Ohio Golf Journal December 2020

2020 Was Beyond Difficult Robb Schulze, CEO Northern Ohio Golf Associations Together the case was made to public health officials, “If you can’t be socially distant on a 400 acre golf course, where can you feel safe?” New rules were enforced to leave flagsticks in and not to be touched. Bunker rakes were taken off the course and strict protocols were established to sanitize golf carts after each use. Another major change in golf in 2020 was the new World Golf Handicap System. NOGA helped implement the new World Golf Handicap System that went into effect at the beginning of the year. Although first met with some consternation the process has been well received and is now firmly in place. “The World Handicap System is doing a better job of monitoring handicaps and making it more fair for the average golfer. On the whole the overall response to the new handicap system has been positive.” To say 2020 was a difficult year is a massive understatement. The issues caused by the pandemic were completely different than we at the Northern Ohio Golf Association (NOGA) have ever faced. We initially had no idea where to start, or what to do and we are very proud of how our team came together to find solutions to the problems that faced our 175 clubs and 27,000 members. Zoom became the preferred method of communicating and as we learned more it became the standard means of communication. In addition to talking with our member clubs, the four other associations in Ohio communicated closely with each other to find ways to best serve golf around the state and work with government officials to help return golfers to the course. Ohio Golf Journal