Wellington, Kapiti, Wairarapa at Alert Level 2, Wednesday 23rd June 6.00pm to Sunday 27th June 11.59pm

Golf Club and Facility Guidance (COVID-19)
Alert Level 2 Guidance: updated 23 June 2021

Good afternoon all,

Alert Levels
The Wellington region will be at Alert Level 2 from 6pm on Wednesday 23 June until 11:59pm on Sunday 27 June. The government advise that this is not a lockdown but rather a precautionary move. Businesses can operate and will be open, but they must follow public health rules and protocols. These include physical distancing and record keeping. Alert Level Two generally means following public health measures, keeping up good hygiene, and social distancing will apply. Gatherings are limited to 100 people. Continued mask use is required on public transport, and encouraged in public places. If you are sick, stay home and seek medical advice.

Contact Tracing
Under Alert 2, every facility that is open must ensure that a copy of the NZ COVID Tracer app QR code for the facility is displayed in a prominent place. Further information on the QR code and how to obtain one can be found here.

Guidance for Golf Clubs and Facilities at Alert Level 2 - Guidance as at 23 June 2021
Golf clubs, facilities and golfers must take appropriate steps to make sure they minimise the risk of infection from the COVID-19 virus. The number one priority should be the health, safety and wellbeing of your staff, members, golf participants and the wider community.

Alert Level 2 for Golf - Operational Guidance
At Alert Level 2, playing of golf can be undertaken. The most important principle is to stay safe. The health, safety and wellbeing of your staff, members, golf participants and the wider community is of paramount importance.

General Guidance

1. The golf course, clubhouse, pro shop, changing rooms and any other facility at the golf club can open at Alert Level 
2. All staff, players, visitors must adhere to general government advice, particularly all recommended hygiene measures. Click here for further hygiene and sanitisation information.
3. For golf clubs, appropriate hygiene and sanitisation practices must be maintained throughout the facility including all common touch points and surfaces.
4. A system to record and retain the contact details of all staff, players and visitors should be in place to enable contact tracing should it be required. The NZ COVID Tracer QR code must be displayed.
5. Physical distancing between all staff, players and visitors should be maintained. Distancing should be maintained on the golf course and throughout all club facilities.
6. All indoor facilities at a club need to restrict entry to a maximum of 100 people. Operations across indoor facilities must follow government guidelines as published at https://covid19.govt.nz.
7. Any staff who are on site should be provided with any appropriate personal protection equipment to ensure they can remain healthy and safe.

General Golf Operations Guidance:

8. All players should wash and dry their hands before and after play.

9. Shotgun or multiple tee starts can be held if they can be managed in a manner that does not see groups of golfers congregating.

10.Groups of golfers should maintain social distancing between themselves and other groups on the course.

11.Club events and competitions can be held so long as there is strict adherence to hygiene, distancing, and gatherings regulations.

12. Exchanging of physical scorecards should be avoided if possible and we encourage the use of the digital score entry app.

13. Pins should be removed from practice putting greens.

14. Pins / flagsticks can be on the course however they should be left in the hole and should not be touched or removed by any player where possible.

15.Bunker rakes can be on the course.

16. All drinking fountains, ball washers, and shared sunscreen stations should be closed.

17. Any shared club equipment should be cleaned after each use.

18. Coaching can be undertaken on a contactless basis and with social distancing being observed.

Further Information

For official government information, visit https://covid19.govt.nz/
For specific sport sector information, visit https://sportnz.org.nz/

Please be in touch with Golf New Zealand for any general queries.

Nga mihi,

Dean Murphy
Chief Executive
Golf New Zealand