Joe Lopes took the first tee time he could get in the minutes following Thursday’s announcement that golf courses would be allowed to reopen after a month long shutdown under the province's stay at home order.
“I think the news came out at 3 o’clock and we started calling at 3:05,” says the Toronto golfer who was happy to nab a tee time at Cambridge Golf Club after widening his search to include Savannah and Puslinch, which were already booked up.
“It’s been brutal trying to find tee-off times and it’s only going to get worse,” he says.
Golf courses across the region were packed with golfers Saturday morning, the first time since mid April.
Jay Lavigne, one of five pros at the club, was excited to welcome golfers back after spring was scuttled by the provincial lockdown.
“There’s nothing like getting back to it full bore,” Lavigne said Friday as staff prepared for a busy opening day Saturday. “We’ve been going non stop for the last three weeks to make sure everything’s in order.”
Tee times for opening day, and up until Thursday, were fully booked from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and had been for weeks as golfers anticipated news that came May 20 with the announcement outdoor activities could resume.
“We’ve had times from two weeks ago that people have booked in the anticipation that we will open.”
Health measures in place to protect golfers include signs promoting masks and physical distancing, stations with automatic hand dispensers, limits of one person per power cart and tee-off times staggered at 10 minute intervals.
“We’re losing five tee times per hour,” he says. “Which is quite a bit of money, but you can’t put a price on people’s health.”
On the course, they’ve removed ball washers and rakes, they have lift cups on every hole and they encourage players not to touch the flag.
Lavigne says he knows the pandemic has been tough for restaurants and retail stores, but many of them can open, close or switch to online sales easily, as the situation changes.
Golf courses, on the other hand, have to be maintained even when nobody’s using them.
They also don’t have access to government loans and wage subsidies that have helped many businesses get through the pandemic.
Everyone was just weathering it, Lavigne says.
“I wouldn’t say we’re all in the same boat, but we’re all in the same storm.”
Cambridge Golf Club employs about 40 full and part time staff during the season. Some of the maintenance crew and kitchen staff had a delayed start.
The silver lining is the spike in interest in the sport of golf, he says.
While everyone was navigating the pandemic last summer, interest in golf took off and beginners in the sport last year are keeping up with it, Lavigne says.
The North Dumfries course opened briefly near the end of March and is usually open during Masters Week, but on April 16 the announcement came that courses had to shut. They’ve been closed since April 17.
Lavigne wasn’t impressed with Premier Doug Ford’s reasoning behind the decision to shutdown golfing.
Ford told reporters last week, “I know what happens. They pick up a buddy, two or three, they go out, they go golfing. There’s nothing wrong with golfing. The problem is the mobility. Then after golf, they go back, they have a few pops. That’s the problem."
“Being a professional, that pissed a lot of people off,” Lavigne says. “It could have been worded differently.”
“I want to say 98 per cent of players drive here by themselves. And being that there are no patios, there’s no reason for you to stick around.”
But it doesn't matter now. Business is booming and Lavigne believes this season will be bigger than last year.He says companies like Titleist are reporting a 48% increase in quarterly sales.
"Everyone started golf last year because there was nothing else to do. They enjoyed it and they kept at it," Lavigne says.
Even with rain in the forecast, joy was the overriding emotion on the course Saturday.
“Elated. Happiest I’ve been in a long time,” club member Shawn Stemmler said while getting ready to tee off Saturday.
The feeling was shared by Elke Pepping, of Cambridge, out for the first time this season and one of the first on the course Saturday morning at 6:10 a.m.
“I’m very happy golf is back.”
The only rough part of Lavigne's day was telling people they wouldn't be able to book a tee time until June.“I feel bad when people do call and I say you can’t get a tee time,” Lavigne laughs. “But there are 1.4 million golfers who have been waiting for this day to come.”
