While many clubs across the country have closed due to the coronavirus outbreak, others have shifted standard operating procedures, but remained open for play with restrictions and have seen a lot of traffic. The National Club Association announced more Virtual Townhalls to discuss response strategies, and the U.S. Department of Labor freed up to $100 million for Dislocated Worker Grants to help address workforce-related impacts.
Here’s the latest roundup and summary of club-related developments surrounding the pandemic that have recently been reported:
—The U.S. Department of Labor announced the availability of up to $100 million for Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs) to help address the workforce-related impacts of the public health emergency. The federal declaration enables the Secretary of Labor to award Disaster Recovery DWGs. Supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, Dislocated Worker Grants temporarily expand the service capacity of dislocated worker programs at the state and local levels by providing funding assistance in response to large, unexpected economic events that cause significant job losses.
“As Americans make sacrifices to combat the spread of coronavirus, President Trump’s priority is to protect and sustain America’s workers and their families,” U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia said. “The availability of Dislocated Worker Grants will help states and communities strengthen their economies as we fight to slow the spread of the virus and regain our economic momentum.”
Entities eligible to apply for Disaster Recovery DWGs are states, outlying areas and Indian Tribal Governments as defined in the Stafford Act. Disaster Recovery DWGs will provide eligible participants with both disaster-relief employment and employment and training activities. These participants can include dislocated workers, workers who were laid-off as a result of the disaster, self-employed individuals who are unemployed or underemployed as a result of the disaster, and long-term unemployed individuals.
Eligible entities can also apply for Employment Recovery DWGs in response to layoffs caused by cancellations or shutdowns caused by coronavirus. Employment Recovery DWGs will provide employment and training services to reintegrate eligible individuals back into the workforce. States can apply for Employment Recovery DWGs if 50 or more individuals are laid off by one employer, or if there are significant layoffs that significantly increase unemployment in a given community, even if the total layoffs are fewer than 50 individuals.
For further information, visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
—The San Luis Obispo Country Club is closing after a member tested positive for coronavirus, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported.
“It is with great regret and with an abundance of caution that we must shut down all operations of the club effective immediately,” the club’s Board of Directors and management stated in a group e-mail to members sent March 18.
The member is now in self-quarantine and isolated at home, the club said. The unidentified person was on country club grounds on the afternoon of March 14 and “had minimal contact with individuals” on the property, the Tribune reported. The member reportedly did not return to the club after that afternoon.
The club will evaluate re-opening after March 31, the Tribune reported.
“The club will be undergoing a deep cleaning and disinfecting of all areas in the meantime,” the club stated in its e-mail. “Please be on the lookout for further communications, stay safe and take good care.”
The club has issued a notice to members on how to receive text-messaging updates for new information, the Tribune reported.
—Topgolf announced March 18 that all 56 of its facilities in the United States are closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Citing the public-health emergency, Topgolf said it would be closing “until further notice.” Topgolf has facilities in the U.S., United Kingdom and Australia and expansion plans in Canada, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates.
—The Mirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa in Lake Placid, N.Y. announced that it will temporarily suspend operations. “While we have no confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus in Lake Placid, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily close the hotel, effective Monday, March 16,” said Ed Weibrecht, the owner of the Four Diamond resort. “As a family-owned and operated business, the safety and well-being of both our staff and our guests remain our priority. Additionally, we feel strongly that we have a social responsibility to do our part to assist in ‘flattening the curve’ and to help slow the spread of the virus.”
“While temporarily closing the hotel will have an enormous negative financial impact on us, we feel it is the right thing to do for our staff, our guests, and for humanity as a whole,” Weibrecht added. “This is a very serious matter, and everyone needs to be responsible and do their part to mitigate the situation. We have urged all staff, and recommend to everyone, to follow CDC guidelines to prevent the spread of the infection.”
Guests who have reservations during the temporary closure will have the option of applying their deposit towards a future date, or to receive a full refund.
Mirror Lake’s announcement noted that the property recently purchased a state-of-the-art Electrostatic Disinfecting Machine that has been employed throughout the entire property, to enhance the resort’s consistent focus on cleanliness. The acquisition encapsulates surface areas with a disinfecting spray using positively and negatively charged ions. Also, staff in all departments upgraded to hospital-grade wipes to regularly disinfect surface areas, including guest rooms, door handles, push bars, elevator buttons, light switches, treatment rooms, spa sanctuaries, salon and fitness center. These enhanced efforts have already become standard practice and will continue to be the “new norm” going forward, the resort said.
—The National Club Association (NCA) announced that it would be continuing its series of Coronavirus Virtual Town Hall webinars to help clubs navigate the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. In addition to its first coronavirus webinar March 16, which attracted over 2,400 club-industry participants, the NCA hosted a webcast titled “Legal Ramifications of COVID-19 and Your Club” March 19. Attorneys Mitch Boyarsky and Michelle Tanzer of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLC addressed legal questions regarding the COVID-19 crisis, and NCA Vice President of Government Relations Joe Trauger gave an update on the latest legislative developments regarding the coronavirus.
These webinars are free for the entire club community and the NCA is making presentations available after the webinars for those who do not attend them live.
On March 20 at 11 a.m. ET, NCA will host a “Your Club Is Closing, Now What?” Town Hall, intended to help clubs understand the factors to decide whether to close during the coronavirus pandemic and what issues clubs should consider while not in operation.
Ray Cronin, Founder and Chief Innovator of Club Benchmarking; Frank Vain, President of McMahon Group, Inc.; Luke O’Boyle, CCM, CCE, General Manager/Chief Operating Officer, Chevy Chase (Md.) Club; and Michael Redmond, CEC, CCM, General Manager, COO, The Metropolitan Club of the City of Washington (D.C.) will share their thoughts.
March 23 at 11 a.m. ET, NCA will host a medical update and Q&A with Dr. Catherine L. Troisi, PhD, Infectious Disease Epidemiologist at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. She’ll touch upon the latest health concerns and risks regarding COVID-19 and what is being done to slow its spread.
—While many businesses have been affected, golf is in full swing at many courses in Eastern Pennsylvania and Central Illinois.
Many public golf courses clustered in a relatively rural corner of northwest Montgomery County, Pa. are seeing a lot of play.
“There have been a lot of people calling in to play,” Lamar Saxon, Marketing Manager at Bella Vista Golf Course in Gilbertsville, Pa. told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Regional government and health officials have urged nonessential businesses, including golf courses, to shut down, The Inquirer reported. While no one yet knows exactly how many of the approximately 300 private and public clubs in the tri-state region have complied, an informal survey suggested that perhaps half remained open. And those courses appeared to be drawing crowds similar to what they’d see in a more normal mid-March.
“We were open all weekend and it was pretty full,” said Saxon. “We’ve had a mild winter and a lot of people have the itch to come out and play. But things are changing hour by hour and day by day and there are people who won’t play because of the fear.”
On March 16, several foursomes, dressed to endure the late-winter chill, traversed Bella Vista’s hilly fairways, The Inquirer reported. That same day at the first tee of Raven’s Claw’s Golf Club in Pottstown, Pa., a group of women readied themselves for a round. And at Gilbertsville (Pa.) Golf Club, even as an employee taped a “Clubhouse Closed” sign to a door, several seniors changed into golf shoes and loaded clubs into carts.
“Let’s see, you’ve got fear of getting sick and dying on one hand, and being able to play golf on the other. I know, for me, golf’s going to win every time,” laughed Andy Stoltzfus of Boyertown, a Callaway hybrid swaying like a pendulum in his grip as he prepared for 18 holes at Gilbertsville GC.
The many public facilities surrounding the boroughs of Gilbertsville and Limerick in the outlying Philadelphia area could be a barometer for what was happening elsewhere, The Inquirer reported. Of those, Bella Vista, Linfield National Golf Club (Royersford, Pa.), Gilbertsville GC and Landis Creek Golf Club (Limerick, Pa.) were still open on March 18, while Raven’s Claw, Hickory Valley Golf Club in Gilbertsville and Turtle Creek Golf Course in Limerick were not.
The list of shuttered clubs also included popular daily-fee courses like Jeffersonville Golf Club in Norristown, Pa. and Paxon Hollow Country Club in Media, Pa., both of which are municipally owned and operated, as well as Philadelphia’s four facilities—Cobbs Creek, Karakung, Walnut Lane and Juniata, The Inquirer reported.
Private clubs like RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve (Phoenixville, Pa.), Overbrook Golf Club (Villanova, Pa.), Rolling Green Golf Club (Springfield, Pa.) and Commonwealth National Golf Club (Horsham, Pa.) were dark too, The Inquirer reported. And according to the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP), Llanerch Country Club (Havertown, Pa.), Waynesborough Country Club (Paoli, Pa.), Coatesville (Pa.) Country Club and Whitemarsh Valley Country Club (Lafayette Hill, Pa.) were open but with restrictions on play.
GAP, an organization of 270-plus area courses, announced March 17 that it was canceling all its events and seminars through April 15.
The Philadelphia Section of the PGA, which represents most of the courses in Eastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Delaware, told The Inquirer the situation was fluid and changing “hourly.”
“The Philadelphia Section can’t mandate its member facilities take certain action,” said Matt Frey, the Section’s communication director. “It appears that a number of facilities, both public and private, are closing their entire operations for certain periods of time. [Those] that have remained open are also complying with any federal, state and local orders.”
The closings have caused many golfers to funnel into the still-open clubs, The Inquirer reported. On March 16, Bella Vista and Raven’s Claw, which shut down a day later, reported booking many tee times for regulars at Jeffersonville, the county-operated, Donald Ross-designed public course near Norristown that’s one of the area’s busiest.
“I feel safe out here,” said Carl Bittenbender of Reading, Pa. as he prepared for a round at Bella Vista. “About the only thing I’ll do differently is ask for an individual cart instead of riding along with someone else. It’s like anything else, you use a little common sense and you should be fine.”
—In Illinois, the Bloomington Pantagraph reported that The City of Bloomington has shut down its three courses—The Den at Fox Creek, Prairie Vista and Highland Park—until May 1 because of the coronavirus outbreak. Other courses in Bloomington-Normal and surrounding area are open, but with restrictions and knowing their status could quickly change.
“Obviously the safety of our staff and customers and patrons is our No. 1 priority,” said Weibring Golf Club at Illinois State professional Tom Szymoniak. “We’re remaining open for play for now.”
Weibring Golf Club has restrictions in place like most courses, the Pantagraph reported. Golfers must walk with no carts available. On the course, there will be no flagsticks on the greens or rakes in the bunkers. Ball washers also are not being used.
“Anything that people are touching or grabbing,” said Szymoniak. “That’s where we are at until further notice … this thing is evolving and there’s new news evolving every day. We’ll continue to meet regularly and work with our administration.”
Szymoniak said the course is posting social-distancing information from Illinois State University, which operates the course, the Pantagraph reported.
“We’re not going to put our good over the greater community. We understand it’s bigger than us,” added Weibring Superintendent Travis Williams. “If we follow all guidelines from the university, CDC (Center for Disease Control) and all organizations are giving us, this presents an opportunity for some mental health for people, too.”
Ironwood Golf Course, run by the Town of Normal, has been open year-round, the Pantagraph reported. Club Professional/Manager Craig Onsrud said Ironwood is allowing carts, but with only one rider. After the round is completed, Onsrud said the cart will be washed and sanitized and won’t be used until the next day.
Ironwood also is not putting out bunker rakes and won’t have flagsticks on the greens, the Pantagraph reported. “We’re lifting our cups up a little bit so they’re just above the ground and the ball doesn’t go in the hole. We’re limiting touching,” said Onsrud. “We’re doing what everyone has advised through [Gov. J.B.] Pritzker and the CDC and national [agencies]. We’re just being precautionary on sanitizing and social distancing.”
Bloomington Country Club General Manager Dave Kelley said the course is open for walking-only for now, and when carts will be allowed they will be single rider, the Pantagraph reported. There will be no bunker rakes or ball washers and golfers are being encouraged to leave in the flagstick.“We’re evaluating the situation every day and every hour,” said Kelley.
El Paso Golf Club General Manager Lane Vance said weather permitting, golfers can go into the pro shop to pay their greens fees, but must call into the restaurant for drinks to be delivered curbside, the Pantagraph reported. No one will be allowed in the bar or grill.
Being a semi-private club, Vance said if the course gets too crowded when the weather breaks there is a possibility it would be open for members only, the Pantagraph reported.
Pontiac Elks Golf Club professional Matt Schuerman told the Pantagraph the pro shop and golf course are open, but the pool, locker room, bar and restaurant are closed. Golfers can walk or ride in a cart.
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