Could This Pave The Way For Golf Re-Opening In England?
Is this a sign that golf could be re-opening before lockdown ends? Let's hope so
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Is this a sign that golf could be re-opening before lockdown ends? Let's hope so
Could This Pave The Way For Golf Re-Opening In England?
Golf's chances of re-opening in England before the end of lockdown 3.0 may have received a couple of major boosts today.
The first was that the petition to allow golf to be played surpassed the 100,000 signatures it needed to prompt parliament to consider a debate.
Something else potentially positive is the fact that angling has been allowed to continue during lockdown after initially being banned.
That's after the Angling Trust "promoted the huge benefits of fishing on individual health and wellbeing" and were "able to present a case to which the Government have listened."
“Fishing is allowed as exercise so long as participants adhere to the rules on staying local, gathering limits, social distancing and limiting the time spent outdoors," The Head of Sports Participation at DCMS confirmed.
This sounds very similar to what is going on with golf at the moment, with England Golf's CEO Jeremy Tomlinson confirming that he, and the wider industry, are challenging the government to allow the sport to re-open.
“In excess of two million people could have been looked after here, certainly from a physical and mental wellbeing perspective and I just think it’s an opportunity missed," Tomlinson told the BBC.
“The government can change that and certainly I, and other organisations within golf, are going to be trying to help them do that.”
Related: England Golf CEO - Closing courses "an opportunity missed"
If anglers are permitted to travel to a lake/river and exercise outdoors with one other, surely this paves the way for golfers to be able to do the same.
Let's hope the government listen to the golf industry in the same way it listened to the Angling Trust.
Some golfers on social media were asking the same the same question...
Let us know your thoughts on social media
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Elliott Heath is our Senior Staff Writer and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news, features, courses and travel sections as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. Elliott has interviewed some huge names in the golf world including Sergio Garcia, Thomas Bjorn, Bernd Wiesberger and Scotty Cameron as well as a number of professionals on the DP World and PGA Tours. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as four Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays at West Byfleet Golf Club in Surrey, where his handicap index floats anywhere between 2-6. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!
Elliott is currently playing:
Driver: Titleist TSR4
3 wood: TaylorMade SIM2 Max
Hybrid: TaylorMade SIM Max
Irons: Mizuno MP5 4-PW
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
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