Do you feel the Covid precautions at you local golf club are adequate?

 

 

Some courses are closed, and some are open at the moment, so it is all a bit confusing.

 

When Covid first hit Thailand back in the spring of 2020, the governments first plan was to stop any form of outdoor exercise, apart from venturing out to the supermarket.

 

Then gradually we were told that some sports including golf could reopen under strict Covid rules, and everything slowly got back to normal.

 

What Have We Learnt?

 

Here we are a year later and although most of the golf courses have excellent Covid precautions, people, maybe non golfers, seem to be happy to close a course just because 40 gamblers were caught with covid several miles away.

 

In the UK where the virus is rampant, even now calls are being made for golf to be treated the same as fishing during England's latest lockdown.

 

The UK government has urged people to stay home in a bid to halt the spread of Covid-19. Despite that, it gave angling the go-ahead to continue, saying it would be treated as a form of exercise.

 

Golfers say the same approach should be afforded to their sport, with more than 129,000 people signing a petition calling for courses to reopen. Because this petition has passed 100,000 signatures, it will now be debated in the English Parliament.

 

Surely if we pre book and pay online for our golf and change before arriving and go straight out onto the course, we do not need to use any clubhouse facilities.

 

Naturally here in Thailand we are used to having a caddie, but as most golf carts now have a plastic divider it seems safe anyway.

 

Most clubs operate a one-way system teeing off from Hole No.1 and then off we go.

 

So, the question for us here in Thailand is, do we feel that the current Covid precautions at our local club is adequate?

 

Secondly are there any other precautions they should take to make you feel 100% safe?

1 hour ago, Thaivisa Golf said:

So, the question for us here in Thailand is, do we feel that the current Covid precautions at our local club is adequate?

Arguably no but I am willing to take the risk based on current practices and don't really want more stringent ones enforced.

 

As an example I can remember when golf courses re-opened after the closure and Pattana had quite strict guidelines: one of which was the caddie could only handle the head of the club and hand it to you so you grabbed the grip and vice versa. This lasted less than the first 9 holes from memory.

 

1 hour ago, Thaivisa Golf said:

Secondly are there any other precautions they should take to make you feel 100% safe?

Personally I don't think it is possible but depends on one's version of what 100% entails.

Even if you made all groups as singletons, no caddies, provide and use only your own trolley, you would still have to pay someone at some point and those restrictions would be too extreme for most.

As long as everyone is aware &  follows them I think they are OK

All caddies this morning had masks as we did for our limited time to sign in with our phones,

pay, clean hands straight away & off to No 1 tee, where we could dispense of the masks but not the caddies. No showers, no congregating after & no booze.

 

When I see an announcement of a COVID cluster occurring on any golf course in Thailand, I'll sit up and take notice. I probably have more chance of being struck by lightning out there.

Precautions are dependent on the individual caddie. Some wear masks, some don't. Some observe club handling protocols. I don't worry about it, the risk of driving in Thai traffic is orders of magnitude more.

 

The course I usually play has been testing the caddies and staff once a week.  Masks, gloves, plastic shields in the carts, trying to keep distance on the course.

It will not be perfect but yes, I believe they are doing the best they can do.

Troll post talking about  shouting ‘four’ removed.

Safer than being in any suupermarket, public transport or for that matter eating places where food is prepared and plates utensils etc are touched by many. On a golf course everything is up front and can be seen andhence minimumised..

Most clubs are having regular visits from their local Health Departments to check they are floowing guidelines which is good. Basically it is up to you the golfer and your colleagues to follow the rules inside the clubhouse, but out on the course it is safer.

I have played a few courses lately and am satisfied with the steps taken for Covid safety . Caddies wearing masks and gloves throughout the round ,I beleive , is the most effective protocol . I am able to drive myself so I don't run the risk of being in a van with virtual strangers and skip the shower until I get home .

 

Being outdoors and socially distant makes golf a great past time to get out of the house and interact with people. Coupled with the cost now approaching a reasonable level I look forward to sailing through the next few months of the new normal.