Rounds are up for Bent Tree CC

Despite many of the concerns surrounding COVID-19, Bent Tree Country Club in Dallas has seen an uptick in rounds played, according to Grounds and Greens Superintendent Blake Cain.

In fact, the club has seen about 25-30 rounds played each day between March 17 and March 19, but March 20 and March 21 could see up to 80-plus rounds each day as long as the course stays open.

“I think right now that we’re going to be busier than we would be without the coronavirus because more people are at home, not at work, and so they want to get out of quarantine,” Cain says. “The first place a lot of avid golfers are going to go to is the golf course.”

To ensure golfers and maintenance staff remain safe, the club has implemented an array of proactive safety measures.

“I think people are looking at the golf course as a place to retreat to in this difficult time, so we want to make things as enjoyable and safe as possible,” Cain says.

Bent Tree has removed bunker rakes; implemented a pool noodle in the bottom of the cup so the ball doesn’t fall to the bottom, to make it easier for golfers to remove it; limited the areas that staff is interacting with maintenance facilities; conducted job assignment meetings outdoors in the main parking lot to keep people separated; isolated employees’ lunch breaks; required employees to wear gloves; and sanitized any common areas.

The club also reached out to employees in the susceptible age range (60 years of age and older), asking them to stay safe and remain at home. They will be paid while on leave.

“All of those employees were very happy with that consideration and took us up on that offer,” Cain says. “We just want to provide a safe work environment for everyone.”

Cain adds that within the past day and a half, the club’s Indeed page has also experienced an upswing in applications, receiving applications from people who are otherwise out of work, such as restaurant workers and bartenders.