Golfers Flock to County Courses in Record Numbers
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24 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
in 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 to the links back in
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 crowds 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 because
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-Aire, Wall Township.
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