tion. The visual impact makes a difference,
ClubCorp’s Pillsbury says: “It’s important that
members see that you’re taking every mea-
sure to keep them safe.”
Demand has remained strong at Streamsong
Resort near Tampa, where a round can run
as much as $285. The club is now open on
Wednesdays in addition to its Thursday
through Saturday times. “With Lakeland
Linder International Airport accommodat-
ing private jets 35 minutes from the property
and helicopters able to land on-site, our sum-
mer client base is expanding,” says General
Manager Richard Mogensen. The resort is
exploring a service it calls Curbside Clubhouse
to replicate everything from grabbing a bite of
food to buying a shirt—in your car.
The one upside to all this? Rounds are play-
ing faster. Reynolds Lake’s Forester credits the
single-rider cart policy. “Everyone is driving
straight to their own ball and playing ready
golf,” he says. Likewise, spacing tee times
further apart means fewer golfers are on the
course together, so your slow-playing four-
some isn’t waiting on an even slower one
ahead of you. “With a limited number of carts,
courses can only send out so many players
at a time,” says John Kendall, director of golf
at Minnesota’s Giants Ridge, 200 miles north
of Minneapolis. He estimates that courses
are operating at one-third of their normal
capacity—at best. “I’m not worried about the
die-hard golfers coming back,” he says. “I’m
concerned about the recreational ones and
if they’re comfortable enough to come out.”
Sure enough, I finished my truncated
round in record time. Although it didn’t
quite feel like old times, it felt close to nor-
mal, which is enough for now. Almost normal
beats no golf at all. <BW>