From an article in The Golf Etiquetteist:
Given the current climate, the question is: should we feel guilty about playing golf?
In this instance, we should look first to the government itself. As in, the rule of law.
A number cities and municipalities around the country have issued shelter-at-home orders. In these areas, all non-essential businesses have been shuttered, including golf courses.
If you’re sneaking out to play in any of those places, you aren’t just breeching etiquette. You’re breaking the law.
In much of the United States, though, golf continues and The Golf Etiquetteist would argue that that’s more than okay. It is, in fact, a boon for the common good (and for both mental and physical wellbeing), provided that those courses are abiding by public health guidelines and the golfers themselves are taking proper precautions — like riding in separate carts---common sense measures. In the Villages, everyone is in a separate art and no one is sitting in a restaurant together after the round. No one touches the flag and the cup is inverted so you don't even reach in the hole to retrieve the ball.
In a tweet Wednesday morning, none other than Phil Mickelson said that he’d just played golf while following these measures. “. . it was nice to get outside, be active and still be safe for myself and others.”
That’s pretty much the sum of it.
Public health is paramount, of course, but mental health is also important. So long as the latter doesn’t compromise the former, golf can still be played in the same way that it should always be pursued: with a sense of gratitude, and, yes … guilt free.
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