One of the small prices to pay when you play Covid-19 golf in Montgomery County, MD is that golf courses removed rakes from their bunkers. The expectation was that you smooth the footprints with your foot or a club. We now know that the virus is not transmitted on inanimate objects like rakes, golf holes, and flag sticks, but the regulations were implemented out of an abundance of caution. Well, I chuckled last weekend as I sat in my cart next to the 5th tee, removed my left shoe, and dumped a small load of sand that I picked up from smoothing bunkers on holes 2, 3, and 4.
Fast forward to yesterday where I played nine holes at my local muni after work. Bam! No masks in the clubhouse. No pool noodles in the holes. Rakes in the bunkers. Imagine being confronted with all this luxury. We pulled flag sticks, smoothed our footprints, and shook hands with our playing partners. It was like watching the pros on TV and was just awesome.
I realize the pandemic is not over, especially in countries outside the United States. The status of the Olympics in Japan is in doubt and many of the colleagues I work with in India, on a daily basis, have been severely affected. Thanks to the vaccines, we are starting to reopen and my little sojourn into golf course normalcy was a pleasant surprise.
When the average feels like luxury. Hope you are getting back to normal wherever you are.
Play well!
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