By Mark Wehrman EBS CONTRIBUTOR
Welcome back golfers!
Big Sky Resort Golf Course opened May 22 for the 2020 golfing season. This year will obviously be different than past years in many ways. One thing is for certain, golf is going to be one of the few things that can be counted on as a safe and healthy activity for all ages.
There are certain things that come to my mind right away when thinking about the positive aspects the game of golf provides. Golf is one of the few activities or sports that can be played while still maintaining social distancing. Golfers get to be outside, getting exercise while practicing a safe social distance. Golf, not being a team sport, doesn’t require a group of people congregating in close quarters. With the ability to book tee times, purchase season passes, and even sign up for golf clinics online, we can minimize the risk of customer-employee interaction if that is the intention of our golfing guest. We, of course, want to see as much of the golfers as we can and are hoping to interact with all in a safe manner.
We have made many changes in our day-to-day operations to also minimize certain risks. Most changes are temporary. Foam will be put in the bottom of the cup. Please do not touch or remove the flagstick. No bunker rakes, benches, bathrooms, and ball washers on-course. No water coolers will be available. We do plan to provide on-course F&B delivery along with having a beverage station available on the course. No trash cans will be available. Please pack your trash with you. Golf carts will be cleaned and sanitized before and after each use. More space will be provided on the practice range. Club washing buckets will be provided but no chairs, trash cans, or sand and seed buckets will be set up.
I know this all sounds like a lot, but these are recommended guidelines that all golf courses are following to reduce the risk of people touching the same equipment and areas. As I said most of this is temporary and with good fortune, we will be at phase 3 and back to normal sooner than later. Also, I truly feel that once you get to Big Sky Resort Golf Course things will not seem that out of the ordinary. By the time or season really ramps up in July we are hoping to plan for a full tournament schedule with a few changes to logistics, etc.
I, myself, plan on taking advantage of the social distancing by doing more walking and less riding. We will, however, be leaving the cart riding decision up to our golfing consumer. Meaning if both players are comfortable riding in the same cart they are allowed. Those that are not comfortable we will be as accommodating as possible in getting you your own cart, inventory dependent, of course. Having said all of that I want to welcome you all back for another great summer of golf and wish you nothing but long, straight shots and lots of one putts!
Mark Wehrman is the Head Golf Professional at the Big Sky Resort Golf Course and has been awarded the PGA Horton Smith Award recognizing PGA Professionals who are model educators of PGA Golf Professionals.
