Kew, Green Acres, Malvern Valley golf courses full after ban lifted
Overcast skies and rainfall could not stop thousands of golfers returning to the fairways across Melbourne. And if you were slow to book a tee time, it could be a while until you can play in the inner east.
Inner East
Don't miss out on the headlines from Inner East. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Golfers across the inner east have surged onto suburban courses “with smiles on their faces” despite constant rain falls with the ban on golfing lifted.
Courses reported tee times being booked out days in advance as cooped-up golfers reacted immediately to Monday morning’s announcement by Premier Dan Andrews.
Malvern Valley Public Golf Course director Stuart Howard said from 11.03am Monday the phone had not stopped ringing.
“We are now fully booked up until halfway through next Wednesday,” he said.
Social distancing measures which were put in place before the shutdown are in evidence, with most courses not allowing flag sticks or bunker rakes to be touched.
Gaps between tee times have been extended to reduce the chance of groups bunching together, while players are told to arrive shortly before the start of their round and to immediately leave after.
“It’s literally just golf and exercise,” Mr Howard said.
Players are overjoyed to be back on course, citing relief at being freed from their homes.
Green Acres Golf Club member David Simpson said there was “excitement and trepidation hitting off the first tee”.
“It was a relief to be able to play after being cooped up for so long,” he said.
“I was hitting golf balls in the garage with a net.”
Kew Golf Club member John Nelson said it felt “fantastic” to be out on the course.
“I didn’t care where the ball went, just as long as you hit it,” he said.
“It’s bad luck that we have to keep 1.5m away because I think there’s a lot of blokes who would love to give each other a hug.
“I’ve never seen so many grumpy old men really happy.
“I play three times a week — my wife wants me to play five times a week now.
“She kept reminding me this morning not to miss my tee time.”
Most golf clubs have taken advantage of the Federal Government JobKeeper program, with their courses benefiting from the down time.
Shop staff have also been able to give a hand with greenkeepers to do plenty of maintenance work around the course.
But the shutdown has impacted them financially.
Green Acres golf and membership manager Andy Curtis said the shutdown could not have come at a worse time as it fell during a subscription period.
“The timing meant it happened during closure, which was tough for us, but we’ve dealt with it pretty well,” he said.
“We won’t be at pre-Covid size for a significant amount of time. We are yet to see how the economy will adjust in a few months. We remain positive.
“We hope our members get into the habit of returning to the club, but a lot of their spending is related to the wider world and the finances of households.
“Realistically we will operate at a smaller capacity for a period of time until things are eased.”
Kew Golf Club chief executive Mathew Loughnane said they were lucky being “a strong financial club” but were “not immune to a downturn”.
“Especially without food and beverage operation and facilities, but we’re hoping that we can make up some of the shortfall at the end of the year,” he said.
“Because everyone is so eager and we have a big membership base, we have put initial restrictions on how often people can play a week to cater for our 1500 members.
“Everyone wants to come back and play straight away.”
MORE NEWS
PEOPLE LOSING THOUSANDS IN SECOND-HAND CAR SCAM
CHILDCARE CENTRE TO GO ON HAWTHORN CHURCH SITE
Malvern Valley Public Golf Course player Eric Asmus summed up the feeling best.
“I enjoyed the game — even though the rain — I think everyone was appreciative to get back out,” he said.
“From what I’ve seen the social distancing has been good, the handshake becomes the club tap at the end of the round.
“It’s just great to be back.”