Salt Lake City golf courses are open again, but some say the new, stricter guidelines don’t accomplish much

For her lunch break on Tuesday, Kerry Whittemore, a doctor at the University of Utah’s Redwood Health Center, decided to go outside and get some fresh air. As she was walking along 2100 South, she was stunned by what she saw at the Glendale Golf Course across the street.

Ten golfers all huddled together near a tee box, just a short distance apart.

“I was totally surprised because it just seemed completely like people weren't thinking at all of the social distancing that we're supposed to be doing to keep everyone safe,” Whittemore said. “… I was so flabbergasted that that was how people were playing. It seemed like they were playing just like normal.”

Which is not supposed to be the case.

When five of Salt Lake City’s six public golf courses reopened on April 2 following a 10-day closure designed to address growing usage and implement safety protocols, social distancing was decidedly part of the deal.

Among the changes announced: Driving ranges and course cafes would remain closed; motorized and pull-carts and club set rentals were not available; course-issued scorecards and pencils were likewise not made available, with players encouraged to use the SLC Golf Mobile App; hole cups were raised or altered, thereby eliminating the need to touch the flagstick; on-course ball washers were either removed or covered, and all sand trap rakes were also done away with; and, lastly, players were encouraged to practice social distancing.

“While waiting, golfers must be sure to not congregate in large groups (10+ people) and must maintain 6 feet of social distance between others,” read the edict on slc-golf.com. “… Social distancing must be observed at all times and at all locations on the golf course, practice greens, clubhouse restrooms, and parking lots.”

So, suffice it to say, Glendale assistant professional Erik Nielsen was a bit dumbfounded at the idea that a group of 10 people would be gathered in close proximity on the course.

“To be honest, I have no idea how that could have happened, that big of a group clustering together somewhere,” Nielsen said. “I don’t even see how that would have been a possibility, to be honest. We’ve been spreading our tee times out an extra few minutes. … Yeah, I mean, that’s news to me. That’s strange. I don’t know. I’m just kind of speechless about that one.”

In mid-March, SLC Golf Director Matt Kammeyer told The Salt Lake Tribune that the view at the time was that playing golf was seen as a low-risk means of promoting “general wellness.” He said his staff was taking measures to further reduce risks — from sanitizing golf carts to closing concession areas, from banning cash transactions to scheduling additional restroom cleanings.

And yet, he conceded, on account of “getting inundated with a lot of players right now” — partly because Salt Lake County closed its public courses — and seeing myriad businesses shutter around him, he said he was preparing “to receive a phone call that says, ‘OK, you’re closing too.’”

That did actually happen for a time.

On March 20, a news release from Mayor Erin Mendenhall’s office announced that as of March 23, all six city courses would close indefinitely.

“We have had unprecedented crowds at our golf courses, which has made it difficult to keep our staff and the public safe from the community spread of COVID-19,” Kammeyer said in a statement then. “We are asking for the public’s support as we examine how to shift our current practices to get the courses back open safely as soon as we can.”

And soon enough, they were indeed open again. On March 31, the city announced that as of April 2, the Bonneville, Forest Dale, Glendale, Nibley Park and Rose Park courses would all be re-opened to the public.

Whittemore — who made it clear she was voicing her own personal beliefs, and not speaking for her employer — can’t quite wrap her head around that decision.

Yes, she recognizes that “it's important to still get some physical activity, it's important to be outside and get fresh air and get some exercise, but I don't think anything in groups should be allowed because it just can't be done safely.

“We’re supposed to just have essential businesses open. I’m still in my clinic and still seeing patients that need to be seen, but were keeping everyone else at home. There’s so many people that are putting themselves on the line in terms of their own health that it seems irresponsible to let other people just kind of risk others — plus their own health,” Whittemore added. “I’m a runner — I was supposed to run the Boston Marathon next month and I’m disappointed about that being canceled, and I’m still running, but I’m running by myself outside. I would never run with anyone else right now. So I think it’s irresponsible to have [golf courses] open still.”

Nielsen argued that Salt Lake Golf Division “literally have done everything we can, everything that we were advised to do by our director of golf, as well as by the city mayor. And we have all these notices in place in six or seven different spots — you can see all the measures you personally can take for social distancing.”

But Whittemore argued back that Tuesday’s incident just goes to show that, left to their own devices, some people will take liberties, and furthermore, that if they don’t all reside together then sending out even a foursome is potentially dangerous.

“You’re not supposed to be around anyone who’s not living in your house. And I don’t think that four people golfing in a group are going to be more than six feet apart the entire time they’re playing a round of golf,” Whittemore said. “So maybe they can just be singular [players], or [courses can] literally check people’s driver’s licenses and see if they live in the same place. Otherwise, you’re going to get what I saw.

“I think [courses] should be either shut down or literally allow only one person [at a time], and not allow people to play together,” she added. “I just don’t see how they can do it otherwise.”