For Ironwood Ridge’s Celia Schrecker, looking at her inbox has stopped her from hitting the tee box.
"I keep getting emails that this tournament has been canceled and that tournament has been canceled," said Schrecker.
The first tournament to go on as scheduled is the Tucson City Junior Championships at Randolph Golf Course.
"We’re practicing a lot of new guidelines with COVID-19," said Jeff Locke, who is with Tucson’s Junior Golf Association. He helped prepare this event.
"We’ve talked to other state associations and other junior golf associations about best practices, as well as some of their policies and procedures," said Locke.
One stipulation is that only one spectator is allowed per participant. The staff wears gloves. There is six feet of social distancing, as well as hand sanitizers. One of the new rules is that before and after a made putt, you can’t touch the flag stick. It has to stay in for safety reasons to prevent the spread of germs.
"I’ve been practicing with it in, because I used to take it out," said Schrecker.
It should also be noticed that golf isn’t exactly a contact sport.
"Kids an be outside playing golf," said Locke. "They’re outside in the fresh air, and don’t have to be too close to the players they are playing with."
So for golfers like Celia, staying six feet away can be as easy as a six foot put.
"I have a ton of events scheduled for this summer, so hopefully it will start off well," said Schrecker.
The tournament finishes up on Thursday.
