Update from Ontario’s We Are Golf partners

May 7, 2021

Dear Golf Industry Partners / Key Stakeholders,

Recent weeks have been extremely difficult for all Ontarians, but especially for you, your team, your golfers, and all stakeholders in the golf industry. As you know, on Saturday April 17th at 12:01am, the Ontario Government forced all outdoor golf courses and driving ranges to be closed in conjunction with the stay-at-home order to May 20th.

Since then, Ontario’s We Are Golf partners have had numerous in-person video meetings with multiple key Ontario Government offices. There is no question the golf industry is being heard, as we (and our golfers) voice concerns about the current forced closure of our facilities. They understand the financial pressure on your business and the added pressure golf courses are feeling from golfers who want to be outside enjoying the game during this difficult time. The Ontario Government is working to balance those pressures with the ongoing provincial health concerns.

On May 4, Deputy Premier and Health Minister Christine Elliott and Minister of Sport, MPP Lisa MacLeod were both asked on the record about golf courses re-opening (click here for Global News article). Since that article was published, the good news is that the daily COVID case count numbers for Ontario have continued to come down, the ICU numbers have dropped again throughout the province, and more Ontarians have registered and received their vaccination – all key elements that need to happen to reopen outdoor recreation, including golf.

Ontario’s We Are Golf partners have sent seven official communications to the Ontario Government on behalf of our industry over the past two months (click here for most recent letter sent earlier this week). These messages have consistently highlighted the following key elements:

• Golf Is Safe … over 20 Million rounds played throughout the province in 2020 and no known confirmed cases of COVID transmission at a golf course.
• Golf has important health benefits – the studies are clear about golf – it is good for your heart, it relieves stress, and it can improve your mental health.
• We have heard legions of doctors and medical professionals, including the Ontario COVID-19 Science Table, speak out in support of outdoor recreation (including golf) being open. The science seems clear – the risk of outdoor transmission is extremely low.
• Numerous elected officials throughout the province have publicly pleaded for the reopening of outdoor recreational amenities.
• Golf has a clear set of well established, very safe protocols. (See Appendix A for complete list of exhaustive protocols from 2020, that was again presented to the Ontario Government on May 3.)

To be clear, the golf industry feels strongly that golf should now be reopened ASAP. However, there are complex health, economic and political factors involved, and we need to maintain a professional and collective strategy in order to manage through these complications.

We know that our best opportunity to successfully negotiate the reopening of golf is for all facilities to respect the government’s temporary lockdown. If any one course chooses to disregard the lockdown, the entire golf industry loses credibility and trust with the government officials with whom we are negotiating.

We will keep you updated as we work through this process. If any of you have direct connections with your local MPP, the Premier’s Office, the Chief Medical Officer of Health, or any other key personnel inside the Ontario Government please let us know and do not hesitate to reach out with similar messaging. In terms of key messages, we believe the focus should be on the following:

• Golf is naturally aligned to physical distancing. It takes place in vast outdoor spaces and is played with 4 people or less. Perhaps no other sport is this well positioned against this terrible virus.
• Our protocols are well established and safe. We proved it in 2020 and are committed to these protocols in 2021. (See Appendix A for updated Protocols submitted to Ontario government)
• Clear and consistent screening procedures.  Golfers must book a tee-time, can pre-pay, and are screened before enjoying the facilities.
• Golf has important health benefits.  The studies are clear about golf … it gets golfers outside, it is good for your heart, it relieves stress, and it can improve your mental health. In fact, the Ontario COVID-19 Science Table’s Fighting COVID-19 in Ontario: The Way Forward states that “Maintaining social connections and outdoor activity are important to our overall physical and mental health … It means clearly encouraging safe outdoor activities.”
• Golf Is A Home Game. Recent research conducted by NGCOA Canada and Golf Canada in the past week confirmed that more than 85% of golf in 2020 was played locally. People are not travelling around the province to golf. With over 800 golf courses throughout Ontario, there is virtually a golf course in every community to be enjoyed.  

 
Let’s Work Together to Reinforce the GOLF IS SAFE Message | #LetUsPlay
In an effort to strengthen our efforts to get courses open immediately; your Ontario We Are Golf partners are launching a coordinated social media campaign to reinforce our message that GOLF IS SAFE. All Ontario We Are Golf partners will launch this campaign on each of their social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) and encourage you to do the same. Launch time has been set for today (Friday, May 7) at 1:00 pm. Our social media collateral includes the above-noted speaking points as well as the below images. Please click on the image to open and right click to download to share on your social media. Together let’s make sure that the message that GOLF IS SAFE is amplified across social media and make the plea to #LetUsPlay.

Click here to download

Click here to download

Click here to download

On a final note, we strongly urge you to not listen to any mixed messages or unfounded rumours that you may be seeing on social media or the news. Your Ontario We Are Golf partners will continue with our communications to keep you up-to-date with what we know as we continue to push for the safe inclusion of golf courses and driving ranges to be open as soon as possible in this stay-at-home order. We know how important this is to the well being of so many and we, of course, will do so in a safe manner.

Yours in golf,