Matt Lefferts, Executive Director, Ohio Golf Association
During a year that brought so much uncertainty, things were very busy in the golf world. Golf became an activity people could feel safe participating in and proved to be the perfect solution for social distancing requirements.
March 12th was the day Governor DeWine closed schools for an extended spring break. Eleven days later he mandated the ‘Stay at Home’ order and closed all non-essential businesses.
We learned that golf was, contrary to most golfer’s opinions, not essential and the reality set in that we were facing no tournament golf tournament in 2020.
Of course, priority number one became the safety of all Ohio Golf Association (OGA) members, club’s staff, as well as, our OGA staff and volunteers. We immediately went to work on various plans in the event the state re-opened golf and tournaments could be held.
The Governor finally deemed golf to be an acceptable outdoor activity, as long as common touchpoints were eliminated, and social distancing was practiced.
We realized that golfers needed an outlet to break the new dynamic and that we had the potential of starting our 2020 season, with the main priority creating a safe and healthy environment for golfers to compete in tournaments.
The start date was pushed to a June 1st and once we began, the season was off and running.
There were no rakes in the bunkers, touching the flagstick was not allowed, and new ball retrieval systems were in place, to get your ball out of the hole. There was lots of hand sanitizer and electronic monitors were used to certify scoring. Hand–written scoreboards, long a staple of tournament golf, were no longer used as all scores were recorded digitally.
Through these precautionary measures, golf was played at a high level and the competition was fierce. We accepted a record number of entries for the Ohio Amateur Championship. The Ohio Junior Championship, Ohio Mid-Amateur Championship and Ohio Four Ball Championship all boasted full fields with additional golfers on waiting lists.
Our goal of completing the 2020 tournament season was accomplished without any major Covid-19 spread from these events.
The Ohio Golf Association wants to thank every host club for providing a safe environment and fulfilling the commitment to Amateur Golf in 2020!!
