Like all golf clubs, Weston-Super-Mare Golf Club has been closed due to Covid, so when I drove down early Sunday morning I didn't know what to expect.
As I drove past the main entrance and looked at the imposing main gates that are shut and locked, an empty car park behind and the clubhouse in darkness, I could not help but feel a tinge of sadness.
Usually by now, at 8.30 am on a Sunday, the car park would already be busy with golfers getting their clubs out of their cars and looking forward to playing 18 holes of golf with friends or family.
The first groups would already be out on the course and the first tee would be busy with players eager to get started.
What made it worse was that it was a dry sunny morning prefect for golf, as I was approaching the course driving along the seafront I could see the prom was already busy with dog walkers, people riding bikes and joggers, it did make me wonder why I could not go and play golf with a couple of friends out in the open and as usual with our golf we would not be that close to each other.
I entered the course along a foot path and walked onto the 17th fairway and on past the 16th green. The course was looking fantastic, but nobody else was there to see it other than early morning dog walkers sticking to the public right of way that dissects the course and takes you from beach road onto Weston Beach.
I spent some time on the 14th tee looking down on the green. With a pond to the left and bunkers in front it is always a challenging hole to play but this morning I can only look at it.
At this point on the course the Uphill church is at it's nearest and looks very imposing up on top the hill behind the 14th green.
The seniors at Weston Golf Club buy the flag that flies from the church steeple and it acts as a very good indicator for the wind direction on the course, but it was not flying at the weekend as it was torn down by some winter winds a few months ago and we have not been able to replace it.
I made my way further round the course, heading back towards the clubhouse, and stopped to have a chat with a lone greenskeeper out working on the course. He was so engrossed with what he was doing I think he was a bit surprised when I approached him!
As golfers we are grateful to our green keeping staff for the wonderful condition they keep the course in for our enjoyment. Unfortunately most of our green staff are now furloughed and sitting at home like most other employees, the clubhouse staff. kitchen staff, cleaners and golf professionals are all the people that oil the wheels to keep any golf club going, but for the time being the gates are locked to all.
England Golf chief executive Jeremy Tomlinson has revealed he does not expect courses to reopen before coronavirus lockdown restrictions in the country are eased, saying: “We don’t expect it to come back before the end of shutdown. We have some differing dates and targets that we’d like to think that we could aim for.
“But, to be honest, they all revolve around, obviously, the vaccination rollout and the R number coming down and, ultimately, the pandemic coming under control.”
Tomlinson admitted the governing body had been disappointed when courses were instructed to close on January 4, adding: “We’ve been working very hard in the background – throughout the whole of last year – trying to get golf reclassified really alongside running, walking and cycling as a great exercise, as well as being a great sport.
“So we were disappointed there, that we weren’t classified in that right and allowed to stay open. We felt that we had justified good, safe, comebacks through the year. Not only had we shown a pathway, but we had delivered upon it.”
There has been a petition from more than 100,000 golfers sent to government requesting that golf clubs should be allowed to reopen.
To re-open golf clubs in the UK for members to play with social distancing in place, with no pro shops or clubhouses open and just a maximum of two people per tee time maintaining a minimum of two metres, golf courses had already made changes to the pins and cups on greens so no one had to touch them.
You turn up in your own car, using your own equipment, there is actually no argument as long as social distancing is followed. This is no different from walking in a park or field.
I risk my life every day still going to work and going to the supermarket once a week, but I am not allowed to walk and play a round of golf in the open air. This doesn't make sense under the current exercise allowance.
For the mental well-being and exercise for young and old I think this would be less risk than other exercise allowances and locations already in place. Please sign the petition to get more exercise options for over two million golfers in the UK.
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