- Dale Duff Reporting ([email protected])
The weather forecast is calling for a lot of rain for tomorrow, May 1, but it also the day when Maine’s golf course can re-open under the governor’s phased plan to re-open business in the state.
There are strict guidelines for the golf courses and player must follow. For players, you can only play golf in the county you live in. Tee time intervals must be at least 12 minutes. And, tee times need to be booked and paid in advance.
Check out the complete list of guidelines below…
Phase 1: Golf and Disc Golf Courses
Released April 29, 2020
Personal Protective Gear, Supplies, and Clothing
- Require employees and customers to wear face coverings when indoors or when unable to maintain physical distancing.
- Provide gloves to employees for cleaning and disinfecting high-touch surfaces and items used by customers.
- Provide workers with up-to-date COVID information and training on safe donning, doffing, and disposal of personal protective equipment such as gloves and face coverings.
Golfers and Facility Practices
- Only the golf course itself will remain open. Close off the entire clubhouse, including the Pro Shop, restaurant, and driving range. No food and drink service.
- People can only play golf in the county they live in.
- Out-of-state golfers will not play on Maine golf courses until the Executive Order requiring a 14 day quarantine for out-of-state visitors is lifted by the State.
- Inform your customers of your COVID policies and procedures in advance, if possible.
COVID-19 Prevention Checklist Phase 1: Golf and Disc Golf Courses
- Encourage golfers to pay in advance over the phone with a credit card, or book online, show up to a pre-positioned sanitized cart, and proceed to the first tee without personal contact.
- Use posters and signage to remind customers of physical distancing at entrance and updated rules for play.
- Support physical distance between customer and service staff by taping off 6 feet distance from counter.
- Minimize foot traffic and limit number of customers inside common areas. Keep clubhouses closed for Phase One.
- Do not let customers in work area.
- Minimize shared touch surfaces such as tablets, pens, credit cards, receipts and keys.
- All tee times must be booked and paid for in advance through online, phone, Venmo or other
Electronic Payment Methods.
- Increase tee time intervals to a minimum of 12-minute intervals.
- No more than 4 players to a tee time.
- All players must remain in their car until 10 minutes prior to tee time.
- Continue physical distancing while playing and wear face coverings when indoors or when unable to maintain physical distancing.
- Removing all touchable surfaces (flag sticks, bunker rakes, water coolers, ball washers, etc.)
- If you leave the flag stick in raise the cup 1”, turn the cup upside down, use something to fill the cup to raise the bottom of the cup.
- Enforce one golfer per cart policy.
- Assign staff specific pieces of equipment/carts to avoid sharing between employees.
- Sanitize golf carts after each round.
- Provide golfers with sanitizing wipes/ bottles, if available.
- Close practice areas including practice greens.
- Remove bulk scorecard, pencils, markers and tee holders from starter areas. Encourage golfers to use smart phones for scoring.
- Remove trash cans from course and ask golfers to dispose of their own trash in a designated place.
COVID-19 Prevention Checklist Phase 1: Golf and Disc Golf Courses
- Ask golfers to leave the golf course immediately after playing to eliminate congestion/ gathering on the property or in the parking lot.
- Discontinue club rental clubs. Staff should not store customer golf bags or assist with golf clubs.
- Remove all non-essential devices from the range, such as bag stands or den caddies.
- Disconnect or remove water dispenser/coolers unless they offer foot control activation.Consider providing bottled water to players.
- If portable restrooms are used, they must include handwashing stations with foot-activated devices adjacent to the units and be cleaned regularly.
- No congregating allowed and no gathering on course or in parking lots at any time
