Golf Courses Close as Part of Governor's ^Safer at Home^" Order"

The great, but somewhat crusty, Mark Twain once proclaimed: “Golf is a good walk spoiled.”
The way many golf courses in the area feel, Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has also spoiled their good walk.
Evers issued a “Safer At Home” order on March 25, stating that non-essential businesses must close in an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. In that order, Evers listed golf courses among non-essential businesses, but allowed other outdoor activities such as hiking, biking and walking to continue.
Evers’ order — which runs through April 24 — left many in the golf arena both shocked and confused.
“Assuming a course has the proper procedures in place, I would venture to guess many golfers, if not all, would feel safer than some of these other options,” said Jeremy Cabalka, the General Manager at Pleasant View in Middleton. “Think about Target, for example. I would much rather play a golf course with my own equipment, pay via my own phone, etc. vs. walking through Target.”
Mike Woodward, the General Manager at Norsk Golf Club in Mount Horeb, felt the same and hopes Evers eventually re-evaluates his decision.
“Hopefully for golf courses in Wisconsin there will be some easing of the restrictions prior to April 24,” Woodward said. “We believe (golf courses are) very similar to a park.”
Several golf courses across the state had outlined plans to practice “social distancing” even before the “Safer At Home” mandate went into effect. Among the adjustments being made at courses were: Individual carts only. Closed clubhouses. Payments must take place electronically. Eliminating bunker rakes, ball washers and flag sticks. Raised cups. All rules of social distancing must be enforced.
Some courses were only going to allow golfers to play as singles. Tee times would be spaced in intervals of up to 30 minutes.
As of March 30, 27 states had issued some form of “stay at home” orders. Of those, 14 allowed golf courses to stay open.
Some states such as Ohio initially ordered that courses would be closed, then reversed their decision. Wisconsin’s golf industry is obviously hoping for the same.
A petition at change.org asked the state to overturn its decision on golf course closures. As of Monday morning, the petition had more than 50,000 signatures.
Joe Stadler, Executive Director of the Wisconsin PGA, said his organization is working on the next steps that may be taken to present a case to the state for golf to be open for play.
If things remain status quo, though, the decision will be a huge blow to golf courses.
In recent years, both rounds per season and margins at golf courses have shrunk. Now, taking away a month of the season will be tough for many courses to handle.
“All seasonal part-time employees are on standby until further notice,” Cabalka said of how Pleasant View is adjusting. “All spending is on a freeze unless absolutely necessary. And all remaining capital items are now on a hold until further notice and may be pushed into 2021 to help stay within budget.”
Things will be similar at Norsk.
“Unfortunately, as with all the non-essential businesses, we will take a large hit to the bottom line with this shutdown,” Woodward said. “Losing 45 days worth of revenue is impossible to make up for this time of year. No time is ever good, but the timing for us is especially difficult as the season will start to ramp up soon. Unfortunately, we can’t just close the doors for a month. The course still needs to be maintained and we will still incur other expenses to get ready for the season when Governor Evers’ order is lifted. With the Governor’s order, we’ve unfortunately had to make some cost saving adjustments in regard to our staff. As a non-profit one of our goals has always been to re-invest in the facility and improve the operation. This will significantly inhibit our ability to continue to do that in the short-term. We are hopeful that when this is over the community will be supportive of us and come back and enjoy what we have to offer.”