All Republic of Ireland golf clubs must close for six weeks

Alistair Dunsmuir
By Alistair Dunsmuir October 21, 2020 11:47

All golf clubs in the Republic of Ireland must close for the next six weeks, according to a new Covid-19 ruling.

The confirmation for this is at the end of this article.

Initially, golf clubs in the Republic of Ireland did not know if they were meant to close following the news that the country is returning to the highest level of coronavirus restrictions.

On October 19, the Irish cabinet agreed to impose level five restrictions, which are to last for six weeks but will be reviewed after four. They include fines for people travelling beyond a 5km travel limit.

However, with the Welsh government announcing the closure of golf clubs on the same day, the Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI) and the Irish Ladies Golf Union (ILGU) announced that they were in consultation with Sport Ireland about what this means for Irish clubs.

According to the Irish Times, closure was not ruled out, after a senior politician suggested that golf would not be permitted.

‘The GUI and the ILGU sought clarification from Sport Ireland and the government on whether or not golf clubs could continue to allow players to play on, either socially or competitively, under the new Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions in the Republic,’ it reported.

‘There were initially conflicting messages from politicians when the move to Level 5 was announced on Monday night, with independent TD Mattie McGrath including golf activity among those that could continue (as long as players observed the 5km travel restriction) while Green Party leader Eamon Ryan appeared to suggest that golf was not one of the activities on the permitted list.

‘Unquestionably, as happened in the earlier phases of the roadmap earlier in the summer, the 5km restriction will automatically rule out a significant number of golf club members even should golf be permitted. On this occasion, though, it would also seem that junior members may continue to attend golf academies or coaching (which could prove timely with the school midterm break next week) as there is an exemption to take school aged children to ‘permitted training’.’

Golfers in Northern Ireland are allowed to play under the Stormont Assembly’s restrictions.

The GUI and ILGU, the governing bodies, had sought clarification on the confusion with the intention to inform whether clubs could give the go-ahead to members to continue playing while adhering to public health guidelines.

They posted on social media: “Like other sports, (the) GUI and ILGU remain engaged with Sport Ireland regarding the impact of the new restrictions due to come into effect (midnight Wednesday). Clubs will be advised of the outcome as soon as possible.”

Update (5pm): Sport Ireland has confirmed that golf clubs must close to golfers. Essential course maintenance will be allowed to continue.

 

Alistair Dunsmuir
By Alistair Dunsmuir October 21, 2020 11:47
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5 Comments

  1. JOHN October 30, 05:54

    Nice post.Keep it up

    Reply to this comment
  2. Mateo October 30, 05:53

    Delamere forest is most famous golf club and numbers of events are organized there every year.

    Reply to this comment
  3. Jeremy S October 27, 21:10

    Madness !! Let’s hope it does not happen in the UK

    Reply to this comment
  4. Good putter October 22, 15:54

    If anyzthing golf clubs should be forced to stay open.
    Is this a vindictive decision or spiteful

    Reply to this comment
  5. Gareth October 22, 11:22

    Hopefully Golf Clubs utilise this time to future proof their product to ensure that they come out the other end Stronger & Better.

    Reply to this comment
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