Caithness golfers prepare to swing back into action
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Golfers in Caithness are looking forward to getting back into the swing of things with clubs set to reopen across the county.
They might have been feeling a little under par recently, with the lockdown restrictions keeping them from playing, but as from Friday it looks like they will be able to return to the fairways.
At the four golf courses in the county – Thurso, Reay, Wick and Lybster – the clubhouses will remain closed and booking systems will be put in place so that players are given times, allowing gaps between tee-offs.
Lybster secretary Jeanette Calder, who will be getting members to phone or email for bookings, said: "Some of them were champing at the bit."
Lybster was due to be the venue for this year's 100th Wilson Cup which would have involved two teams from Orkney and two from Shetland, along with four Caithness teams.
To help them get ready for the competition they received £10,000 from the SSE Beatrice Caithness Fund to carry out renovations to the clubhouse, including the fitting of a new kitchen.
The nine-hole course has been undergoing maintenance work during the lockdown to keep it up to scratch, with club captain David Nicolson being joined by a couple of members to help remove some whin bushes.
"Everybody is looking forward to getting back out," Mr Nicolson said.
With a membership of around 60, Lybster has a shortage of ladies playing.
Thurso Golf Club captain Alan Coghill said: "We are all very pleased to be able to reopen golf at Thurso. It is something we believe is right because of the sport being a healthy outdoor pursuit, good for mental health and easy to social distance on the big wide fairways at Thurso."
The clubhouse facilities will remain closed and competitions will be on hold until there is a further relaxation on restrictions.
"The aim at the moment is just to allow people back to play golf," Mr Coghill said.
There will be a strict restriction of a maximum of two players from different households, with records kept for contact tracing.
Mr Coghill added: "If there is a sudden spike in cases we might well be holding back from that date. First and foremost we need to abide by strict regulations – health and safety is paramount in this pandemic."
At Thurso the full-time greenkeeper continued working on shortened hours to ensure essential maintenance was done.
"The course is in very good order and ready for play," the captain added.
Looking ahead to the reopening of Reay Golf Club, captain Andy Bain said: "It could not have come soon enough for us all. Everybody is just so looking forward to it.
"We have had lots of messages from people trying to renew membership – 80 to 85 per cent have renewed."
He went on to say that the club had seen three new members joining since the easing of restrictions was announced and he was hopeful of more.
Social media has been working well for Reay, with a few international members signing up to help the club through this difficult time with no sponsorship coming in and no visitors to the area.
"The prospects are good in getting members from overseas," the captain said. "Hopefully next year we will get people to come further north than Dornoch."
He added: "Because the weather has been so good the course has been looking fantastically well."
This was set to be a big year for Wick Golf Club where members should have been enjoying the 150th anniversary of the course. However, celebrations have had to be cancelled for 2020.
Club captain Cat Macleod said: "I think our members are all keen to get back on the course but realise that the social side of golf will not be an aspect they will be able to enjoy as before.
"The course has been maintained by our greenkeeper Dougie Thorburn throughout the lockdown and it may be difficult for him to share it with the golfers again, although he does say that he has missed them.
"Owen Cormack, who has just completed his apprenticeship and relevant college work during the lockdown, is eager to get back to work."
She explained: "All of the non-essential course equipment such as bunker rakes, ball retrievers and washers and bins have had to be removed. Benches have to be marked as not to be sat on if not removable.
"The flagsticks are left in place and have the addition of the ball remover which was designed and manufactured by John Hunter, a long-time member and past captain of Wick Golf Club.
"Everyone at the club is very grateful for his donation of these aids as it means players can putt out as normal."
Mrs Macleod pointed out that a system had been put in place that should allow competition play to start in a week or two, but it would be club competitions only to begin with.
An online booking system is ready to go live at Wick and members will receive copies of the Scottish Golf guidelines by email.
Mrs Macleod added: "We have to keep a copy of our daily booking sheets for at least six weeks in case there is a need for the government track and trace to be used, so we are allowing only members to play to begin with.
"Everyone has to pre-book and there can be no ‘walk-ons’. As we are a small, unmanned club it is a bit more difficult for us to monitor this but there will be regular checks daily."
The final say whether the sport can get back under way will be announced by Scottish Golf after Nicola Sturgeon's briefing on Thursday.
