Seamus Golf, known for their cool head covers, has new plans for their sewing machines. Instead of designing new headcovers, the team at Seamus figured out how to make face masks. They estimate that in three days, they will be able to make 5,000 masks. The company will donate a pack of five masks to those fighting the virus at the frontline for ever five-pack sold. Masks are currently sold out but first responders may submit a request for emergency kit.

Environmentally-minded golf sock company IS Golf, whose socks are made with recycled coffee and plastic bottles, is partnering with actor Kunal Nayyar in purchasing and distributing 1,000 N95 medical masks to “small, local organizations” that need them most. Nayyar announced their initiative in an Instagram post-Saturday. The duo is asking folks to comment on his social media post to identify organizations that need the masks most. Details can be found in the below post:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Ao1DUpmvw/?utm_source=ig_embed

Apparel company Rhoback produced what they call “The Victory Mask,” a non-surgical cotton face mask with quick-dry technology. Over 200,000 pre-orders came in, with the first batch shipping to healthcare workers. To help fulfill the overwhelming amount of orders, the company even hired a few local workers in Charlottesville, V.A. and anticipates more hires as shipments continue. The masks are currently sold out.

Rhoback is also participating in a fundraiser called “Carts4Hearts” on Thursday (April 16) in which select brands are holding sitewide sales and matching the sale percentage with a donation to a coronavirus relief effort. Use code CARTS4HEARTS for 20-percent off your purchase and Rhoback will also donate 20 per cent of sales generated on that day to The Charlottesville Restaurant Community Fund. —Brittany Romano

Straight Down worked with the factories usually used to produce golf apparel to manufacture masks and gowns for local health-care and emergency workers. The company has helped produce 72,000 masks and 56,000 gowns for San Luis Obispo County, Calif., where the company is located.

“A lot of people have supported us over the years and it’s great to be able to give back,” Straight Down founder Mike Rowley said. “I know all the employees here at Straight Down are super stoked on what they’re doing, and they really feel like in this time they have a purpose. To be able to get up every day and have a purpose to help someone in need, that’s really cool.” —B.R.

If you’re looking for masks that are still for sale, golf apparel company B.Draddy is producing non-medical masks intended for personal use. The three-layer masks have a wired nose piece for a secure fit and elastic ear straps that will fit most face sizes. The company repurposed its facility in Wisconsin at the end of March to produce protective masks for local fire and police departments. After distributing more than 1,000 units to the Wisconsin Emergency Management Agency the company wanted to continue its efforts to make the masks more widely accessible. Face masks ($14) are currently available at bdraddy.com. —B.R.

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By John Huggan
In a strange new world in which professional golfers suddenly have time on their hands (and feet, legs and just about every other part of their anatomies due to the coronavirus), Paul Lawrie is suffering less than most. The 1999 Open champion has never had much trouble finding things to do, no matter the circumstances.

One of only eight men to have played more than 600 events on the European Tour—where he won eight times and twice represented the Old World in the Ryder Cup—the now 51-year-old Scot was last season’s rookie of the year on the Staysure (European Seniors) Tour, winning the Scottish Senior Open along the way. Lawrie also competes as and when he can on the PGA Tour Champions (invitations have, however, been less than plentiful), in between helping out at his eponymous Golf Centre just outside his home city of Aberdeen.

Away from the tour, Lawrie and his wife, Marian, organize and run the Paul Lawrie Foundation, its core aim to get as many juniors as possible playing golf. Since its formation almost two decades ago, more than 30,000 youngsters have taken part in the various activities that run weekly from April to October every year.

And there’s more. On the back of helping European Tour player David Law with his various sponsorships two years ago, Lawrie founded the Five Star sports agency, which now boasts six clients, including himself. The company is also involved in running and promoting events like Lawrie’s own invitational pro-am, the Brewdog Northern Open and the Farmfoods Scottish Par-3 Championship.

That relatively modest operation suits Lawrie just fine, at least for the moment. Long experience has shown him the many pitfalls that can await a management group that gets too big, too fast. And, having made a few mistakes himself along the way, he brings to his still newish role a neat combination of enthusiasm and cynicism.

All of a sudden, for example, Lawrie has gone from always being able to get people on the phone, to having some not return his calls. It’s a strange feeling, one he sometimes struggles to understand. To him, it does seem like bad manners.

“I’ve always enjoyed meeting business people and being involved in any deals that result,” Lawrie says. “It’s not quite the same as playing, of course. But when I come away from a meeting with a good deal for a player, I get a huge buzz. So for us to take on more than we have at the moment, I would have to hire someone. I don’t want to do that just yet. As things stand, I can do all that I need to do and play a bit too. Six of us is enough at the moment because of how much I am involved.”

And on the other side of that equation?

“I’ve always been hard but fair with agents,” Lawrie says. “But I hammered them for not letting me know what was going on. If they had a meeting with someone, I wanted to know what happened straight away. I wanted to know what was said. Basic communication is huge with me. Plus, I like honesty. I’ve had situations in the past where I have signed with someone who told me their intent was to have only three or four players on their books. Then, six months, on they have a dozen, which affected how much time they devoted to me. That won’t be happening at Five Star.”

Ross Kinnaird
Lawrie says he hopes to continue to play some golf, after winning rookie of the year honours on the European senior tour in 2019.

Indeed, as a manager, Lawrie is impressing on all of his clients the importance of creating a close relationship with each and every sponsor. Which is how he operated as a player.

“I was always a little different from most players,” Lawrie says. “I wanted to really know my sponsors, which is unusual. Most players leave everything like that to their agents. They meet sponsors only rarely. But I have always maintained contact with those giving me money. I go and see them. I call them on the phone. I email. I often play nine holes with some of my longer-standing sponsors. I don’t pester them. But a few times a year it is nice to meet up and talk about things.

“When I set up Five Star, I drummed that approach into all the players,” he says. “It has worked for me. I am someone who has had sponsors for long periods. I’ve been with Aberdeen Standard Investments since 1999. I like to think there are good reasons for that.”

Lawrie’s charges can also expect their agent to take advantage of every opportunity. Living up (or down) to the careful-with-cash image of every Aberdonian, he was always well covered in company logos. “Festooned” might be a more accurate description.

“I had as many as 12 sponsors pretty much my whole career,” says Lawrie with a smile. “That is both sleeves, both sides of the chest, both collars, back of neck, hat, glove, ball, clubs, shoes. At the moment, David Law has only his left chest for sale.”

RELATED: Golf is still being played at St. Andrews, but the R&A Clubhouse closes

Looking forward, Lawrie sees only slow expansion for Five Star, mainly because he isn’t quite finished with his own playing career. Despite on-going issues with his feet and lower back, he still intends to play 14-15 events in any “normal” year. But not on what Lee Trevino famously called the “flat bellies tour.”

“I’ve enjoyed my time on the European Tour,” Lawrie says. “I’ve had a good career. But it’s over now. I can’t compete at that level. I still hit the ball far enough. But my body is letting me down. I don’t enjoy playing rubbish. I can’t do what I used to be able to do. I hit 100 balls now and my back is loupin’ [aching]. So I can’t do the things you need to do to maintain the level of play you need on the main tour. But I can still compete with the seniors. There’s no cut and although the standard is good it is nothing like the European Tour.”

So there’s still a lot going on for Paul “Chippy” Lawrie. Oh, one last thing, he also helps out his clients with their short games. The man never stops.

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By John Strege
Golf’s utility beyond competition and camaraderie is its contribution to sanity. What would we do without the rub of the green? It allows us to weather the bad bounces in golf—in life, too—for which we may or may not be responsible, though in Haley Moore’s case, she unequivocally deserved better.

Moore, who because of her size, was a victim of considerable bullying in high school. Yet she forged ahead and found her footing and a following in her college years that included her dramatically holing a birdie putt in a playoff that in 2018 won Arizona an NCAA championship. In 2019, she realized a dream 16 years in the making by qualifying for the LPGA.

Now an LPGA rookie, Moore, 21, was looking forward to what should have been one of the best weeks of her life, a rare home game, the Kia Classic at Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, Calif., a short drive west of her home in Escondido. It was scheduled to begin a week from Thursday.

“I was pretty excited about it,” she said a few days ago. “I spent the past couple of months going out there a couple times a week with a good friend of mine who used to work at the golf course.”

The friend explained to Moore the course’s nuances, the undulating greens that require approach shots from the proper side of fairways. “I got really comfortable with that,” she said.

It heightened her anticipation of playing with family and friends in her gallery. “That would have been pretty cool,” she said, noting as well the advantage of sleeping in her own bed and enjoying the comforts of home.

Moore had done her homework and then … the wickedly bad bounce, the coronavirus. The LPGA, as are all other major sports organizations, is in a hiatus with no discernible end, one that likely will have left her with only one start through at least the first four months of her rookie season—her LPGA debut in January at the ISPS Handa Vic Open in Australia.

“I was pretty devastated,” she said, this her immediate reaction after the LPGA postponed its next three events. “But I knew it was the right thing to do. They don’t want us to have any risk out there. They’re going to do their best to reschedule them. I stand totally behind their decision. You just deal with it and go on.”

Perspective, acquired via hard knocks, is part of her arsenal.

Then there was the phone call, the day after Commissioner Mike Whan’s announcement, one that helped assuage any lingering fears. Moore is disinclined to answer when she doesn’t recognise the phone number and she did not recognize this one.

“It was Commissioner Whan,” she said. “He left me a voice mail.” Whan explained his decision and relayed his concern. “He was more worried about the rookies, who are anxious to get started out there and are now on hold. It frustrates him.”

It frustrates Moore, too, notably because this is now her livelihood and money is an issue. Last May, she opened a Go Fund Me account to help finance her initial foray into professional golf, including three stages of Q School, the cost of which were $2,500 a stage.

She has raised more than $38,000 from more than 270 donors, including $6,000 alone from a Facebook group, the Peloton XXL Tribe, “a group of 7,500 women and men who are on their own journey to overcome weight and body-shaming issues and become empowered to achieve great things through sport. I’m now one of The Tribe!” Moore wrote on her Go Fund Me page.

“That was pretty cool,” she said. “A couple of these members live in Phoenix, and I got to stay with two of them already. They said I’m always welcome to stay with them when I’m in town for a tournament.”

She is there now, playing in a Cactus Tour event at Moon Valley Country Club, the first of three added to the mini-tour’s schedule, notwithstanding coronavirus fears.

The Go Fund Me account helped finance her trip to Australia in January, where she overcame nerves with an assist from her playing partner Cheyenne Woods and shot a 66 in her LPGA debut. Then the winds arrived, and though she made the 36-hole cut, she missed the 54-hole cut, shooting 79 in the third round. She still earned $5,494 and banked at least an equal amount of important experience.

“Playing with Cheyenne Woods was actually pretty cool. She’s a really nice girl and made me very comfortable. Starting off that good was kind of relief. But it was super windy on Saturday, the kind of wind I’m not used to, but I know I could get that wind in Hawaii or Europe or Texas.”

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “we must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” Golfers can’t control how a ball bounces, only how they react to bounces that don’t go their way, and Moore has reacted with equanimity that belies her age.

Maturity, that’s part of her arsenal, too.

The post What it’s like to have your LPGA rookie season stopped before it really can get started appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Tod Leonard
If promises come in the form of tickets sold and distributed, the European Tour is making no commitments to its supporters about any tournaments in the future.

In a letter to the tour’s email base on Monday, Chief Executive Keith Pelley said the tour was suspending ticket and hospitality sales for all the events it promotes “until further notice.”

“This is a temporary measure, but one that we feel is proportionate in the current circumstances,” Pelley wrote. “If there are any changes to the status of any of our tournaments, we will communicate with you in due course.”

Five events, not including the Masters and WGC-Match Play, have been postponed or cancelled by the European Tour. The last tournament played, the Qatar Masters won by Jorge Campillo, finished on March 8. Currently, the next event, the Andalucia Masters, is scheduled for April 30-May 3 in Spain—one of the European countries hit hardest by the coronavirus. There were 9,191 confirmed coronavirus cases as of Monday, with 309 deaths. The Spanish government last week declared a state of emergency, telling its citizens they could only leave their homes for work or essentials such as food or medicine.

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By Daniel Rapaport
While golf, like most professional sports in the United States, is on hold as communities respond to the COVID-19 virus, one of its more talked about subplots in 2020 resurfaced on Sunday.

If the Premier Golf League is to get off the ground when sports do resume, and stand as a potential competitor to the PGA Tour, it will have to do so without the current top three players in the world.

World No. 3 Brooks Koepka told the Associated Press that he has decided against joining the PGL, which made waves earlier this year when it proposed a lucrative new team-based, 18-event system designed to lure golf’s best players away from the PGA Tour. “I am out of the PGL. I’m going with the PGA Tour,” Koepka told the AP. “I have a hard time believing golf should be about just 48 players.”

Hours later, Golfweek reported that World No. 2 Jon Rahm is also staying with the Tour.

“I think what I’m going to do is focus on just the PGA Tour,” Rahm told Golfweek. “At the end of the day I’m a competitor. I’m a PGA Tour member and I’m going to stay that way.”

RELATED: 5 lingering questions for pro golf in the wake of the coronavirus

Koepka, 29, had previously said he was in the information gathering stage regarding the PGL while Rahm, 25, had stayed mostly silent. Now, they’ve gone on record and joined the world’s top-ranked player, Rory McIlroy, in preferring to remain with the status quo rather than making the jump. McIlroy became the first player to reject the PGL when he said he was not interested at February’s World Golf Championships event in Mexico.

Andrew Redington

The three rejections to the PGL’s overture—which offered guaranteed-money, three-day events with 48-man fields, but also would require a strict 18-tournament commitment of its members—are likely to deal a significant blow to the venture.

“I get that the stars are what people come to see,” Koepka told the AP of his decision. “But these guys who we see win, who have been grinding for 10 or 15 years, that’s what makes the cool stories. I’d have a hard time looking at guys and putting them out of a job.”

Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, the PGL had targeted the beginning of 2022 as a potential launch date. Its effort to take on the PGA Tour has been hindered by a lack of players willing to commit to joining the league. Phil Mickelson has emerged as one more open to a move after playing a pro-am with a number of PGL executives in February, but even he has stopped short of any type of commitment.

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The setting on a sun-splashed Friday morning in Palm Harbor, Fla., was not unlike pre-tournament days in previous years, except that any activity at the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort was contributing to the promise of something meaningful about to happen. Anticipation would be swirling in the warm air. Professional golfers and their caddies soon would arrive. Volunteers and sponsor representatives would be preparing as well. Spectators— upwards of 120,000 or more for the week—would start to gather. And drink. And eat. And maybe drink a little more. And connect with friends. And soak in the sun and the golf and the soothing pastoral atmosphere common to a PGA Tour event.

The exacting sylvan golf course, a favourite among many tour players, looked pristine. But it was no longer needed. Not this week, not for its intended purpose.

“Everyone was taking an hour to be sad, and then we got to work because when you put it in perspective, this was the right decision,” said Tracy West, tournament director of the Valspar Championship, one of several tournaments that was cancelled due to the growing threat of the COVID-19 virus that has spread to 135 countries.

But first, the photos (see above), lasting evidence of a year’s worth of work that was meant to manifest in entertainment for the community (and for an international television viewership numbering in the millions), an economic windfall for the area and charitable donations in the millions to a variety of worthy causes in the greater Tampa Bay area.

West and her team learned late Thursday that the Valspar Championship, along with the following two events on the PGA Tour schedule, the WGC-Dell Match Play and the Valero Texas Open, were being cancelled. That decision by tour commissioner Jay Monahan coincided with the cancellation of the Players Championship after one round. Events on other PGA Tour-affiliated circuits also were scrapped.

Similarly, the LPGA, which already had cancelled three events in Asia, postponed three more, including its first major of the year, the ANA Inspiration. The European Tour decided to go dark at least until May. And then Augusta National Golf Club made its decision on Friday, postponing the Masters.

‘This was going to be our most successful tournament ever. … We had a lot of new fan gathering areas built and the greatest number of chalets. It’s really sad that no one is going to see it.’ —Valspar tournament director Tracy West

Monahan, after nearly around-the-clock monitoring of the coronavirus emergency, had no choice but to reconsider the decision he previously announced at around noon on Thursday, in which he said the Players, the tour’s flagship event in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., would continue without fans and do the same for succeeding events leading into the Masters. (Although he cancelled the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship in the Dominican Republic due to international travel considerations.)

“When you think about the DNA of this organization,” a sleep-deprived Monahan, looking wan, said in a Friday morning press conference, “think about the livelihoods that have been affected. The livelihoods of our players, the livelihoods of our employees, the livelihoods of the charities, and the economic impact we have in all the markets we play. You think about all the vendors, all the service organizations that support these tournaments, we’ve affected a lot of lives.”

• • •

With its $6.9 million purse, the tournament was expecting a fairly strong field led by Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson, Americans ranked Nos. 3, 4 and 5 in the world, respectively, and also including past champions Jim Furyk, Paul Casey (winner the past two years), Luke Donald and current U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland.

The weather forecast looked favourable, with highs in the 80s every day and the chance of rain minimal. It was sizing up to be a splendid week.

By 8 a.m. Friday, the 13th, as it were, workers already were tearing things down, a process that would take a week—essentially, what would have been tournament week. It hurt, even if everyone knew that the right decision had been made.

“In the end, this is a golf tournament,” West said. “We understand there are bigger things going on, things we need to consider for the welfare of everyone’s safety and health. We know that lives are being impacted everywhere—the economy and industries and things we kind of take for granted. As much as we are personally saddened by this, everyone associated with the tournament and the community at large gets the big picture.”

The tournament annually draws 120,000 or more spectators a year, some of whom are guests of Sherwin-Williams, the parent company of Valspar, or one of the other 180 sponsors of the event. Even if only half of that figure purchased daily tickets, which average $49, the tournament stood to make nearly $3 million from ticket sales (and the half estimate is likely low). Throw in parking, concessions and merchandise, and the loss easily reaches eight-figures.

Copperhead Charities, which operates the tournament, has raised $43 million since first hosting a professional mixed team event in 1977. Last year, the Valspar Championship raised $2.2 million for charitable organizations, including Tampa General Hospital, Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas County, The First Tee, the Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation and Birdies for the Brave.

In the moment, it’s unclear what the financial impact in total of cancelling the tournament will mean to Copperhead Charities or to Valspar, which is signed on as title sponsor through 2025. Jim Jaye, executive vice president for Sherwin-Williams, issued this statement via email when contacted for comment:

“While we’re disappointed by the cancellation of this year’s Valspar Championship, we completely support the PGA’s decision. The safety and health of all those connected to the tournament is our highest priority, including the players, support staff, our employees, our customers and our suppliers. In light of the current unprecedented circumstances, we believe the PGA’s course of action is a prudent one.

“We’re working together with all our tournament partners on the financial ramifications of the cancellation. I’m confident we’ll work through those details in the coming days in a way that is equitable for everyone involved. We look forward to a productive event in 2021.”

Cliff Hawkins
Paul Casey was set to arrive at the Valspar as the two-time defending champion.

• • •

Being the tournament immediately following the Players, the Valspar Championship was left in an awkward position when the plug was pulled, with just three days left until the start of tournament week. West had been preparing for the worst, but still held out hope that the event would move forward, especially after the Players commenced with the opening round.

She didn’t get much sleep Thursday night and met with her staff at 7 a.m. Friday to review their new mission while trying to not get too emotional about it. Which wasn’t going to happen.

“It’s certainly devastating for everyone involved,” West said. “Not a lot of people understand that many thousands of people work on these tournaments and spend all year planning these things. And now we have so many new challenges. We have to figure out where we are financially. We have to figure out a lot of things. It’s a work in progress.”

In the short run, West has to decide what to do with an inventory of merchandise. There are pro-am gifts and courtesy cars to take care of. Tickets have to be refunded. Vendors and operations workers have to be paid—though, thankfully, the delivery of food stocks was halted in time because of the tour’s earlier decision to proceed with tournaments without spectators.

Obviously, a lot changed in a day. And it wiped out a year’s worth of preparations.

“You never make the wrong decision, erring on the side of caution,” West said. “But there is naturally going to be a period of disappointment. This was going to be our most successful tournament ever. We had our biggest build out and our greatest number of sponsors. Valspar planned for some really neat activations. We had a lot of new fan gathering areas built and the greatest number of chalets. It’s really sad that no one is going to see it.

“We will move forward,” West added. “Everyone is committed to making this tournament even more successful in 2021. But today, gosh, this is a tough day. I look outside, and it’s beautiful out, and I think about how sad this day is when we had such a great week ahead of us.”

It was a tough day, and it was a sad one, too. Friday usually is cut day on the tour. This was the toughest, saddest cut golf has seen in a while.

The post What happens when your PGA Tour event gets cancelled appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

A leading infectious disease expert says the game can still be enjoyed, albeit with some modifications

By Mike Stachura
Chris Marchini is the general manager of the Golf Galaxy in Pittsburgh, and like a lot of us, golf is his passion and his escape from the stresses of everyday life, stresses that no doubt are at a new level in the wake of fears brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Nothing can make him feel more at ease than a round with friends and family, especially a few holes with his son Cam. As the two snuck in a quick nine on Friday afternoon, Cam turned to his dad and voiced what we’re all hoping is true. “You know what, Dad? Besides home, this feels like the safest place to be.”

Fact is, with the right precautions and perhaps a little pre- and post-round modifications, golf might be just the right antidote to the mounting fears of coronavirus.

According to Dr. Catherine Troisi, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, golf as it’s normally played—outdoors, with natural social-distancing built-in—“would be fairly safe.”

Let’s take you through some of the guidelines that golfers should remember, and take comfort in, as they think about the game as a possible escape from the current headlines.

They’re cancelling golf tournaments. Why would playing golf be OK?

A professional golf tournament with 25,000 spectators a day and at least another thousand support staff, media, players and officials is nothing like a packed Saturday at your local muni. Golf as a form of recreation, given the right conditions, can be a lot closer to hiking. As Dr. Troisi explains, it’s the way the game is different than other activities that makes it a viable alternative to locking yourself indoors.

“You’re not in contact with a whole lot of other people, and it’s not like basketball where you’re touching and very close to other players, so you could maintain several feet of distance between people,” she said. Also, the outside aspect of golf is not trivial.

“With the caveat that there’s a lot about this virus we still don’t know, it is a kind of virus that has an envelope, which means that it’s more easily killed than some other viruses. Sunlight and other environmental conditions can kill viruses like this, so it is probable that that is true for this novel coronavirus, as well.

“So I would say in the actual playing of golf, you’re not at much risk.”

What does “social distancing” mean with respect to playing golf?

Generally, the key is to be more than six feet away from others. Stay out of gimme distance. “As much as we know anything for now, we know that if you’re more than six feet from somebody, they’re not going to spread it to you. So even within your foursome, you just stay a little bit farther away than you might ordinarily,” Troisi said.

What golfers need to remember is that the benefits of social distancing aren’t explicitly about protecting yourself as much as they are an effective means of controlling spread of the virus. For an otherwise healthy 35-year-old, “the odds are very high that even if you did get sick, you would be fine.” The problems come with infecting more vulnerable members of the community, and of course, as you age, your immune system doesn’t work as well. Of course, the average age of an American golfer is older than 50, and in some communities like private clubs there’s a high percentage of players who are 70-plus. At the mammoth retirement community The Villages in Central Florida, a drive-thru coronavirus test center opened on Friday. Nurse technicians will swab patients without them having to get out of their cars.

“Based on our patient population and based on what’s going on throughout the country we thought it best at this time to help our patients to set up a mobile testing site,” Craig Esquenazi, Premier Medical Associates Dir. Of Operations told the local Fox affiliate.

That said, it’s also the case that golfers need to be aware of what’s happening in your area. As Crystal Watson, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security recently told The Atlantic, “It depends on local context. If we’re in a situation where the disease has been shown to be spreading widely, I think people will start to want to stay home and not go out into crowded settings.”

Within the context of a round of golf and with respect to what social distancing means, a golf course rarely constitutes a crowded setting. Like any other public setting, golf facilities have busier times than others, so you run even less risk playing at times when fewer people are around. More concerning might be indoor simulator facilities and ranges that cater to the bar-scene crowd. Also, it seems wise to refrain from large golf outings or group clinics where golfers might be gathered for significant periods. Even long face-to-face conversations during a delay on a tee box should be avoided because it poses the risk of an inadvertent cough or sneeze, according to Julian Tang, a virologist and professor at the University of Leicester in England.

“If you can smell what someone had for lunch—garlic, curry, etc.—you are inhaling what they are breathing out, including any virus in their breath,” he told The New York Times.

So if older populations are at risk, does that mean that senior citizens, one of golf’s bigger demographics, should curtail their time on the golf course?

Though the risk of playing golf is the same, the results might be more dangerous. Troisi said the research indicates that there were significantly higher death rates in China for people older than 65 and those rates increased greatly in those older than 70 and particularly for those 80 and older. “What we don’t know is whether there were other conditions,” she said. “But we do know your immune system doesn’t work as well, so it is certainly something to consider if you are in that age group.”

Dr. Troisi said senior golfers, just like all golfers, should be especially vigilant about the current Centers for Disease Control guidelines for vigorous hand-washing. Since hand-washing might not be a practical option out on the seventh tee box, for example, she says hand sanitizer is an effective alternative and should be in every golfer’s bag. “In terms of killing pathogens, a hand sanitizer works just as well as washing with soap and water,” she said.

Dougal Waters

Doesn’t the virus linger on surfaces for long periods of time, like, say, a cart or flagstick?

Though Dr. Troisi does think golf is a relatively safe activity in the current situation, she does advocate some changes in behaviour from how people currently enjoy the game. Riding in a cart with a friend, for instance, puts you within the six-foot range, which is reason to consider walking or taking your own cart. We normally support taking caddies, but that dynamic poses new risk under the current circumstances.

As for the flagstick, despite our scientific evidence that leaving the flagstick in hurts your chances of putts being holed, it’s probably best to leave the flagsticks untouched for the entire day. That said, some important things to remember:

• Though the virus has been shown to stay contagious for two to three days on an inanimate object, those are largely in laboratory settings. “We haven’t done those experiments outside and in sunlight, so the odds are it would be a much shorter time,” Troisi said.

• Touching an infected surface does not give you COVID-19, the disease brought on by this novel coronavirus. Touching an infected surface and then immediately touching your face is the problem. The virus travels through the viral droplets from a sneeze or cough and gets in your cells through the nose, ears and mouth. But it definitely can be transmitted over time from an inanimate object. The New York Times reported that after many who attended a Buddhist temple in Hong Kong became ill, the virus was found on faucets and the cloth covers of shared Buddhist texts. So like in all aspects of life, restrict touching your face and wash your hands or use a hand sanitizer after you touch anything that isn’t yours.

• That goes, as well, for handling someone else’s clubs. Though it might be a temporary seismic shift from the typical fellowship of a round of golf, when it comes to direct person-to-person contact, keeping to yourself and keeping your distance is still the correct way to go.

• Of course, that means the 18th-green handshake needs to be abandoned, at least for now. “Start a new tradition—elbow bumps, shoe bumps or the Namaste bow,” Troisi said.

What about the 19th hole or the locker room before and after the round?

Experts are unequivocal on one thing with regard to coronavirus: These are unique times, and they quite simply require fundamental shifts in behaviour. “If you go to a crowded bar where you’re up one against another, that’s a lot different from going to a bar where you’re spread out,” Albert Ko, the chair of the epidemiology department at the Yale School of Public Health, told The Atlantic. “Bottom line, there’s no absolute indication not to go to bars and restaurants, but in practising good public health—which is kind of responsibility for everybody in the country—really think about how we can decrease those close contacts.”

We have heard of clubs and courses that have closed their indoor operation while the course remains open. The National Club Association, which is a hosting a free COVID-19 Town Hall webinar on Monday that is open to member and nonmember clubs, recently provided member guidelines for indoor service, including:

• Open up all club spaces and zones to ease member distribution.

• Reduce capacity of restaurant seating available and increase space between parties.

• Limit access to inside areas like the bar or grill during peak periods to avoid overcrowding.

• No self-service.

The traditional drinks at the bar after the round need to be rethought. Said Troisi: “The time before the round and what you do after the round might be where the risk is. When you go have a drink after, you’re not going to sit six feet from a friend in the bar.” Maybe for the time being, it’s best to say your goodbyes in the parking lot.

“There’s just a lot that we don’t know. But we’re learning more every day. Social distancing was done [during 1918 flu pandemic], and we know that cities that did it had fewer cases and fewer deaths than cities that didn’t.”

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Finally, isn’t there a mental aspect to all this as well? Being indoors all the time can’t be good for you, right?

Fighting the coronavirus is a communal effort, but from an individual basis, it also has much to do with our immune systems, and the fact is our immune systems do not work well when they are stressed. Golf, even for those of us who know the internal outrage of the 40-yard slice or the third three-putt in four holes, can and should be a de-stresser. That’s a good thing.

“Social distancing doesn’t mean you’re being a hermit,” Troisi said. “Relieving stress helps your immune system and we know that physical activity boosts your immune system, so for both mental and physical health, it’s good to get activity however you can get it without putting yourself at risk. So anything outside where you’re not putting yourself in close proximity to a lot of people can be good for you. Being in nature helps your mental health, as well.”

Less stress, physical activity, being outdoors, taking in nature. Maybe hitting more practice balls on the range or even walking the course at night with a club and a few balls. Sounds a lot like the game we love. Be careful out there.

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By Joel Beall
Professional golf has joined the rest of the sports world in suspending or cancelling operations amid the coronavirus pandemic. Though these decisions are imperative in mitigating the outbreak, they are moves that are conversely jarring to fans who have come to build their schedules and routine around the game. This especially rings true to Augusta National’s postponement of the Masters, an event that serves as a rite of spring.

However, and take this with a grain of salt, a bit of a gleam of hope has been emitted from Hilton Head.

On Saturday the RBC Heritage, annually held the week after the Masters and viewed as one of the more laid-back atmospheres on the PGA Tour, announced an update that it is proceeding with planning and executing its PGA Tour event.

“Together with the PGA Tour, the Heritage Classic Foundation is mindful of concerns regarding COVID-19. The health and safety of our spectators, players, sponsors, volunteers, employees and all associated with the RBC Heritage is our No. 1 priority,” the statement read.

“This is obviously a very fluid situation that requires constant review, communication and transparency, and we are dedicated to all three aspects. Working with the PGA Tour, we will continue to monitor information provided by the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control, and local and state government leaders. We will offer regular status updates in the coming weeks including any additional protocols put in place to ensure the health and safety of all in attendance.”

The RBC Heritage was first held in 1969 and is hosted annually at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, S.C., one of the most charming venues on the PGA Tour. We will continue to monitor the situation and update appropriately.

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By Alex Myers
The 2020 edition of the Players Championship, the PGA Tour’s flagship event, had seemingly everything going for it. A fantastic weather forecast in the Jacksonville area, a record-breaking purse and even a ground-breaking media effort to show every shot from every golfer live. Instead, golf fans wound up seeing more of the tour’s commissioner, Jay Monahan, who made the rounds in his annual pre-tournament gathering with the press on Tuesday. Then on Thursday, he addressed growing concerns over the coronavirus. And by Friday, Monahan’s latest press conference was the only thing to watch from TPC Sawgrass.

RELATED: PGA Tour cancels the Players, three other events over Coronavirus

Following the PGA Tour’s decision to cancel the tournament as well as all events the next three weeks, Monahan met with the media again to provide updates on how this ongoing global pandemic is affecting the tour and the communities it serves. Here are seven takeaways from Monahan’s Friday Q&A.

1. International players’ worries and two Florida theme parks shutting downplayed as a key role in the decision to cancel the tournament.

“But when you get to, when we got to late in the day and players came off the golf course, and to some of the questions that we received here yesterday, particularly from international players who were trying to figure out, [there was] a lot of uncertainty, trying to figure out what they do with their family, how they get home, how they get their families here, and just uncertainty for a number of players generally. That coupled with the fact that, as I said yesterday, we’re talking about the Players Championship, but we’re also talking about a number of events going forward, when you looked to that moment in time where you have two theme parks [Disney World and Universal Studios] that are located between Jacksonville and Tampa cancel, to me that really was the thing that was the final … that was the final thing that we had heard that said, you know what, even though we feel like we have a safe environment and we’ve done all the right things, we can’t proceed, and it’s not right to proceed. And when you use doing the right thing as the litmus test, to me that was the final …those two things together were really the things that drove the decision.”

2. Postponement was considered but was not a realistic alternative.

“You know, it was considered. It was an option. It’s something we identified early on in this process if we got to this point,” Monahan said. “But when you make a determination that you’re cancelling tournaments through the Valero Texas Open, we obviously didn’t complete round 1, and we really don’t have … we really don’t have a purview into how this is all going to develop, we felt like the right thing to do was cancel.”

Monahan added later when asked again about pushing the Players back:

“It’s not a possibility. As you look into the rest of the season, we have tournaments in every market [that] are well on their way towards planning their events, to fundraising. You’ve got charities just like we have here that are counting on those events. And we feel like it was our opportunity to potentially play this week. It didn’t happen. And we’re going to continue to go forward with the schedule that we’ve outlined and hopefully we can get back and play as soon as possible.”

3. Title sponsors of tournaments cancelled were on board with the decision.

“We have been in contact with all of them over the last several weeks. Certainly, that intensified over the last 48 hours. They’re fully supportive of the decision we made. They had proper input into the decision we made. And now it’s on to, OK, how do we address and help the communities that we vacated? Hold us accountable to that because we’re going to do some great things.”

4. Although Monahan says he hasn’t “gotten much” sleep the past week, he doesn’t regret the decision to play the first round with spectators.

*“And as it relates to any regrets, you know, I go back to … think about this: What has transpired has really transpired in a matter of 24 hours. We were at a reception on Wednesday night, and I got a text that the NBA had suspended play. And we felt like at that point in time, given, as we had talked about on Tuesday, we had taken all the right steps and we were comfortable playing. So at 11, later that night, we determined that, one, we were going to proceed, we were going to play, we were going to continue to follow the path that we were on.

“And then as it relates to fans, we wanted to … we had taken a number of precautionary steps. We were going to come in yesterday and we were going to do everything that we had done that preceded that, which is, let’s continue to stay close to this, and if we need to make adjustments, we will. So we quickly determined that we were not going to have fans today and through the weekend. I was really proud of the plan that we have in place. And ultimately we used [Thursday] to get as much information as we could to make the right decision, and we made the decision, and we’re obviously not playing today and we’re not playing through the Valero Texas Open, and it’s a really hard decision. But listen, anytime you make a change to a decision that you originally made, there’s an element of maybe we could have done that earlier. But I continue, and we talked about this as a team last night, you go back to what was your decision-making process, how committed were you to it, and what was the criteria that caused you to change. And for me I’m very comfortable that we made the right decision at the right time—or made the right decisions at the right time over the course of the week.”*

RELATED: 2020 Masters gets postponed, no dates specified

5. The Players is still committed to helping the northeast Florida community, including donating food supplies from this week.

“The answer to that is yes. And in the short-term, just to give you a sense … Billy [horschel] is an ambassador for Feeding Northeast Florida, and obviously we’ve prepared to have over 200,000 people here on property and won’t. So one of the things that we’re quickly going to get to work on is how do you take all the food supplies that we have here and put them to good use for our community, and that’s something that we’re going to do immediately. … And as it relates to economic impact, we have the platform of the Players Championship, we have the foundation of the PGA Tour being here. We take our commitment to this community very, very seriously, and we’re going to get to the work at hand to make sure that we continue to help our community as everybody tries to make their way forward here.”

6. All golfers who teed it up Thursday at TPC Sawgrass will get a piece of the $15 million purse.

“I’m sure the question is coming, but as it relates to this week, our regulations stipulate that if you complete one round of a championship, we pay 50 percent of the purse. We almost completed one round of this championship, and we will pay 50 percent of the purse to our players equally distributed amongst our players.”

In case you’re curious, that comes out to about $52,000 per player for one day’s work.

7. No one associated with the PGA Tour has tested positive for Coronavirus, but there is no timetable for returning.

“Well, I guess at this point, given the fact that we’re cancelled though—we’re not playing through the Valero Texas Open, it can happen in the weeks that follow. That’s all I know at this point in time. And we’re going to continue—obviously, you have the Masters tournament, and they’re going to make their decision. And we have to start working very closely with our friends in South Carolina and beyond to really, as I said earlier, understand all the facts and get ourselves ready to be playing the tournament, and we’re going to operate as if we are and have been operating as if we are from this point forward.”

Since Monahan’s press conference, the Masters has been postponed. The next possible PGA Tour event at this point would be the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, which is why he mentions South Carolina. That tournament is scheduled for the week of April 13. With today being March 13, that means golf fans are in for at least a full month of no golf on TV. In the meantime, Monahan encouraged people to play “the greatest game on the planet” themselves.

“There are a lot of golf courses in this country,” he said. “There are a lot of people that are in this business, in this industry that make their living through this game, and I hope that everybody, as they go through this uncertain time, gets an opportunity to get out, play golf, be outside, support their PGA of America professional, support this game, be inspired by this game.”

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