Foam bumpers have been installed in the cups at Crosswater in Sunriver to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Most golf courses in Oregon never ceased operations while many other businesses were forced to close to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Washington and California closed courses, but in Oregon, golfing never really stopped.

“While it started with what’s an essential business and what’s not, what we really got down to, was that golf is actually one of the safest forms of recreation that you can provide in our state today,” says Josh Willis, director of golf at Sunriver Resort. “The governor has really leaned on the golf operators themselves, and the golf course owners, and the professionals who run these businesses, to really be liaisons and represent what executive order 20-12 really implied, which was to enforce social distancing.”

Washington and California have since reopened golf, and play continues across Oregon, including on Central Oregon’s numerous courses, with strict social distancing and CDC guidelines in place. Golf allows for easy social distancing most of the time.

“When you really break it down, there’s really no time when you should be within 6 feet of anybody else while golfing,” says Taylor Giacomini, associate professional at Bend’s Widgi Creek Golf Club.

Courses are taking measures to sanitize and disinfect all touchpoints, including carts before and after each round. They are also encouraging golfers to walk and only allowing one player per cart, except for those who live in the same household.

“It starts by minimizing the number of people in the parking lot,” Willis says. “When that round of golf is done it’s time to go. I’m not telling them where they have to go, but I’m just telling them they can’t be there.”

Flagsticks always remain in and many courses have inverted their cups, so golfers can retrieve their ball without touching the cup. Sunriver’s courses feature foam noodles around the cup, so the ball will hit the foam noodle and ricochet back to the golfer when he or she makes a putt.

At most courses, rakes have been removed from all bunkers so they are not touched and in some cases tee times have been scheduled farther apart.

Willis says that several state golf organizations worked closely with Gov. Kate Brown’s office in the early days of the pandemic to ensure they had a voice.

“And that voice started with making sure they knew that golf maintenance is an essential business,” Willis says. “You can’t just not take care of a golf course, because you will lose the asset. You can’t let bentgrass grow to 2 inches long, because if you do you’re not going to get that asset back in a timely manner and it will be jeopardized.”

Willis says that as long as courses enforce social distancing rules, at least 6 feet between people at all times, golf will remain one of the safest sports to play in Oregon.

“I believe we have gotten well past the time where we could have lost golf,” Willis says. “But what does the new normal look like with golf operations in the future? That’s the million-dollar question. And what are the strings attached before we even get to the new normal?”

Zach Lampert, head pro at Meadow Lakes in Prineville, says he was concerned that Oregon would follow suit with Washington and California and close golf courses when the first shelter-in-place order was announced.

“If you look at Oregon as a whole, the numbers have been pretty good, as far as the coronavirus, and we’ve had golf open,” Lampert says. “I would say it’s shown that we’ve all worked hard enough to come up with the right policies and procedures that it’s still a safe avenue to be outside and we’re not adding to the spread in any way.”

Lampert adds that for the month of April, play was actually up 15% above average at Meadow Lakes. But revenues were down by 33%, which Lampert contributes to a decline in merchandise sales with the golf shop being closed, and a decline in annual pass sales to snowbirds.

“But our daily play has been busy, busier than the past year,” Lampert says. “That’s been interesting to watch those numbers.”

Lampert says he has noticed more twosomes than normal on busy days, and Meadow Lakes and other courses are trying to accommodate twosomes who perhaps are wary of playing with strangers during the pandemic. But the course continues to pair players into foursomes if they’re OK with it.

“We’re not forcing people to, but they may have to wait for a different time,” Lampert says. “They have to make the decision themselves.”

Giacomini says that Widgi Creek is also trying to accommodate those who prefer to play as a twosome, as the course adheres to CDC guidelines.

“We’ve been lucky enough to be able to stay open and provide outdoor recreation,” Giacomini says. “I feel like we’ve been operating in a very safe environment and keeping a lot of social-distancing policies in place the best we can to keep everybody safe.”