<p>Recommendations by the government that gatherings of more than 10 people not take place during the current COVID-19 outbreak have impacted our everyday lives in countless different ways.</p><p>On the golf course, though, it’s all about groups of four.</p><p>Most athletic activities have been curtailed in some way as the public takes precautions to limit the spread of the virus, but local golf clubs haven’t really seen a dip in business.</p><p>"We have been busy," said Ted Bishop, owner of The Legends Golf Club. "If nothing crazy happens, it could be good for golf, because our sport is an outdoor activity. People provide their own equipment and are certainly spread out over expansive areas.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<p>"It reminds me of when coal miners would go on strike back in the 1970s and ’80s when I was in Linton. A lot of people had nothing but time on their hands, and they played golf."</p><p>Sure enough, the parking lot at The Legends was almost completely packed on Tuesday, when the sun was out and temperatures were just high enough to make being outside for a couple hours bearable.</p><p>It certainly hasn’t hurt that people don’t have the usual array of activities available right now. Golf, which allows people to get physical exercise while generally maintaining a safe distance from one another, has become one of the most appealing options in our current state of semi-quarantine.</p><p>"I still think people are going to golf," Valle Vista head pro Brandon Bezy said. "At least our guys, the regulars, they’re still playing."</p><p>Crystal Morse, the head pro at The Legends, noted that with schools closed, the demographics have been closer to what they might be in the summertime.</p><p>"We had a lot of younger kids," she said. "We’d see high school kids come out and walk the golf course, and middle school kids go out and play. We saw a lot of parents bring their kids out and go out and play on the par-3 course."</p><p>Even with the built-in social distancing that the game of golf provides, courses have been taking additional precautions.</p><p>Some have modified play a bit. The Legends has removed bunker rakes and ball washers and is allowing players to take drops out of sand traps and take "gimmes" on putts inside of three feet.</p><p>At all courses, golf carts are being sanitized after each round through such means as wiping down the steering wheels and power washing with high-grade disinfecting soaps.</p><p>"We’re doing the things that we normally do, but we’re also going above and beyond what we would normally do. We’re disinfecting the steering wheels and that type of thing," Bezy said, "and inside, we’re essentially following you around. Really just trying to put people at ease, trying to go the extra mile."</p><p>The players are taking extra precautions, too. At Hillview Country Club, most regular players have been taking their own individual carts, since two players sharing a ride would violate the recommended six-foot bubble that people should be creating around themselves.</p><p>Customers are maintaining that bubble both outdoors and in, and the pros have taken notice. Morse, for instance, said that even on busy days such as Tuesday, indoor traffic at the pro shop and the snack bar were considerably lighter.</p><p>Golfers were just checking in, playing their rounds, and taking off; the days of hanging around afterward for hot dogs and beer have been largely placed on hold.</p><p>By and large, courses are just glad to be open. With bars, restaurants and most other gathering places being closed down, there were definitely concerns that golf would also become a casualty of the pandemic.</p><p>"It was definitely in the back of our mind," Morse admitted, "but in the meantime, we’re planning on staying open and providing a safe and healthy activity for everybody. It’s in the back of our mind, but unless we’re told otherwise, we’re going to stay open and take each day as it comes."</p><p>At this point, that’s all any of us can really do.</p>
