The new rule revises the regulation for computing overtime compensation for salaried, non-exempt employees whose work hours vary each week under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Also in this report: May continues to produce strong numbers for golf rounds and membership gains across the country; Ridgewood GC introduces social distancing-friendly Junior Golf; and suppliers continue to innovate and adapt—with one creating a guide for club staffs to use as they prepare their pro shops and other spaces for “Re-Entry” to full operations, and another introducing a divider that allows two riders per cart.
Here is C+RB‘s latest roundup and summary of club-related developments surrounding the pandemic that have recently been reported. Please send updates on what your property is doing that you would like to share with the C+RB community to [email protected].
All of C+RB’s daily updates on the coronavirus situation can be found at https://clubandresortbusiness.com/category/covid-19/.
Labor Law Clarity
—The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced a final rule that allows employers to offer bonuses or other incentive-based pay to employees whose hours vary from week to week.
The rule revises the regulation for computing overtime compensation for salaried, non-exempt employees who work hours vary each week (i.e., a fluctuating workweek) under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It also clarifies that bonuses, premium payments, commissions and hazard pay on top of fixed salaries are compatible with the fluctuating workweek method of compensation, and that employers must include supplemental payments when calculating the regular rate of pay as appropriate under the FLSA. The final rule includes examples and minor revisions to make the rule easier to understand.
“This final rule offers another example of how the U.S. Department of Labor is working to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens in order to benefit American workers,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia. “Because of the clarity provided by this rule, employers will know they can pay workers’ bonuses in a broader range of circumstances. This rule comes at a time when millions of Americans are returning to work and will benefit from added flexibility in compensation.”
“For far too long, job creators have faced uncertainty regarding their ability to provide bonus pay for workers with fluctuating workweeks,” Wage and Hour Division Administrator Cheryl Stanton said. “This final rule will provide much needed clarity for job creators who are looking for new ways to better compensate their workers. As employers navigate the challenges of the coronavirus, the rule enhances flexibility to provide hazard pay, and to promote health and safety in the workplace through flexible work schedules that stagger start and end times and implement social distancing in the workplace.”
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was available for public comment for 30 days. The Department received approximately 36 comments on the proposal, all of which are available to the public at www.regulations.gov.
Social Distancing-Friendly Junior Golf Program
—Perhaps a silver lining to the stay-at-home spring for parents is there’s never been a better time for them to convince their homebound kids to try a sport or extracurricular activity, Cleveland.com reported. That’s exactly what Ridgewood Golf Course in Parma, Ohio is providing with its social distancing-friendly junior golf program, which begins June 16 at the 18-hole course.
“I’ve worked so hard with Mayor Tim DeGeeter and Recreation Director Mickey Vittardi to get this program from 16 kids to more than 120 last year,” Ridgewood Golf Course General Manager and PGA professional David Chuba said. “It’s exciting we’re still going to run basically the full eight-week season.”
DeGeeter added, “This has been such a different spring. The easy thing would have been not to do anything. I’m glad we’re able to offer a modified program.”
That includes advanced (ages 12-18) and intermediate (ages 10-12) classes with kids required to have their own equipment, Cleveland.com reported. However, due to social distancing and equipment-sharing concerns, the decision was made to cancel the beginner class (ages 7-9).
As far as the older kids being required to have their own clubs, Chuba doesn’t see that as having a negative impact on sign-ups, Cleveland.com reported.
“It might help us just because a lot of other things—not just in Parma but in the general area—have been cancelled,” Chuba said. “I think parents and kids are looking to get involved, so I’m hopeful.”
May Success Continues
As mentioned in C+RB’s May 27 Coronavirus Club Update, clubs across the country are seeing positive numbers for the month of May, following a nationwide loosening of COVID-19 restrictions.
—As business owners across the state try to come up with safe and creative ways to get customers through the door during the coronavirus pandemic, the Jersey Meadow Golf Course in Jersey Village, Texas is seeing a surge in popularity, Community Impact Newspaper reported. Jersey Meadow was completely closed in late March and remained closed for the entire month of April due to the coronavirus pandemic, said Matt Jones, Head Golf Professional at the course. After reopening May 1, Jones said the course is on par for its best month at least since the city assumed ownership in early 2000.
“It hasn’t been this busy probably ever,” Jones said. “We’re at our maximum. We can’t get any busier.”
Through May 26, the golf course had brought in about $184,500 for the month of May, putting it on course to potentially reach $220,000 by the end of the month, Jones told Community Impact Newspaper. By comparison, in May 2019, the golf course raised about $138,000. In the 2008-09 fiscal year, which Jones said was the best in the course’s recorded history, about $184,000 was raised in May.
The record-setting revenue comes as officials said they are limiting the number of tee times per hour, Jones told Community Impact Newspaper. People are only allowed to play in groups of four, and instead of having tee times every eight minutes, they have been spread out to every 12 minutes, he said.
“What that does is really help space people out,” Jones said. “We literally will see four people, and 10 minutes will go by, and we’ll see another four people.”
Despite spacing out tee times, Jones said about 4,360 rounds of golf have still been played in May, up from 3,196 in May 2019, Community Impact Newspaper reported. Tee times are largely booked from open until close, Jones said. On May 23, Jones said the course saw 220 rounds and made almost $12,000.
Moving forward, Jones said the course is unlikely to go back to having tee times every eight minutes, which he said can lead to backlogs if too many people are on the course at once, Community Impact Newspaper reported. At some point, he said he might move to a “happy medium” by having them every 10 minutes.
—Gov. Gretchen Whitmer originally forbid golf in Michigan due to the COVID-19 outbreak but eased on the decision in late April, which allowed courses to reopen, mlive.com reported. Thanks to that decision, courses in Ann Arbor have seen an increase in play and have made sure to follow the guidelines that promote social distancing to ensure safety for players and staff.
Tim Czerniawski, General Manager of Washtenaw Golf Club told mlive.com they’ve seen an increase of 200 rounds of play this year compared to last year and that’s including losing a month of play when the outbreak began to make its way through Michigan.
“If you’re stuck at home, we offer something here where you can come out and get outside of your house and you can also be safe and enjoy the outside,” Czerniawski said. “There’s not much where you can actually do that right now.”
While he didn’t go into specifics, Andrew Walton, Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation supervisor for Huron Hills and Leslie Park’s golf courses, said he has also noticed more activity on the courses despite the outbreak, mlive.com reported.
“Anecdotally, it feels like we’re very busy, especially when it’s nice,” he said. “It definitely seems to me that there’s this pent-up demand and interests in playing golf and obviously it’s one of the few things people are allowed to do right now. We notice that from day-to-day and it just does seem a little bit busier than normal.”
The increase in play is a benefit and courses are taking the proper precautions to protect all involved, mlive.com reported.
“We follow all the rules to make sure that it’s not just about the safety of the customers but also the safety of our staff,” said Gilda Johnson, owner of the Lake Forest Golf Club.
There are some struggles that courses still face, however, mlive.com reported. Many courses have had to cancel banquets, some tournaments, in-house competitions and other activities that call for larger groups of people at the courses.
Johnson told mlive.com those golf outings are critical to the business and she’s hopeful activities such as shotgun starts, which require larger gatherings, will be permissible in the future.
Some hope is still there, though. Walton told mlive.com he expects the men’s championship and the senior championship in Ann Arbor to still go on as scheduled as they have in the past.
“We’re pretty comfortable with how we’re going to be able to run those and still maintain the safety that customers expect and that we want to provide,” he said. “We’re excited about that. I’m sure people are kind of hoping a little bit to get back to their normal routine.
“We’ve got hundreds of golfers that annually play in these two big events that are hallmarks of their summers that we’re happy to say that we’re going to be able to host them this year.”
Johnson added that camps for junior golfers have also been canceled at Lake Forest, but she’s hopeful to have modified camps for younger golfers in the future, mlive.com reported. And while some events are still up in the air at this point, Johnson said having the ability to serve patrons in any capacity has been beneficial.
“People need to be able to get out of the house and golf offers active recreation and an ability to be able to exercise outdoors and that’s something that a lot of people are looking for these days and we offer a very safe environment,” she said. “Golf naturally encourages social distancing and people are grateful they have the opportunity to go out in a place that they feel safe and enjoy some normalcy in their lives.”
—Multiple Massachusetts courses reported this week they have been operating near maximum capacity since reopening on May 7, The Daily News of Newburyport reported. Ould Newbury Golf Club General Manager Ron Margeson said their tee times have been full all week, and he’s been encouraged to see that golfers on the course in Newbury have been following all of the state’s public health guidelines.
“It’s been very busy,” said Margeson at the club. “Seeing how we’re semi-private we’ve had to balance between our members and the public, so it’s been extremely busy. Everyone has been following the rules and everything is in place, people are excited to have everything in place and have something to do outside.”
Though Massachusetts was the last state to allow courses to reopen, the situation has steadily improved in the last month—though courses do still face certain significant challenges, The Daily News reported. In addition, courses that have their own restaurants are now able to serve orders for takeout, and as of May 25 golf carts are now available to all golfers as long as they’re being used by either one person at a time or by family members who live together. Previously, carts were only available to certain elderly people or individuals with physical disabilities.
The restaurant update was particularly helpful for Margeson, The Daily News reported, who said they initially had to lay off their chef and function manager but were able to bring them back after only a few weeks.
As for the challenges, right now Massachusetts golf courses are still required to maintain a 15-minute wait between tee times in order to help facilitate social distancing, which is up from the approximately 8-10 minutes usually employed by courses, The Daily News reported. While that may not seem like a big difference, it adds up over the course of a day and ultimately limits the course to 50-60 percent of its usual capacity.
“Every tee time is taken but it doesn’t feel as busy as usual,” said Amesbury Golf and Country Club Professional Greg Parker, whose course usually has an 8-minute wait between tee times, The Daily News reported.
In addition, driving ranges and other amenities like practice facilities and putting greens remain closed, The Daily News reported. The local managers said they haven’t received any indication what the next update will be or when, but they are hopeful to see those restrictions lifted soon.
—A fairly steady stream of golfers approached the window of the pro shop at Shennecossett Golf Course in Groton, Conn. on May 27, The Day reported. Tim Sisk greeted each one from his spot inside, taking payment and answering questions. No golfers are allowed in the shop. Scorecards are in a box outside along with hand sanitizer. Business is hopping at the course as well as others in the area during these challenging times.
“The golf course is doing really, really great,” said Sisk, a member and pro shop employee. “We’re turning away groups by the dozens every weekend.”
Membership is also on the rise, The Day reported. About 50 new members have joined the club since April 1.
Chris Jurgasik, who’s in his second year as Director of Golf at Elmridge Golf Course in Pawcatuck, also reports a surge in business, The Day reported.
‘We’re busier than ever,” Jurgasik said, standing outside the pro shop where only one golfer is allowed to enter at a time.
Elmridge is not only gaining members but also has seen a rise in day trippers, The Day reported. Some golfers from Massachusetts discovered Elmridge when their state closed courses.
While Massachusetts courses are now open, people have returned to play at Elmridge, The Day reported.
“When Massachusetts shut down, we got a lot of people who had never played here before,” Jurgasik said. “It was a little overwhelming. A lot of people said they would definitely come back and that they love the course. They said they had driven by 100 times … while going to the beaches.
“So that was a weird thing, but it really helped us out a lot.”
Business is also bustling at private courses in Connecticut, like Black Hall Club in Old Lyme and Great Neck Country Club in Waterford.
Great Neck Professional Kevin Shea told The Day “everything is wonderful” at his course.
“Rounds are way up, because that’s all they have to do,” Shea said. “Thank Goodness, they can get outside and enjoy the fresh air and get some exercise.”
How much longer the surge in business lasts is hard to say, The Day reported. But Black Hall Professional Andrew Campbell is predicting good things ahead for the golf business.
“I believe golf is going to come out better on this,” Campbell said. “I think we’re going to take some of that market share from other activities.”
—There has been one silver lining on the business side of things at Columbus (Wis.) Country Club, a 9-hole golf course, when Gov. Tony Evers issued his Safer at Home order mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beaver Dam Daily Citizen reported. People in Columbus want to support local businesses, which is why Ryan Duffy, President of the club’s Board of Directors, believes they’ve had success with the take-out and delivery aspect of the bar and restaurant.
“We’ve been able to operate with the carry out and delivery,” Duffy said. “It’s gone on well comparatively to what we may have expected. But at the same time, opening up our restaurant that’s been around for a long time, turning it into a carry-out delivery was a little bit of a challenge. Overall, our staff met what we had hoped for.
“We’ve done well with it and I think it’s opened us up to a new clientele that maybe didn’t know we existed at one point.”
The community support has become apparent ever since as Wisconsin residents saw Evers later extend the order to May 26, but lessened the restrictions and allowed golf courses to open their courses to the public and later allowed one cart per person, the Daily Citizen reported. However, the order was struck down by the Wisconsin Supreme Court on May 13.
Duffy said things have gone “pretty well” since opening up shop and allowing golfers in, the Daily Citizen reported. However, the restaurant and bar area still isn’t opened to the public and they still do the take-out and delivery.
“A lot of times we are competing against 18-hole courses,” Duffy said. “It can be a little bit of a challenge, but overall the ability to be open and have golfers come through and enjoy the course is the backbone of what we do. There are a lot of bars and restaurants in town, but not a lot of them have a golf course attached, which we hope is a perk to our customers.”
Duffy has liked what he’s seen in attendance for the golf course as well, the Daily Citizen reported.
“We’ve seen some new faces that may not have been familiar with us and may have picked up on us because of the delivery and carry-out of the Friday Night Fish Fries,” Duffy said. “Overall, we had some good numbers show up, especially on the nice days. I think people want to get out and be outside and get some exercise. That was probably one of the perks of not having carts there for a couple of days. People just wanted to get out and walk.
“There’s nothing better to get some exercise than carry their bag and walk nine or 18 holes.”
Duffy does believe the club took a hit due to pandemic, the Daily Citizen reported. He said the weather has been good for the most part and had they club been allowed to open up shop in late-March or early April, there could’ve been some big revenue.
The club is keeping a limit on how many people are inside the clubhouse at a time, only allowing golfers to come to the bar area for refreshments, the Daily Citizen reported. Having the delivery and take-out service was valuable because at times Duffy said the club saw patrons order as much food as a regular business day with the bar opened.
Duffy told the Daily Citizen the plan is to keep the delivery and take-out services because of how important it’s become.
“As soon as we feel we can open up our restaurant with safe practices and all that good stuff, we’ll open up the restaurant and let people dine in the restaurant,” Duffy said.
Suppliers Answer COVID-19 Call
—2Hemispheres, the Oregon City, Ore.-based firm specializing in strategy, design, execution, project management and training for retail environments, has created a guide for club staffs to use as they prepare their pro shops and other spaces for “Re-Entry” to full operations.
The guide, which can be downloaded HERE, includes tips for managing occupancy levels and traffic patterns; safely protecting staff, members and guests; providing contactless service; and being “runway ready” to maximize sales through the various phases of reopening.
As another part of 2Hemispheres’ “Future Proofing” concepts and services, the company has worked with clubs and other clients to create a new line of signage kits to help communicate social distancing and safety guidelines, and has also recently launched a line of face coverings.
All of the products can be customized to align with a club’s branding.
—With the majority of U.S. golf courses now open under strict social distancing protocols, operators don’t have enough carts to meet demand. Club Pro Manufacturing has created a solution that divides the golf cart into two cabins, allowing for two protected passengers.
The split screen—made of clear, high quality, marine-grade vinyl—protects golfers as effectively as a face mask. The screen fits certain models of ClubCar (Visage, with or without GPS system), Yamaha (Drive and Drive 2), and EZ-Go (RXV and TXT models). Other products may become available for utility and multi-passenger vehicles.
“We at Club Pro are proud of our ability to engineer a solution that addresses an immediate need of the golf industry,” said Steve Tyrer, President, Club Pro Manufacturing USA. “The core of our mission has always been about providing innovative, affordable products that maximize efficiencies for golf course operators. This product fit perfectly into our wheelhouse and we are glad to do our part, make these in the USA, and support the PGA’s Back2Golf initiative.”
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