Reopening Golf Courses during COVID-19

Rick Adams Promoted to National Director of Golf Operations
June 25, 2021

Reopening Golf Courses during COVID-19

 
 
March 2020 was a month that will not be soon forgotten. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Government declared a National Emergency, and many State Governments also declared states of emergency. In order to save lives and flatten the curve, entire industries were indefinitely shutdown as citizens were encouraged to “shelter in place” or “stay at home.” One such industry that temporarily closed its doors was the golf industry.

With all of its properties closed and an uncertain timeline for their reopening, Western Golf Properties was forced to anticipate what the “new normal” for the golf industry would look like once golf courses were permitted to reopen. As State and Local Governments began to lift their restrictions on golf, Western Golf Properties was faced with the unique challenge of creating a safe but still enjoyable golf experience for both its customers and team members. Western Golf Properties had to retool the way we run our golf courses, communicate with our employees, and bring customers to our facilities, all while following new legal guidelines to ensure the safety of every single person that steps foot on one of our properties. Western Golf Properties did just that. Here is what we are doing.

Reducing touchpoints

According to the CDC, a significant way the virus spreads is through contact from contaminated surfaces or objects. Taking this information, Western Golf Properties used prepaid tee times and strategic operational facility setup to reduce high-volume customer touchpoints. Our pro shops were set up with modified floor plans and flows of foot traffic so that customers did not have to touch counters, door handles, and many other commonly touched areas. Our golf operations team has gone to great lengths to redevelop the way our customers interact with our facilities, with everyone’s health remaining their number one priority. For example, our check-in areas have been constructed to only allow a customer to touch the credit card terminal, reducing any unnecessary touching of counters or surfaces. We also removed merchandise like golf gloves from our pro shops to reduce the potential transmission of bacteria and viruses. Identifying and mitigating these key high-volume customer touchpoints has become essential in the safe operations of all facilities.

Communication

A key to the success of these operational transitions has been our communication to both our employees and our customers. Our golf operations team has been hard at work, training our employees on best practices to run a safe and clean golf operation. This has been done through careful small group meetings (where all attendees were at least six feet apart) and communicating our expectations on how employees should be performing their tasks. Communicating with our customers during this period of uncertainty has remained seamless for Western Golf Properties. Working with our digital marketing tools, our team has been able to effectively communicate all club news to our customers through email, social media, and each property’s website. Communication has played a vital role in transitioning our golf facilities to their new normal.

Working with our local governments

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of uncertainty and fluidity across different cities and regions. Our team has worked tirelessly to stay on top of every new law and health order issued by State and Local Governments to best serve the needs of each facility. This has resulted in complete compliance with local and state guidelines and smooth operational flow at all our facilities. The City of Yucaipa Council has commended the operations of Western Golf Properties in a recent meeting.


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