Golfers can play with someone outside their household, says Government
Golfers in England are preparing to hit the fairways again with their friends, after it emerged on Monday afternoon that when the courses reopen on Wednesday they will not be restricted to playing either on their own or with members of their own household.
The Prime Minister’s announcement on Sunday night that recreational sport can resume in the country was greeted enthusiastically, but with one caveat. Boris Johnson essentially indicated that players could only go out in one-balls, unless they lived with a fellow player, presumably a partner or child.
But when the official documents were released at 2pm on Monday, the “household” requirement was not present and the game in England breathed a sigh of relief. Two-balls featuring golfers from different households will be allowed. It is not business as usual, but it will be enticing scenario to many.
What golfers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will make of it, however, is another story entirely. Their national governments have yet to give the go-ahead, although will now surely come under increasing pressure.
Earlier, England Golf has pleaded for “patience” from clubs and golfers as it sought clarification from the Government over the Prime Minister’s announcement that recreational sport can resume in the country from Wednesday.
While the news of a restart was widely welcomed throughout the English game it is fair to say that confusion reigned. The apparent “regulation” that caused the majority of the consternation and confusion is that players would only be able to share a round with one member of the household. Otherwise, players could only go out in one-balls.
This would have presented obvious difficulties for clubs as they try to satisfy the wishes of all their members and regular players at their courses. Say a club has 700 members. There will be approximately 60 tee-times available each day and if many of those are restricted to singles, the maths would have been clear.
It is understood that England Golf were inundated with questions after the prime minister set out his roadmap on Sunday night. None of the governing bodies — including the R&A — was prepared for this news and that is why England Golf, the body in control of amateur golf in England, went to the Government.
If England clubs have been bewildered then spare a thought for Llanymynech Golf Club, the course on the English-Welsh border near Oswestry which features holes in both countries. As well as being the home course of 1991 Masters champion, Ian Woosnam, the club has understandably made much of the fact of its staying as "Europe’s only dual country Golf Course”.
However, this unique claim to fame now presents its unique problems, with no golf of any description yet allowed in Wales (or, indeed, in Scotland). Does Llanymynech GC have to keep the 15 holes “Welsh” holes out of play from Wednesday? Particularly the fourth, on which you drive off in Wales and putt in England. When asked this question by Telegraph Sport on Monday morning, Sian Whiteoak, the secretary/manager the club, replied: “At present we have no comment, because we are trying to work out the situation.”
In tennis, there has been a sense of excitement around many clubs at the prospect of reopening the courts on Wednesday – but also much confusion as to how it will actually work.
The guidelines being passed out by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport this afternoon have moved the goalposts – or perhaps the netposts – from where they stood at the start of play.
Telegraph Sport now understands that you can play singles with an opponent from outside your own household. If you want to play doubles, however, that can only be done with household members.
This last point sounds impossible to enforce. Most local clubs are organised by volunteers. In the words of one such volunteer, “Any intervention in the business of the people on the court would probably be met with ‘Who are you to tell me?’”
Meanwhile, one-to-one coaching is now to be permitted, which will help thousands of coaches across the country to resume their livelihoods.
Clubhouses and changing-rooms, however, will remain closed. Which could complicate matters for gym-based multi-sport providers such as David Lloyd Clubs, who run far more courts in the UK than anyone else.
On the upside, tennis has an opportunity to poach players from other sports and activities during this upcoming window while many other entertainments remain unavailable.
“I am hearing a lot of enquiries from people who want to start or restart playing tennis,” said Dan Travis, a coach who works at half-a-dozen sites around Brighton. “There has been a real exercise boom during lockdown. They can’t go to the pub, or to the gym, and they can’t play football. They want to get out there, especially if the kids are climbing up the wall at home.”
