Several sources are suggesting the provincial government could announce tomorrow that selected outdoor recreational activities reopen as soon as this weekend.
Outdoor sports such as golf, tennis, pickleball, basketball and others have been off-limits to the public since April 16 when a provincewide stay-at-home order was enacted.
Lake St. George Golf Club general manager Dustin Louth is cautiously optimistic that Premier Doug Ford will announce tomorrow that golf courses will be able to open next week - likely, May 26.
“We’ve been scheduling our staff for the last two weeks just in case. They closed us down in a matter of hours and they could do the same to open us up,” Louth told OrilliaMatters.
This is a positive development but I would say based on the medical advice, these outdoor amenities should be reopened today! #COVID19Ontario https://t.co/5Y7SIj1k0F
— Patrick Brown (@patrickbrownont) May 19, 2021
Louth has even heard reports from within the golf community that the government could open courses as early as this Saturday, but he believes sometime next week might be a more realistic timeline.
“I would love for them to open on a long weekend, but why wait till a weekend when everyone will be travelling north? I wouldn’t bet on Saturday,” he said.
Once the provincial government does give golf courses the green light, Lake. St. George could be ready to go with hours, Louth says.
“We literally just need to put our tee blocks back out, flags back out, a quick clean of the carts, everything else has been done. We continued to cut and prepare the course over the last few weeks,” he said.
“We can flip that switch and get it ready within hours.”
Lake St. George Golf Club is currently taking tee times for their members who want to book ahead for potential course re-opening dates. Louth expects when the gates do open, there will be a surge of golfers who want to get out.
“There is really nothing else to do right now, there is nothing else open where you can socialize safely like you can with golf,” he said.
“It’s air conditioning and t-shirt weather, people are ready to get out and enjoy it.”
