Balfour Golf Course COVID-19 Action Plan

 

Our Management Team and our Golf Operations Committee have developed a comprehensive list of safety measures to ensure that everyone who spends time at our facility will remain healthy.  We will be following any active Public Health Orders issued within BC and any Ministry of Health guidelines that pertain to non-essential businesses remaining open .  The situation and recommendations surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic are constantly evolving meaning that the following list of operational changes and protocols are fluid and may be subject to change with short notice.  Any changes deemed necessary will be communicated very quickly via e-mail, website updates and of course, on site.  Please consider signing up for our newsletter updates to ensure you are apprised of any changes.

 

NEWSLETTER SIGN UP

 

 

FIRST AND FOREMOST

 

  • STAY HOME if you are sick or are showing any flu like symptoms.
  • STAY HOME if you have been in the presence of anyone with flu like symptoms.
  • STAY HOME if you have just returned to Canada and isolate for 14 days.
  • STAY COMMITTED to maintaining a minimum 2 meter social distance from others every day, all day.

 

OPERATIONAL RESTRICTIONS AND MODIFICATIONS

  • Staffing levels will be limited with very little shift overlap
  • Only three customers will be permitted in our golf shop area at any given time.
  • Golf Carts are to be shared by those in the same booking or league play event.
    • A single rider fee will now be in effect for golfers who do not wish to be paired up with a playing partner.
    • All personal items, garbage and recycling must be removed by the operator when they return their cart.
  • Our driving range is open with modifications which can be found below.

 

HOW WE'RE GOING TO KEEP YOU HEALTHY

 

GOLF OPERATIONS

  • Installment of a hand sanitizing station inside our main entrance.
  • Limiting customers in our Golf Shop area to three at any given time.
  • Sanitizing high touch point areas of our Golf Shop on a regular basis.
  • Golf Shop washroom facilities will be sanitized regularly.
  • Our shoe clean station will be re-introduced this year with a sanitizer station installed on site.
  • Power carts and pull carts will be cleaned and sanitized at the close of each day and again after each use.  There will be designated areas for power cart return so as to ensure they are sanitized before being used again.
  • Tee time intervals will remain at 10 minutes in order to help keep adequate on course spacing between groups and maintenance of social distancing measures.
  • A list of our COVID-19 protocols will be displayed outside of our Golf Shop door.

 

DRIVING RANGE

  • Driving range balls will be cleaned and sanitized after every use.
  • Driving range tokens will be sanitized after every use.
  • We will have installed a hand sanitizer station at the ball dispenser for use prior to handling range baskets

 

WHILE ON THE GOLF COURSE

  • Installation of our new PUCK-ER UP ball removal system designed to retrieve your golf ball with no flag stick or cup contact.
  • A limited number of garbage cans will be available on course.

 

WHAT WE WILL REQUIRE OF YOU

 

TEE TIME BOOKING

  • In order to properly manage our tee sheet, we ask that all tee time bookings be made after all players have been established in order for us to expect the correct number of golfers and so that player names can be added in the case of pass holder bookings.
  • Failure to notify our Golf Shop of any group changes a minimum of 24 hours in advance is unacceptable.

 

ARRIVAL TO THE GOLF COURSE

  • Maintain a minimum of a 2 club length social distance from other golfers at all times. 
  • While inside our Golf Shop and Restaurant, a face mask will be required until the current public health order is lifted.

 

DRIVING RANGE

  • Please only ask for the number of range tokens that you will be using during your current practice session.  Bulk distribution and/or range token collection will not be happening moving forward.
  • If all hitting bays are full, please be considerate of others who may be waiting and finish the golf balls you have left and move on.

 

ON THE GOLF COURSE

  • Maintain a minimum of a 2 club length social distance at all times. 
  • In order to maintain sufficient spacing between groups, please tee off at the time you have booked regardless of whether the first tee is open.
  • Pace of play expectations become very important in order to maintain sufficient spacing between groups.  All golfers, regardless of the time they tee off, need to work together to maintain a consistent pace of play throughout the course of a day.
    • 9-hole rounds must take no more than 2 hours and 10 minutes.
    • 18-hole rounds must take no longer than 4 hours and 20 minutes.
    • Prior to teeing off, establish your groups 9 and 18 hole time targets and work together to meet them.  Going beyond your time targets is unacceptable and has the potential to cause a back log of groups resulting in inconsistent spacing.
    • Playing through groups in front is not permissible.  Please aim to hit your time targets and maintain generous spacing between you and the group ahead at all times.
  • Dispose of your garbage in the cans provided or consider taking it home with you. 

 

FOLLOWING YOUR ROUND

  • Continue to maintain your social distance and avoid any traditional thank you salutations such as hand shakes, high fives etc.
  • If you have rented a power cart, please return it to the designated wash bay area and clear your golf cart of all person items, garbage and recyclables before heading home. 

 

Thank you for your understanding and adherence to the aforementioned operational modifications and COVID-19 protocols.  It is imperative to our operational success and sustainability that we work together to maintain a safe and healthy environment for all.

Balfour Golf Course Management Team & Golf Operations Committee

 

Book Tee Time