Golf Rounds Surged as Coronavirus Advanced. Now the Game Is Retreating

And the customarily rigid United States Golf Association, warden of golf’s laborious rule book, even went out of its way last week to make the game, and its rules, easier.

To minimize contact between golfers, most courses had closed clubhouses and snack bars, removed bunker rakes and ball washers, gone caddie-less and encouraged the use of online payment options. But one unsanitary condition of play remained: After putting out, golfers had to stick their hands into golf holes to retrieve their ball, after dozens of golfers had done so before them.

Solutions proposed by golf superintendents soon abounded, including foam hole inserts that kept the ball near the top of the hole. Many golf courses even began raising the white liner cup, which is normally inserted into a hole, to about two inches above the ground. That way, an approaching ball could not fall into the hole but would instead bounce off the cup.

On Friday, the U.S.G.A. temporarily amended its rules to say that a ball bouncing off a cup in such a manner would count as a sunk putt for official scorekeeping.

Golf without close putts that pitilessly lip out? For a week, golfers had a new reason to smile.

It is not clear when the majority of closed golf courses nationwide will reopen. Nor is it clear how long the courses that are currently open will remain so in many disparate regions of the country. Private golf clubs, where most clubhouses are already closed, may or may not discourage play, but it’s unlikely that many will be willing to stop their members from walking onto the course with a golf bag. Golfers are also sneaking onto some public courses.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/sports/golf/golf-courses-open-coronavirus.html