The Board is aware of people’s concerns about the Coronavirus situation and we are in regular touch with England Golf to be sure we have their latest information and advice.

This advice can be found via the England Golf link and will take you on, if interested, to further links from Public Health England, the World Health Organisation and the NHS.

RGC will follow Government advice and as of today (Saturday, 14th March) this means “business as usual” with added awareness around regular hand washing, sneezing/coughing into a tissue to be binned and staying at home if you have the symptoms of fever or new persistent cough.

If you have decided to self-isolate, please let us know if you need specific help with shopping etc.

Some specific questions arise at this time:

“Will we close the course?”

That is not our intention but we will be guided by Government. Fresh air and lack of person to person contact may make golf a low risk participation sport. We would reinforce the sound advice for regular hand washing and coughing/sneezing into a tissue which is then binned. Members wishing to avoid hand-shakes at the end of their round may certainly to do without offence.

“Will we close the bar?”

That is not our intention but we will be guided by Government. The bar is similar in many respects to the bars and cafes in the town which remain open.

“Are you stopping quizzes and meetings like the EGM?”

We will be guided by Government and, as the media makes clear, a new Government position on “public gatherings” may emerge shortly. We do recognise that our “clientele” is often at the higher end of the age range and will tell members whether these events will go ahead with as much notice as possible.

“Are you stopping competitive matches and open competitions?”

That is not our intention at this time but, as above, we will be guided by Government. Some competitions are designed to maximise footfall so we will likely be stricter on these than on “regular golf”.

Government guidelines are likely to evolve over time. For example the newspapers reflect the possibility that the Government may restrict public gatherings but to date that is not policy and even if true, no one yet understands what it would mean.

RGC’s position will reflect that of Government and we will advise members on any further developments and/or decisions by the Board which will prioritise keeping us all safe.

Chris Lamb on behalf of The Board of RGC.