By Allen Freeman, NEOHGolf.com
Although Governor Mike DeWine has allowed golf courses to remain open for play, several county health officials around the state took exception to that decision.
Various County Health Departments across the state of Ohio decided they didn’t agree with the Governor’s order that all golf courses remain open as outdoor recreation areas, even if they do follow the guidelines related to cleanliness and social distancing.
Several County Health Departments contradicted the Governor and ordered courses closed.
In a situation that seemed to change minute-by-minute, on Monday, March 23, the day the Governor’s Order took effect, press director, Dan Tierney, confirmed that Ohio’s golf courses could remain open, assuming they, “follow the orders requirements in Section 15 related to social distancing, hygiene, and sanitation.”
Three days later, Thursday, March 26th, Socrates Tuch, Legal Counsel for the Ohio Department of Health, and Lance Himes, Chief of Staff for the Ohio Department of Health, expressed the opinion that golf courses are non-essential businesses with no exemption under Section 5c (open outdoor recreation area), and were to remain closed under the Director’s orders.
Clark County wasted no time sending out the first letters to the courses in their county, an hour after that conference call. The letters stated that golf courses are “non-essential” and should be closed. But golf courses never thought themselves essential, which seems obvious.
Rather, golf courses are an “open outdoor recreation area” under the exemption outlined in 5c as the reason to remain open for public benefit.
On Tuesday March 31st, the Ohio Department of Health rescinded their closure mandate and issued this statement,
“If your golf course is operating as an outdoor recreation opportunity and abiding by all of the order’s social distancing requirements, there is likely not a health concern. However, if the golf course is operating other businesses as part of the operations (restaurants, clubhouse, spa, driving range, putting and practice greens, etc), then you should be prepared to explain why you deem those business operations essential.”
For now, all Ohio golf courses can open, but are subject to distancing rules. Check with your local course for their status.
