CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx. — The Lozano Golf Course is about 7,500 yards long; officials at the golf center are hoping golfers can find six to ten feet of space between one another. If not, golf courses may be the next activity to be shut down in the Coastal Bend.
Right now, golf courses remain open to the public, and golfers are happy to find a place to get out the house during the stay at home order.
"The gyms are closed down so I can out here hit golf balls, play 18 holes and have some relaxation," Ronnie Young said.
The golf center has had to make numerous changes in order to maintain healthy sanitation.
"We've ramped up our sanitation protocol," General Manager Lawrence Vera said. "We clean our carts daily, we've started cleaning any touchpoints that are around."
In order to comply with the CDC's and Nueces County's social distancing orders, the clubhouse has been shutdown and golfers only communicate with staff through a curbside window.
They also no longer allow two people to ride in the same golf cart unless those two people live together.
Once Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales announced that no social gatherings were permitted of any kind, the golf center now sends golfers homed immediately after their round; trying to reduce as much person to person contact as possible.
Golfers say they are appreciative of the courses remaining open and feel safe out in the open.
"I mean it is wide open," Young said. "You are just out there and usually you are not going to be in the same place as the other guys because your balls are going in different directions."
The distance between players seems to be the main reason golf courses remain open as opposed to local basketball courts that have started to enforce strict social distancing rules in the past week.
The courses are open for now and golfers hope that if they follow social distancing protocols they will remain open. They believe the game is providing them an escape from home, where most people are working and spending the entirety of their days.
