Area golf courses doing brisk business

Golfing during the coronavirus pandemic remains one of the few things people who want to be active can do while maintaining a social/physical distance from others.

All of the area golf courses have kept a steady flow of business since the weather has turned nice, but with restrictions.

“I’ve seen some new memberships because of this, which is exciting for us,” Hampton Country Club manager Julia Schall said. “There is nothing else to do, might as well golf. The course is absolutely beautiful, the grounds crew does a wonderful job.”

Mariah Miller at Ridge Stone Golf Course in Sheffield added, “Honestly, we are doing very well. We have people coming from Mason City and Clear Lake. Otherwise, there is not a lot to do right now with the way the world is going. It is nice to be outside and it’s awesome that we’re staying busy.”

Ackley Country Club has gone a step further with assuring people are keeping to distance rules.

“We’re doing pretty good with these nice days finally, getting nice days in,” Ackley Country Club manager Cameo Moet said. “We do have people sign a coronavirus waiver when they come in to golf. It states that they are aware of the pandemic and for social distancing. We do advise people to have not more than one person in the golf cart, with the exception of being in the same household. It’s more difficult now with our league that has started up just yesterday (Tuesday, May 5). We remind them to not touch stuff out there, but people have been very understanding. We are doing pretty good; the golf course is looking good.”

Linn Grove in Rockwell is also booming.

“(We are doing) really good,” manager Abbie Emhoff said. “Amazing, actually. We’re getting people from everywhere. A lot of new memberships. We get a ton of people in on Wednesdays when we have $8 green fees.”

Unable to reach Latimer Golf Club via phone, the course has posted on its Facebook page that the clubhouse is closed, but the course is open to play with an honor box for payment outside.

All of the courses are currently not allowing members to stay inside the clubhouse. With the exception of Ridge Stone, food is offered to go.

In fact, Schall has gone one step further and put together a meal for anyone who wants to drive through on Wednesdays.

“I am serving a (different) ‘coronavirus meal’ every Wednesday night,” Schall said. “They can pull up and it is to go. I’ve been getting close to 100 meals. I started with lasagna, went to ham balls, scalloped potatoes and ham, and tonight (May 6), cavatelli. It (the meal) comes with sides and a dessert for $12. It’s open to everyone. Now that it is getting nice, we want to do something.

“Thursdays is Men’s Day and that is a normally busy day and I’ve been doing sloppy joes and potato salad for them to get it to go.”

Wednesday, May 6 was the first day Linn Grove started serving food to go, and Emhoff said the club is only offering hot dogs and chips to take to go on the carts.

Miller said that Ridge Stone is requiring all tee times with a four-person maximum.

“People have been really great about it,” Miller said. “They are asking if we sanitize every time they leave. We wash down the golf carts. Everyone is well aware of what is going on, and taking it very seriously.

“We still only allow only a couple people in at a time. Since she (the governor) lifted it (the restrictions), we still usually go out and meet people. We sign them in and they go off on their way. The restaurant is still not open. We don’t have food, so they only need to go inside for green fees, but we can also take the card and run it, without them having to come inside and bring out the receipt; and using the restroom.”

Miller added that although some places have allowed for people to hang out and socialize outdoors within a reasonable distance, they don’t have that and most golfers leave after they have finished their round.

As for Linn Grove, they are leaving it up to the golfers to decide.

“We’re leaving that up to the people at their own risk; most have been good about it,” Emhoff said. “We don’t have any ball washers or flags, garbage or rakes, anything you physically have to touch. Nine people donated to the golf course so we can buy easy lifts, so you can use your putter to get the ball out of the hole.”

All of the courses say that they have seen an influx of golfers from out of town or the county, especially considering Waverly and Waterloo golf courses have closed to the public. That isn’t a concern for most golf managers.

“We’ve had quite a few,” Moet said. “Not really (a concern) for us because we can’t say we don’t want them in there. We want them to enjoy and spend time outside, as long as they are very cautious and understanding of our rules. They don’t want to ruin it and not be able to come back. Nice to see new faces, and they say, ‘wow this is a nice golf course.’”

Miller added, “The tee times have helped significantly. There is no reason for them to come in close contact.” This isn’t a huge concern for Emhoff, either.

“I wouldn’t say we’ve gotten a ton of people outside of Franklin and Cerro Gerdo, those from the other (counties), they golf by themselves or with others they’ve already been around and with golf having so much space, there isn’t a big concern,” Emhoff said. “We also take extra measures. Every hour we spray the door handles, surfaces; when golf carts come in they are sanitized.”

Although HCC hasn’t opened up the course to non-members, Schall said a resident of Franklin County can come and golf with a member and pay the green fees.

And Schall is taking steps to make sure that everything is cleaned for members and non-members alike. “We’re pretty good at how many can come into the club at one time,” Schall said. “We have hand sanitizers. There is nothing to touch on the bar: everything is disposable. Not using anything that we can bring germs back into the clubhouse, we’re disinfecting door handles, golf carts. We don’t have the driving range open: we don’t want to have the staff to come into contact with anything. Anyone can go and hit, but they have to pick up the balls themselves. “I know you can go half capacity (dining in), but I’m not comfortable with it. We have a lot of elderly members, and we want to protect them and prevent them from getting sick.”

That goes for outdoors, too.

“The flags, the pins are in the holes, are noodles, so the ball doesn’t drop in. Once it hits the foam, you’ve made it, which is another way to prevent the spread of germs.”

Golf has proved to be a very popular thing to do for recreation during the pandemic.

“We’ve had a lot of people come in and say, ‘I’ve always wanted to take up golf, I guess this is the year to do it,’” Emhoff said.