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.
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“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.
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“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
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