BREAKING: Augusta Shuts Down Due To Coronavirus

Ever since the Coronavirus outbreak has become a pandemic, one thing that has been on the mind of all golf fans is whether or not the Masters, which was just postponed, would be canceled. One sign seems to be pointing to that potential reality.

Just a few days after it was announced that the Masters would be postponed to a later date, Augusta National announced they will be shutting down the golf club for the time being. Chairman of Augusta National, Fred Ridley, stated that he would be following the Center of Disease Control (CDC) guidelines which recommend stopping all gatherings of up to 50 people, leading to the closure of the course.

The letter obtained by Golf Digest states, “We are now in the midst of a national emergency. The Coronavirus is increasingly impacting lives everywhere, and we have rigorously evaluated how this will affect the Club and its operations. Our focus moving forward must be the health and safety of our exceptional staff, which is the heartbeat of Augusta National.”

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While the course is set to be shut down for the foreseeable future, the letter also states that Augusta will not sit unattended. The course will be maintained by the minimum amount of employees necessary and all other activities will be done remotely, if possible. Ridley explained that this situation is bigger than golf and business continuity, it’s about the safety of employees and patrons alike that he had to make this incredibly tough decision.

It remains to be seen for when Augusta will open back up again. The letter did state that Ridley and other staff would pay attention to the latest updates and continue to keep in constant communication with members and staff, ensuring that they have all the appropriate information and potential timeframes. While the letter didn’t mention the Masters specifically, the longer this quarantine goes on, the less likely the PGA TOUR will be able to fit it into the compact schedule.

It’s certainly sad to see one of the most prestigious golf courses shut down for an indefinite time, but it is nice to see that Ridley and others are putting the well-being of their workers and members over their profits. As long as all protocols are followed, we will hopefully get to see golf at Augusta again in 2020.

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