We played the resort course at Villa Roma in Sullivan County, NY. It was a glorious sunny day with temperatures in the mid-70s. The course was in pristine condition and the greens were nearly perfect.
The Covid-preventative features were:
- Face masks required in the clubhouse; no more than four people at a time in the pro shop.
- Carts are disinfected after each use; one to a cart unless the golfers live together.
- Flagsticks remain in the holes; there are foam rings in the bottom of the cup so the ball doesn't drop all the way in. This was way better than when I played in Virginia last week where the foam filled the hole and all you had to do was hit it with the ball.
- No rakes in the sand bunkers; no ball washers; no water coolers on the course.
- Restrooms were open but wear your mask.
- The restaurant was closed but the pro shop had beer, sodas, juices and snack food; the course has lifted its "no coolers" policy.
Once we teed off, it felt like a normal day. Although my wife is a beginner (bless her!), I'm addicted to the sport and I had a pretty good round playing from the blue tees measured at 6120 yards. The course is located in the Lower Catskills so it's quite mountainous with lots of elevation changes. The views are spectacular!
Although there were other players on the course, we were comfortably surrounded most of the day by at least a hole on either side of us. This was good for my wife because she gets flustered if she feels were holding up the course. Since there were two foursomes ahead of us and two behind us, there wasn't much of a backup during our 3-1/2 hour round.
Golf is probably one of the safest sports in regards to social distancing. It is a magnificent feeling to be out on the course again!
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