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April 29, 2021

Dear industry stakeholders,

The Government of Alberta has notified NAGA-AB that golf protocols will now fall under the Sport, Fitness and Recreation category. The Government has also released their updated Guidance document today for Sport, Fitness and Recreation on the Alberta Government website. Please see below for a brief highlight of the changes that impact your course. To read the complete sector guidance document, please CLICK HERE.

Golf Carts:

• Golf carts and other recreational vehicles should only be used by one individual or members of one household at a time, and must be cleaned and sanitized before they are used by another household.

Competitions:

• Sports, fitness and recreation competitions, festivals, showcases, or similar, are not permitted at this time for Albertans of any age, whether indoors or outdoors.

Gathering Limits:

• Outdoor gathering limit of 10 individuals with 2 metre physical distancing required.

Bookings:

• All tee-times and lessons must be pre-booked; drop-ins are not allowed.

Facility Rentals:

• Rental of an indoor fitness or recreational facility is permitted for the exclusive use of an individual or household only.
• Facilities with additional recreational amenities are permitted to be rented to multiple individuals or households only if they are separated by a permanent or semi-permanent wall.

General:

• Masks are required when participating in indoor fitness and recreation; this includes all coaches and instructors.
• Physical distance must be maintained at all times between participants. Coaches/instructors must keep 2 metres apart (outdoor) and 3 metres (indoor) unless in the case of very brief interaction for the purposes of instruction.
• One-on-one or one-to household indoor training is permitted.
• For sports/activities that require shared equipment to be handled (ie. rental clubs, rakes, benches, etc.), participants need to perform hand hygiene before and after the activity.
• Organizers must clean and disinfect any shared equipment/materials between uses.
• Locker room access should be limited whenever possible.

We strongly urge all golf courses to remain vigilant as the safety of staff and guests remains our utmost priority and we ask that all facilities do their part to adhere to all AHS guidelines. It is our understanding that AHS wants to manage outdoor gathering limits not only on course but pre- and post-sport activity as well.

Now that the province is clearly in the third wave of this pandemic, it has never been more important to adhere to the public health protocols to ensure that our sport remains open and golfers have a safe place to engage in healthy outdoor activity.

NAGA AB continues to monitor announcements, engage with government officials and provide updates as they become available. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Erica Beck
Regional Director, NGCOA Canada
President - NAGA Alberta

cc:
Robert Rousselle, Executive Director, PGA of Alberta
Phil Berube, CEO, Alberta Golf
Jennifer Cox, President, CSCM – Alberta Chapter
Terri Solodan, Executive Director, AGSA