Golfers Flock to Monmouth County Courses
in Record Numbers This Year
22 OCTOBER 2020 | TheJournalNJ.com
BY TIM MORRIS
There aren’t enough hours in the day for PGA professional golf instructor
Cory Turkel. A typical day for Turkel, who has been teaching professionally
since 1974, can run from 6:30 am to 7 pm as he tries to keep
up with the demand for private lessons, clinics and classes.
“I’m busier than ever,” said Turkel, an instructor for the Monmouth
County Park System. “I can’t keep up with the demand. Golf was not growing.
Now, it’s exploding.”
Fresh air and the need for outdoor exercise during the pandemic has
record numbers this summer.
“It has been our busiest season ever,” said Eric Kaplan, assistant manager
at Hominy Hilly Golf Course in Colts Neck. “It’s not just us. It’s all the
public and private courses.”
-
ty golf courses have seen a 35 to 40 percent increase.
“There has been quite an uptick,” Janoski noted. “The numbers are
well above average everywhere. Last year was our best numbers-wise, and
we’re surpassing that.”
Kaplan pointed out that in August 2019, a record 6,000 golfers used
the county links. That pales to the new record set this August of 7,600.
Hominy Hill, he added, can accommodate up to 280 golfers a day.
Kaplan remarked that he wasn’t surprised that golfers returned
capacity. What he didn’t foresee was the record numbers.
“I did not expect this extreme,” he said.
It’s not just the everyday or weekend golfers who have been
walking the fairways and keeping instructors like Turkel busy and
courses packed.
“There are lots of newcomers,” Kaplan noted.
Golf had a lot going for it regarding its return after the March
shutdown of sports and recreational activities. One advantage was
that group activities available to people were limited which brought
many newcomers to the sport. The second big perk of golf is its location:
outdoors.
“It’s a safe activity,” Turkel explained. “It’s outdoors, it’s easy to
social distance, and it’s exercise.”
The record number of people hitting the links has others
vying for tee times.
“The No. 1 complaint is that everyone wants to play,” said Kaplan.
Golfers sign up for tee times online. Janoski revealed that when
the courses were fully opened, the department’s computers crashed
Last year, the park system had 18,000 golf card-holders, and
this year the number jumped to 19,000. That’s a lot of golfers looking
for tee times. But it’s not just instructors and the golf courses that
are feeling the pressure. Pro shops are running low on equipment
and accessories.
“We’ve sold out of a lot of stuff,” Kaplan said of Hominy Hill’s Pro
Shop. Kaplan added that the overwhelming demand has manufacturers
running behind, and for some items, there is a wait, even online.
The highest demand, Kaplan said, was push carts – carts that golfers
can put their clubs on so that they do not have to carry them on
their shoulder. They’re sold out, he noted.
There is also an increased demand for the park system’s golf clinics
and classes, Janoski noted.
After the state shutdown in March, golf courses were allowed to
reopen at 25 percent capacity in mid-April with groups limited to two.
Golfers teed off every 18 minutes though normal is nine minutes.
When courses moved to 50 percent capacity, foursomes were allowed,
but there was still an 18-minute interval between tee times. When
the courses opened at full capacity this summer, it was back to usual
nine-minute intervals.
Golfers are asked to practice social distancing and wear masks
everywhere, save when they are on the golf course. A popular item for
those who ride golf carts are buddy dividers. They are plastic partitions
that act like shields. It’s another way to social distance.
In addition to Hominy Hill, the Monmouth County Park System’s
golf courses are Howell Park, Farmingdale; Shark River, Neptune
City; Charleston Springs, Millstone; Pine Brook, Manalapan; and Bel-
Golfers play at Charleston Springs this past August. Aire, Wall Township.
/TheJournalNJ.com