To our Readers:
In an effort to keep our community informed during the public-health crisis, we will post local virus-related information free of charge.
If you have any crisis-related stories, please submit them to ([email protected]).
For comprehensive daily news, home delivery and online only subscriptions are available via itemlive.com.
Golfers get back into the swing of things
By Anne Marie Tobin and Mike Alongi | May 8, 2020
Following a night of rumors and speculation on Wednesday, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker made things official on Thursday morning when he announced that public and private golf courses will be allowed to reopen, effective immediately, while keeping certain social distancing protocols in place. Golfers and golf courses must follow a series of new rules and regulations to ensure the health and safety of all those who participate in the game.
“Golf courses are not essential businesses and cannot have employees working on-premise,” said the governor’s statement from the mass.gov website. “Notwithstanding this restriction, essential services, such as groundskeeping to avoid hazardous conditions and security, provided by employees, contractors, or vendors are permitted. Private operators of courses may permit individuals access to the property so long as there are no gatherings of any kind, appropriate social distancing of six feet between individuals is strictly followed, and the business operator and golfers abide by the specific guidelines for golf courses. Municipalities may decide to open municipal courses under these guidelines, if they so choose.”
Now that the ban has been lifted, golfers didn’t waste any time. Players from all over flocked to the newly opened courses as soon as they could, and all said that they are excited to finally get back on the links.
“We were definitely itching to play,” said Marblehead’s Eric Wright as he stood on the first tee at Gannon Golf Club. “It’s good to get out here again and play. We’ll see how the first drive goes after some time off, but we’re excited to get out there right now.
“(Gannon) is probably my favorite municipal course around here,” Wright added. “We were glad to be able to get a tee time so fast.”
Tee time availability is one thing that will be in short supply over the coming weeks, as golfers from all over the state are racing from course to course looking for a place to play.
“We just had a guy drive by asking us how we got a tee time,” said Charlie O’Brien, another Marbleheader waiting for the tee at Gannon. “We called places all over the area and Gannon was honestly the first one to answer.
“I’ve played here plenty of times, my Dad is a member here,” O’Brien said. “It’s really tough to say how it’s going to be out there with all the restrictions.”
Saugus resident Tom Waisnor said, while he couldn’t tee it up Thursday due to work obligations, he is ready to go Friday.
“I’ve been playing the last five weeks in Connecticut, so it’s great to be able to play again in Massachusetts, finally,” Waisnor said, adding that he and son Andrew have reserved a 2:12 tee time at Sagamore Spring in Lynnfield.
Massachusetts was the last state in the country to announce the reopening of the golf industry, as Vermont and Maryland — the other two of the final three states to hold out — made their announcements to reopen one day earlier on May 6.
As for local courses, many are already open and welcoming golfers. Gannon (Lynn), Salem Country Club (Peabody) and Kernwood Country Club (Salem) all opened as soon as they could on Thursday, while Sagamore Spring Golf Club (Lynnfield) will open for golfers on Friday. Cedar Glen Golf Club (Saugus) and Thomson Country Club (North Reading) have plans to open on Saturday. Tedesco Country Club (Marblehead) plans to open for its members on Sunday at the earliest, while Reedy Meadow Golf Course (Lynnfield) and King Rail Reserve Golf Course (Lynnfield) will also open Sunday.
The Meadow at Peabody (Peabody) has a meeting with Mayor Edward Bettencourt and representatives from the Health Department and Finance Department at 11 a.m. Friday, with hopes to open later in the day.
“We are ready as we already have an online payment system, so we don’t have the problems other courses are seeing that don’t have that in place,” said The Meadow at Peabody head pro Peter Cronan. “I’ve been ready to go since March 17.”
In celebration of golf courses opening up in Lynnfield this weekend, Lynnfield town administrator Rob Dolan said all Lynnfield moms will receive a complimentary round on Mother’s Day as a thank you for their support. Players have to register online or by telephone, with no walk-ins accepted.
Mike Alongi can be reached at [email protected]. Daniel Kane can be reached at [email protected]. Anne Marie Tobin can be reached at [email protected].