As you probably all know by now, the provincial government has just announced the reopening of certain economic activities in New Brunswick, including golf courses. This is great news for all fans of the sport.
However, it is important to understand that this first phase of recovery is not a return to normal. Permission to reopen our facilities comes with restrictions on our normal modes of operation. Below is a list of restrictions issued by the Department of Health which must be followed to the letter if we are to ensure a full golf season.
- On golf courses, customers will walk or use single-passenger carts to maintain physical distance . The carts must be disinfected after each use, if they are used.
- The same rule applies for personal carts . Only one passenger per cart (unless they are part of the same household).
- As noted in section 2, rental and shared equipment must be cleaned and disinfected after each use . The use of caddies is prohibited since it involves the exchange of golf clubs.
- Employees must have access to gloves and disinfectant wipes . If they don’t feel well or have symptoms, they should stay at home .
- All customers must reserve a tee time ; customers who have not reserved a departure time will not be accepted.
- Reservations can be made by telephone or by using our online reservation system. To make online reservations easier, you can book five days in advance.
- Payments must be made in advance, by phone or online. Accepting cash is not allowed.
- Currently, no financial transactions will be allowed unless made by phone or online . You can avoid making multiple financial transactions over the phone by purchasing a membership card or using one of the many gaming fee or cart rental packages.
- There should be 20 minute intervals between departure times to avoid congestion on the field.
- This condition is currently being discussed with the department to reduce the time spent in intervals.
- The flags must remain in place and the cups must be raised so that the balls do not fall there. When the ball touches the cup, it is considered to have entered the hole. Rods / flags should be disinfected daily.
- All rakes and bale washing accessories must be removed from the field.
- The rental of golf clubs and golf carts is prohibited .
- This condition is also being discussed with the Ministry of Health to allow the use of carts.
- You must remove golf cards, pencils and teasers in the tee-off areas. Shopping carts for drinks and snacks are prohibited .
- The changing rooms must be closed. Players can change shoes in the parking lot.
- Retail activities must be limited to an on-site pick-up or delivery service.
- All catering services must be suspended at the chalet except the pickup services on site and delivery . You must call ahead for pickup.
- The kitchen will be open and as far as possible we will try to maintain the same menu. For the moment, as access to the counter is prohibited, we will take your orders by phone and it will be dropped off at a counter outside the building. For payment , you will have the choice to do it over the phone with your credit card or, if you are a member, open an account and you will be billed monthly.
- This condition is also being discussed with the Ministry of Health to allow access to the counter while respecting physical distance.
- All catering services must be suspended at the chalet except the pickup services on site and delivery . You must call ahead for pickup.
- The toilets in the chalet must be disinfected regularly, and only one at a time can enter it.
- group gatherings in the chalet are prohibited . Public health measures apply on boats, marinas and tennis courts.
- Until further notice, this condition means that no tournament will be allowed for the full season. On the positive side, this restriction will allow members to take full advantage of the course 7 days a week since no event will be organized for the entire 2020 season. On the negative side, the golf club loses one important source of income.
The other basic general conditions will also apply and have already been part of our daily habits since the start of the pandemic.
General public health measures
The following section describes the minimum public health measures necessary to ensure your health and that of others during phase 1 of recovery. Our “new standard” includes important measures that have become “the norm” during this pandemic:
- Physical distance : At all times, the physical distance of two (2) meters must be respected when you are on the golf course.
- Frequent hand washing : Hand washing and disinfection stations will be installed in different places.
- Adequate surface cleaning : Carts, counter and bathrooms will be disinfected regularly.
- Breathing label : Public Health strongly recommends that members of the public wear non-medical masks, also called handmade masks, when they are outside in the community and they are unable to maintain physical distance.
- Our employees assigned to customer services will wear the necessary protective equipment: masks, gloves and other appropriate equipment.
As you can see, these conditions will have an impact on our playing habits. However, any exceptions to these conditions may result in an immediate closure of our operations, which, I am sure, is not desirable. It will take a lot of discipline and patience to allow us to function properly under difficult conditions.
All of these restrictions have one goal: to protect the health of our staff, members and all visitors, while preventing the spread of the virus. We are counting on everyone’s collaboration to ensure that we practice our sport safely.
Course preparation
On a positive note, our maintenance employees are at work to prepare the ground for the opening of the 2020 season. However, there is much less snow and more ice than in 2019 , which complicates the work a little. At this time, it is too early to confirm an opening date. We will be monitoring the preparations closely and will notify you of an opening date later.
Membership card, game fees and packages
You will find attached the 2020 subscription sheet as well as the game fees and packages sheet (see buttons below). Due to restrictions, you cannot come to the golf course to pay your dues. We therefore ask you to contact us by telephone at 727-3577 and we will take care of settling the transaction by telephone. For those who wish, you still have the choice of spreading your payments on a monthly basis from May to September (5 months). Our offices will be open from May 4th .
As you can see by reviewing the subscription form, we have added a new category this year (New members). To be eligible for the new member rate, the person must become a member for the first time or has not been a member of the Pokemouche Golf Club in the past three years. The membership fee is $ 499.
Access to the golf course
We are asked to restrict access to the golf course to authorized personnel only until the official opening date. For this reason, the entrance gates will be closed until the opening date. Thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation.
Questions ?
If you have any questions regarding this message, you can email us at golfpokemouche@gmail.com or contact Denis Mallet at 506-337-5584 .