Scottish golfers’ patience further tested with Wales now to reopen

Bernie McGuire
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The sun rises behind the R&A Clubhouse on the par 4, 18th hole 'Tom Morris' on the Old Course at St Andrews (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

Bernie McGuire

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The patience of Scottish golfers is going to be even further tested from next Monday when Wales golfers resume play.

England golfers will be allowed to return to their golf clubs from today with the Welsh Government giving the green light for a return to golf from Monday, 18th May.

Murmurings suggest that the Northern Ireland Government will allow for a return also next Monday but nothing has been confirmed as yet.

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The news will clearly delight golfers in Wales but the Home of Golf nation players will be hurting even further after already two months of a golfing lockdown.

There was Welsh backlash following the England Golf announcement to reopen clubs, led by Andrews Davies, former leader of the Welsh Conservatives in declaring: “There is no reason why golf shouldn’t resume in Wales if Mark Drakeford (Wales First Minister) can walk through the busy streets in Cardiff”.

Sure enough, the Welsh Government then released a statement on Tuesday indicating the country’s some 200 golf clubs were allowed to open, if they wished.

The statement read: “It is entirely at each golf club’s discretion as to whether they choose to open and if so, when they choose to do so.

“We would advise that clubs that do wish to reopen do not do so immediately so as to ensure they have sufficient protocols in place to adhere to these guidelines, which we will be on hand to assist with.

“This would allow for a managed and co-ordinated reintroduction of golf across Wales from next Monday 18 May at the earliest.”

But unlike England, where golfers will be able to travel any distance to play in the country, players in the Principality have been told to stay local.

This advice will be good news also for the Llanymyneck Golf Club, the Welsh club where Masters winning Ian Woosnam learned the ancient game.

The club is located at Welshpool and Oswestry and it is famed as it straddles the Wales and England border.

The fourth green is in England, as are the fifth and sixth holes but the rest of the course is in Wales, where golf is still banned until next Monday.

The club still awaits advice on whether it can open today or will have to wait a further five days until the 18th.

 

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