Golf in the neighbourhood: Some glimmers of hope emerge

By Rahul Banerji

The day when golfers across India can venture back out on to courses is some distance away, but there are faint glimmerings of hope from the neighbourhood, if not the rest of the world.

With tons of time on hand, the effort on an almost daily basis is to trawl the news from around the globe looking for some hope in these generally gloomy – and deadly –times of the Corona-virus.

 Worldwide the pandemic continues to kill and infect in almost uncontrolled fashion and close to three-quarters of the world’s population is under one form of lock-down or another.

This is for the general good. It has also led to the near-complete abandonment of physical exercise or exertion except for a very miniscule section that has the discipline and get-go to undertake some form of training within one’s own four walls.

Encouragement

It was this encouraging to see a report in the Straits Times of Singapore that said golf in the city-state was undergoing something of a boom. It added that courses were packed to the rafters and tee-time bookings hard to come by.

According to the newspaper, which headlined the story “Coronavirus: Boom time for golf in Singapore with courses full; spending time outside seen as ‘safe’, bookings in clubs had increased by 15 per cent in March as comparable to normal times.

“A check on the Marina Bay Golf Course (MBGC) – a public facility – shows limited slots, and only for nine holes, are available until Sunday, April 5,” it noted.

It is almost impossible to equate conditions in a city state and a vast nation. Singapore has been even more pro-active than India in tacking the Corona virus, but a balance is at least being struck between caution and normality.

Golf courses in India are shut until at least April 15 in the wake of the national lock-down.

Aussie rules

In New South Wales, Australia, the state government has meanwhile issued guidelines allowing people to go outside and exercise. “Individual sports such as golf and tennis can continue provided Public Health Orders are complied with,” the government said.

Like India, large parts of Australia are under lock-down including NSW, home to the country’s largest city, Sydney.

Reproduced here are excerpts from the Golf NSW website posted on Wednesday.

“After reconsideration, the Office of Sport – NSW Government has advised that golf is considered an activity that can continue to be played in line with Public Health Orders relating to public gathering limits, social distancing, and the elderly.

“The statement from the Office of Sport – NSW Government is as follows:

“The NSW Office of Sport would like to clarify the advice that went out on Monday 30 March 2020.

“As you know, there are now restrictions around public gatherings and rules around leaving your home. These new measures are in place to keep the community safe during the COVID-19 outbreak. But it is important to note that people are allowed to leave their homes for the purpose of exercise.

‘Comply with orders’

“The NSW Government has issued guidelines allowing people to go outside and exercise. Any form of exercise is to be undertaken in compliance with the Public Health Orders, meaning that people must not participate in groups greater than two persons at any point in time. 

“Therefore, individual sports such as golf and tennis can continue provided the Public Health Orders are complied with.

“Maintaining the public’s physical and mental well-being is now as important as ever. Where possible, it is important sporting clubs and organisations continue to allow people to exercise, so long as social distancing is practised and rules around public gatherings of no more than two people are complied with.”

While India may still be far away from such a step, it is heartening to note that efforts are being made to ensure some form of normality, even in these unprecedented times.

We live in hope.

Also read: Stray thoughts from a now-deserted golf course