Londoners itching to hit the greens won’t have wait nearly as long as last year with municipal golf courses set to open this Saturday amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The city confirmed Friday afternoon that the Thames Valley Golf Course and Fanshawe Golf Course will reopen at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 27.
Last year, golf courses were unable to open until mid-May as a result of provincial restrictions in place due to the pandemic.
The city says that “in a continued effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” public health measures will remain in place, including physical distancing requirements.
“We had a wonderful season last year with, you know, 110,000 golfers at a couple of our golf courses and we did that safely,” Jon-Paul McGonigle with the city’s parks and recreation department told Global News.
Mayor Ed Holder said the return of golf is a sure sign of spring.
“London’s golf courses offer our residents the opportunity to get out and be active while practicing physical distancing,” he said in a statement.
“I encourage those who may not have considered golf before to play a round at one of the City’s courses.”
The announcement comes just over a month after city council approved plans to close River Road Golf Course and sell the land, with plans to put the profits into the city’s public golf system.
“We still have two beautiful courses with three 18-hole courses and a nine-hole course to offer and we believe that’s an incredible offering for a membership package to entail,” McGonigle told Global News.
More information related to the city’s golf courses, including how to book a tee time and what protocols are currently in place, can be found on the City of London website.
— With files from Global News’ Jake Jeffrey