Better late than never, as the saying goes.
Following a successful pitch to Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s Re-opening Advisory Board over the weekend, the New England PGA and Mass Golf told their member clubs in Massachusetts on Wednesday night to “be ready at a moment’s notice” in the event that golf courses will be told they’re allowed to reopen. The ban on golf could be lifted as early as Thursday morning.
“The New England PGA, in conjunction with the Alliance of Massachusetts Golf Organizations (AMGO) has received positive communications on the process that the Re-opening Advisory Board and Governor Baker are working through,” the statement read. “Due to the fluid nature of this process, it is likely that the NEPGA and AMGO will not be given the requested advance notice of approval (two to three days ahead of time) to re-open golf courses in Massachusetts. We ask that your staff and facilities remain prepared and to begin your preparations as the announcement could come at a moment’s notice. Once the NEPGA receives guidelines from the Governor’s administration, they will be distributed immediately to our membership. We thank you for your patience and understanding, and hope to be able to share good news with you very soon.”
Jesse Menachem, the CEO and Executive Director of Mass Golf, was pleased with the new developments coming out of the governor’s office.
“We have not heard formally yet, and I am waiting to see what happens,” Menachem said. “We heard Maryland and Vermont may be opening, leaving us as the only state not open. We received some communication (Wednesday) from the governor’s Re-opening Advisory Board that is being reviewed and worked on.
“We just informed our member clubs to be prepared on a moment’s notice,” Menachem continued. “Some clubs will be prepared to open, and some will prefer to wait a day or two, and we respect that it’s a club by club decision. If and when it does happen, we are going to have to follow the guidelines from A to Z because if we don’t, they will shut us down again, so we cannot risk that. Every precaution the state initiates has to be followed, otherwise the right to stay open will get yanked.”
Golf course operators have been ready to go for a while now, and once the go-ahead is given it will be full steam ahead for many courses.
“We are absolutely ready to go tomorrow morning if it happens,” said Steve Murphy, who along with partner Chris Carter, manages Gannon Golf Club in Lynn, Beverly Golf & Tennis and Hillview Golf Club in North Reading. “Of course, is this not Murphy’s Law that we may be opening to crummy weather this week after such a beautiful weekend.
“They told us it could be two to three days, but to be ready as it could happen (Thursday) at 7 a.m.,” Murphy added. “I am sure not everybody is ready, but we are and if we can open, we will.”
Murphy is one of the many voices in the Massachusetts golf scene who has been champing at the bit to get back to business. After Wednesday’s announcements by Vermont and Maryland of their plans to reopen golf courses on May 7, Massachusetts would be the last state in the country to allow golf courses to open.
“The bottom line is we can’t be the only state in the United States not to be open,” Murphy said. “We should have been open earlier, as with such a great winter our courses are in great shape. We lost revenue we never will recover, but at least it seems like things are happening, maybe as early as tomorrow.”
Whatever the reasons for the delay and whenever the official date is set, Menachem is happy that golfers will be back out on the course in short order.
“Maybe we will be able to have a few happy mothers playing golf on Mother’s Day,” Menachem said.
Mike Alongi can be reached at [email protected]. Anne Marie Tobin can be reached at [email protected].
