Hampshire Golf secretary: ‘Everything is still up in the air’

Hampshire Golf secretary David Wheeler has spent the last three months trying to salvage something from the 2020 amateur season.
Hampshire Golf secretary David Wheeler. Picture: Andrew Griffin.Hampshire Golf secretary David Wheeler. Picture: Andrew Griffin.
Hampshire Golf secretary David Wheeler. Picture: Andrew Griffin.

Even before courses were allowed to reopen for the first time in two months on May 13, Wheeler has been ‘wheeling and dealing’ with the dozen or so courses that were due to host county events this summer.

As well as finding new venues for the men’s and boys’ Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Channel Islands Amateur Championships, the man who has run amateur golf in the county over the past seven years has been liaising with England Golf over fast-changing rules and guidance for clubs and county golf unions.

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David is hoping the rearranged events will now take place as planned – but warned they could still end up being cancelled.

He said: ‘Everything is still up in the air.

‘I have been in touch regularly with a number of clubs after it became clear that our events normally held from May until July were not going to be able to take place as planned.

‘Obviously some of the host clubs were not able to offer us their courses later in the summer.

‘Every club is desperate for its own members to be playing as much as possible after more than two months of closure because of the lockdown.

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‘We would normally have 66 players entered in the county championship. Playing the qualifying rounds on a Friday is not so much of an issue.

‘Hayling have kindly agreed to let us have the Saturday to play the two semi-finals and final, but we have had to cancel the stableford and medal competitions that normally take place on the Saturday and Sundays at the championship.

‘We are now working with the host clubs to make sure that we can meet the Government and England Golf guidelines on staging our championships.

‘Social distancing is key – not only on the golf course, which the players will be briefed and reminded of, but also around the clubhouse.

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‘Using the locker rooms and toilets is going to be the biggest challenge – at the moment clubhouses are still closed and food can only be provided to be consumed outside.

‘We will be carrying out risk assessments at all the venues to ensure players can check-in, play safely and complete their own scorecards within the rules.

‘There may not be the usual prize presentations – we could have to collect the scorecards and then announce the winner a day or two later, once they have been checked – if restrictions dictate everyone still has to stay two metres apart.

‘We will work closely with all the clubs regarding those issues, but if the situation gets worse again, there is still a real possibility we will have to call them off.

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‘Hampshire Golf will always put the safety of our officials and volunteers who help us stage our championships, and, of course, the players first at every stage.

‘And we will be guided by the advice and guidelines from both the Government and England Golf.

‘The U14s Championship will present even more challenges as parents will be required to be present.

‘But Alresford is a regular venue for junior matches and competitions so hopefully most people attending will be familiar with its layout.’