Saint-Aubin (France) (AFP)
After two months of confinement, it was not rain, wind, cold or even health directives that would prevent them from resuming golf! Monday, at 8:06 am, fans hit their first drives in a good mood on the course of Saint-Aubin (Essonne).
"Oleeee!", "Bravoooo!", "You were lucky!" Among the first to start, the players of the club's senior team let their joy burst out on a course.
The youngest are 60 years old, the oldest is over 80. One has put a British Open cap on his head, the other has put a cap of the European Ryder Cup team on his wood. Bundled up to withstand weather conditions that are all the more disappointing as the sun has largely shone during the confinement period, they especially find the warmth of conviviality.
"Donald Trump will know that we are playing golf at Saint-Aubin!" Says a third, excited.
"He made a + squette + and now a + scraper! You haven't arrived guys!", Room a fourth, causing the group to laugh.
"It's reopening, everyone was impatient. We were all in touch, but it's nice to meet again," explains their captain Frédéric Guyard, a 60-year-old neo-retired man, before driving in turn.
- In need of a 19th hole -
Unfortunately for them, at the end of the course, "there will be a taste of unfinished ... he will miss the 19th hole. Usually, it ends with a lot of food" at the club restaurant, slips Mr. Guyard .
Because if the practice of golf has been authorized, in addition to the game itself, only the reception of the club is open, not the bar or the restaurant. And, to comply with the directives decreed by the Federation in order to receive the approval of the political authorities and to be able to reopen, the golf of Saint-Aubin has set up a whole path to try to avoid gatherings and even that the practitioners do not intersect.
From the parking lot, you must now follow the arrows and corridors delimited by red and white ribbons to get from your car from the hole N.1 through the reception, the distributor of warm-up balls and the driving range. Bottles of hydroalcoholic gel are disseminated on the site including on the course, a system makes it possible to recover the balls in the holes without touching the mast, the benches are condemned, the return to the car park is done by another path, also marked so as not to come across newcomers.
- "Rubbish" -
"It's a bit of rubbish ... We are outdoors, we are responsible people and there is no major risk. But they are obliged to comply with the rules. However, for a recovery , there is wind ... there will be a stray ball! ", estimates a player, much more worried about his swing than health risks.
"Here we have the toughest in business!", Comments club director Paul Drucke with reference to the players who came to learn about the health security system and its turpitudes.
"They have been subscribers for at least a decade, they have their habits, they are like at home. So it may seem restricting to them, but it is well perceived", he believes, satisfied with his system and behavior general of the players during this first morning.
And if the bad weather caused last minute cancellations and thus limited the crowds on this resumption day, it may be a bad thing for a good, according to Mr. Drucke, "because it leaves time for us like customers, take our brands "and assimilate this new mode of operation.
Because the most important thing is to golfer.
© 2020 AFP