Despite a maximum of two players allowed per group, Duntryleague Golf Club has seen an increase in membership play over the last three weeks as the sport has returned under strict guidelines.
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Now, those numbers will inevitably increase as Golf NSW has announced the number of players per group is increasing from two to four as of Friday.
Duntryleague captain John Fogarty welcomes the change and says a lot of members who haven't been able to play to their regular schedules will have more of an opportunity to recommit to those weekly time slots they had before the pandemic took over.
"It's great news," Fogarty said.
"Obviously a lot of members have been missing out on their normal games of golf.
"The decision has allowed increased membership participation \while still applying with the NSW Health regulations so it's good news for all."
While the drop down to two people per group was mostly complied to, Fogarty found that a few people were forgetting the restrictions but didn't have any bad intentions in doing it.
"Most people are just very happy to be out there and do everything complying with the rules," he said.
"We had a few people go back to their old ways and we had to say 'c'mon, guys'.
"We've put up signs all around the course telling people not to go to certain spots and to not congregate in certain areas. We're encouraging everyone to go home after playing."
Even though the guidelines have been fairly restrictive, golf's been one of the only sports people can roll up and play and according to Fogarty, that's the reason why the membership numbers have been so strong in the last month.
"Golf's been one of the only areas where people can get out and do things," he said.
"We've taken a bit of a hit financially with no visitors to the town that we would normally get but our membership golf is up.
"The activity on the course has increased recently."
As for now, the club doesn't have any plans to take a backwards step and Fogarty welcomes anyone and everyone to visit the course.
"It's full steam ahead now as we try to accomodate people as best we can," he said.
"It's been a learning curve with the changes in restrictions and we're constantly updating our sheets so that the members can comply. Now that we're going up to four people, we'll continue to update things and keep everyone informed.
"We've got competitions every day of the week as we try to give everyone an opportunity to play and enjoy the facilities... things are looking good moving forward."
The indoor parts of Duntryleague is still closed and even though Fogarty knows the clubhouse is part of the attraction, he doesn't see it opening any time soon. "Just with the current restrictions I don't see it happening anytime soon but people can still come here and enjoy the outdoors and the course.
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