‘Golfers would prefer to return earlier but there’s plenty of positives’ – Portsmouth Golf Centre pro Terry Healey

That's the opinion of Portsmouth Golf Centre PGA professional Terry Healy, who feels a March 29 date for the shutters to come down could prove ideal.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced as part of the Government's four-step roadmap plan to ease Covid restrictions that some outdoor sports, including golf, could return late next month.

Golf was one of the sports that saw a huge uptake in numbers last summer when the initial lockdown restrictions were eased.

Healy is hopeful similar numbers will flock back to courses again this year.

The professional at the Burrfields Road course feels that being able to reopen on Easter week - typically, the start of the golf season - could help get courses off to a flying start when opening the greens again.

Healy said: 'People were hoping for sooner (to reopen); however, the decisions are very difficult so we’re just pleased we’ve got a certain date when we’re going to be reopening.

‘People will be pleased it’s just before Easter - that’s generally regarded as the kick-off for the golfing season.

‘The US Masters will be coming up soon so we’re pleased we’ve now finally got a date.

‘I think, generally, the golfing community felt that we could have been open sooner.

‘However, I’d put the more positive slant on it that now we have got certainty and it’s coincided with the classic opening of the golfing season, so there’s lots to be pleased about.'

In trend with the rest of the courses across the country, numbers at Portsmouth Golf Centre increased last year.

Healy stated in the nine months they were open in 2020 they managed to cram in what they would normally generate over the course of 12 months.

And he is positive there will be similar results come the end of 2021.

'One of the things we managed to do was get a whole year’s worth of golf into the nine months that we were open,' revealed Healy. ‘That was astonishing.

‘You can imagine that we were significantly busier when we were open but we’ve also had three months where we’ve been shut.

‘Overall, we managed to claw back the numbers which we would have normally seen in a year. I’d have bitten your hand off if you told me we could have done that with three months missing from the year.

‘It’s general as well, it’s not unique to us, it’s happened throughout the country.

‘Golf has definitely expanded in numbers playing.'