COVID-19 GOLFER: Here are Some Helpful Pandemic Golf Tips

While health agencies around the world continue to battle the COVID pandemic, social distancing efforts have allowed certain aspects of normal life to resume activity.

Perhaps most pertinent for us is that most states have allowed golf to resume. Indeed, the National Golf Foundation states that, as of week ending April 26, 2020, 58% of U.S. golf courses were open for play (with more on the way following NJ Governor Phil Murphy’s announcement that courses can open starting May 2nd), up from 49% the prior week.

As exciting as this may be, it’s equally important that golfers not abandon logic and common sense and keep a few things in mind:

If you aren’t feeling well or were recently feeling unwell, DO NOT PLAY

I know, I know, golf is, arguably, the sport that best aligns with social distancing requirements. Regardless, if you aren’t feeling well or were recently feeling unwell, do the right thing and do NOT go play golf.

The short story is that no matter how much you want to play, it will never be worth accidentally getting someone else sick, particularly because you probably have no idea what they and their loved one’s health risks might be.

Moreover, if golfers unintentionally start infecting each other, it’s entirely reasonable that golf courses will be shut down once again.

As a result, if you don’t feel well, do all golfers a favor and stay home.

Learn and observe your state’s requirements

There’s too many states to list and detail here, but fortunately the National Golf Foundation is maintaining and updating a section of its website dedicated to COVID news to provide some information about which states are allowing golf.

As much as we all love the cliff notes version, PLEASE take the time to read up on your state’s specific rules to make sure you get a complete picture and can play golf without fear of not being allowed to play or, even worse, being banned from that particular course.

For example, while NY has been getting lots of attention and is allowing groups of 4 to play with extended tee time spacing and absent golf carts and rakes on the course, IL is taking a much harsher position and only allowing groups of 2.

As you might imagine, this makes getting a tee time in advance even more important, as almost all golf courses are prohibiting gatherings in any form. In sum, you should only be parking, golfing and leaving.

Therefore, make sure to fully brief yourself on your state’s rules to make sure you’re in compliance and help make sure we can keep playing golf going forward.

Pack Plenty of Water and Snacks

As briefly stated above, every state has its own, unique rules concerning golf courses. However, most states are in unison when directing that all non-golfing amenities, such as clubhouses, locker rooms and snack bars, are not permitted to be open.

Consequently, for the time being, you can’t count on the halfway house or snack girl having your favorite flavor Gatorade or good luck, back-9 hot dog.

Instead, make sure to take the extra 10-15 minutes to pack yourself plenty of water and snacks, particularly in light of the fact that there’s a high likelihood you’ll be walking your course with an additional 35 pounds of golf clubs on your bag for 6,000+ yards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by ROBERT YANG (@robertyang) on Apr 28, 2020 at 8:07am PDT

I can assure you that you will be significantly more thirty than you normally are. Indeed, golf fitness experts recommend you drink more than ½ your bodyweight (lbs.) in ounces while golfing, as dehydration can negatively impact distance, accuracy and distance judgment while playing.

In light of the foregoing, make sure to bring plenty of water and try to take a sip or two in between each shot to help make sure you’re hydrated and staying fresh throughout the entire round.

Dress Appropriately

After playing in Scotland Mike and Frank can testify to how drastically the weather can change in just minutes without any warning. Given that most of us will be walking, it’s important that you try to prepare for a range of weather conditions—cool, windy, wet, etc.—so you stay comfortable during the round.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by FootJoy (@footjoy) on Nov 12, 2019 at 3:07pm PST

Stretch

Yes, you should probably be stretching before every round. However, I’d like to mention that it’s, arguably, more important to stretch now since (A) we haven’t been playing that much, or even as physically active as we normally are, while confined to our homes and (B) you’ll be playing a much more physically demanding round of golf between the golfing, walking and carrying your bag / pulling your pushcart.

Easy To Perform Golf Warm-up

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If you can, I’d also suggest supplementing pre-round stretching with some TPI (Titleist Performance Institute) mobility and strength exercises—even simple, bodyweight movements like hip thrusts, lunges and push-ups can be effective and scaled to be easier or more difficult—to help not only keep you fresh, but also ready to come out firing on all cylinders for that first 2020 round.

Cover Image Via Instagram