Finally! The golf courses are back open in all of Spain. I am so grateful for it; it's been two and a half months of training indoors!
So I went the first day it was open, which was on May 25th. There was a decent number of players at the course but it wasn't flooding with people which was nice. With all due honesty, the quarantine made me realize once again how much I love this game.
A golf course post-quarantine looks like this: we need to reserve our tee times and range spots online, and there is a guard at the gate checking who's coming in and out. The clubhouse is closed except for the bathrooms. Both putting and chipping greens are open. On course, everyone walks at Centro Nacional (the course I practice at), and there are no rakes for bunkers and they fixed the flag so you can recoup the ball without touching the flag nor the cup.
A little summary of how Centro Nacional de Golf has changed
PRE-QUARANTINE
POST-QUARANTINE
-No one at the gate
-Can reserve tee time beforehand (online/call) OR ask at the
pro-shop
-Pro-shop open
-Cafeteria open
-Bathroom open
-Locker room open
-Practice Range open for everyone
-Bunker has rakes
-Putting and Chipping Green open for everyone
- On course: Players everywhere
- Normal flags
-The guard at the gate asks whether you have a reservation at course or range
-MUST reserve tee-times online
-Pro-shop limited: to rent a cart/pull cart, buy balls, tees,
limited items
-Cafeteria closed
-Bathroom open
-Locker room closed
-Practice Range requires reservation online
-No rakes for bunkers
-Putting and Chipping Green 10 players at a time
- On course: Players 2m apart (at least try)
- Modified flag so the ball won't fall in the cup completely
I took the precaution and wore a mask for the 18 holes, but a lot of players aren't, and that's understandable considering how you can play the game without getting too close to others.
On a personal note, I am definitely hitting better, and my distances have kept up, thanks to all the training.
Now I want to clean up my short-game (especially my bunker shots because I didn't do any of that during lockdown) and just keep getting better in general. More on that in later posts!
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