The wheel of New York State golf spun again on Saturday and this time it landed on a new spot — private and public golf courses can reopen for play.
Following New York State's vague rewording of its non-essential designation for golf courses on Friday, which appeared to open the door for private clubs to allow member play while prohibiting public courses from doing the same, today came word that the new Empire State Development guidelines do in fact allow public courses to reopen.
That clarification was published Saturday in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle by government reporter Jon Campbell, who confirmed the status of both public and private courses with Dani Lever, communications director for Governor Andrew Cuomo. Campbell then posted on Twitter that the information was rechecked with and confirmed by the state.
In order to reopen, courses and clubs cannot open their clubhouses, pro shops or locker rooms and cannot have employees on site except for maintenance and security. Security personnel will be responsible for making sure players abide by social-distancing regulations. Motor carts and caddies will not be available.
Meanwhile, as of Saturday night, the NYS Parks website still lists state golf courses as closed through May 15.