Will Golf Courses in England Re-Open After 2 December 2020?
Now we all hope that courses will re-open on 3rd December, or as soon as possible after that and give us some respite from Lockdown-2 in England.
There may be some light on the horizon, if common sense prevails and it does not put lives at risk.
A forthcoming debate by the UK Government may offer us some sort of promise, but we should know more by Monday evening.
England Golf has confirmed that the UK government will debate the petition that was delivered to it ‘Exempt golf courses from the list of venues required to close due to Covid-19’, which attracted over 250,000 signatures, on Monday 23 November.
As you know, Golf courses in England have been closed since Thursday 5th November, when we started a four-week national lockdown.
That was despite arguments being put forward by England Golf, members of the golfing industry and the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Golf.
England Golf has said that it wholeheartedly supports the views of the petition, details of which you can read by clicking here, that golf courses should be allowed to remain open through this current lockdown, enabling golfers of all ages to continue playing golf and to exercise safely.
England Golf, however, has also acknowledged that there is no guarantee of courses re-opening on 3rd December,
Jeremy Tomlinson, England Golf CEO, said, “We know the benefits our sport can provide for both mental and physical health at this time of isolation and hope the government can recognise this during the upcoming debate and support golf’s return to playing,”.
“Earlier this year, the game of golf was able to clearly demonstrate that it could be enjoyed in a COVID-safe way, which is why it was one of the first sports to return once restrictions were lifted.
“This was a privilege that the sport took incredibly seriously and accordingly adopted the highest possible standards to keep participants safe.
“Our sport has come together in one voice during this difficult year and it’s thanks to the support of our members, clubs and counties, as well as our collaboration with the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Golf.”
Don’t get too despondent if the decision is not the one we would want
On a lighter note,
England Golf have Released a MyEG Mobile App.
My England Golf (MyEG) will allow golfers to stay up to date with their Handicap Index as part of the World Handicap System (WHS).
The app, available now to download for free in Apple and Google Play stores, follows on from the official transition on 2 November to the new WHS for the 1,800 golf clubs and 630,000 golfers across England.
England Golf has created the app to provide golfers with the ability to access their Handicap Index on the go, as well as to easily keep track of their overall playing record on a regular basis.
A Course Handicap calculator is another unique feature of the new My England Golf app.
This function will allow golfers to cross-reference their Handicap Index with whichever set of tees they will be playing from on a particular day, for any course in the country, in order to work out their Course Handicap.
You can read more about MyEG App and how to download it by clicking on the MyEG App link below:
As ever
Stay safe and well
Tony