MAY 20, 2020

Phase 2 of BC’s Restart Plan is now in effect, and our members and facilities are reminded of the impacts relevant to the golf industry, including in retail, food & beverage and office environments.

COVID -19 Safety Plan

Facilities are required to develop and provide a COVID-19 Safety Plan. The plan must include policies, guidelines and procedures that can reduce the chance of COVID-19 transmission. The plan should follow the steps outlines in the COVID-19 and returning to safe operation.

The COVID-19 Safety Plan that is created for your facility should change as new concerns appear, and must be posted in the workplace and by made available to any WorkSafeBC inspectors. 

Employers should create their COVID-19 Safety Plan by following the 4 levels of control, as listed below.

First level protection (elimination): Use policies and procedures to keep people at a safe physical distance from one another. Limit the number of people in your workplace at any one time, and implement protocols to keep workers at least 2 metres from other workers, customers, and members of the public.

Second level protection (engineering controls): If you can’t always maintain physical distancing, install barriers such as plexiglass to separate people.

Third level protection (administrative controls): Establish rules and guidelines, such as cleaning protocols, telling workers to not share tools, or implementing one-way doors or walkways.

Fourth level protection (PPE): If the first three levels of protection aren’t enough to control the risks, supply workers with personal protective equipment (PPE), such as non-medical masks. PPE should not be used as the only control measure. It should only be used in combination with other measures.

Click here for more information on retail COVID-19 safe operation click the link below.

Click here to access a six-step tool to help develop a Safety Plan.

Food & Beverage operations

An Order of the Provincial Health Officer taking effect May 19 allows for dine-in restaurant service to resume, provided they follow a series of guidelines.

Occupancy can only be 50% of the usual capacity, with a maximum of six (6) patrons per table and a minimum of two metres (2m) between each table. The maximum of event capacity hosted at a golf course or restaurant is 50 guests.

Food & beverage establishments should retain contact info for at least one person in each party in the event that health authorities require this information for contact tracing.

Restaurants should reduce as many touch points and spreading of droplets as possible. Self-serve or buffet-style service should be eliminated. Please also consider:

• Providing a water jug for the table instead of pouring drinks for guests
• Eliminating traditional menus in favour of single-use menus or online ordering
• Rearrange waiting areas to larger areas
• Try to limit cash payments and encourage credit card or debit card tap.

Cleaning and Hygiene standards need to be implemented to reduce transmission, like new handwashing and sanitization procedures for all staff. Establish cleaning procedures for condiments and table items. Develop a cleaning schedule, train members on how to proper clean surfaces and properly track cleaning schedule.

Click here for more information from WorkSafeBC on the safe return of restaurant service.

Retail & Office Operations

For facilities welcoming customers back into their pro shops, a number of recommended protocols have been developed for retail outlets to do so safely. Many of these include suggestions on payments and till transactions, store layouts, customer capacities and others like you’ve seen implemented at grocery stores and other essential retailers in recent months. However, there are several other recommendations worth considering for your pro-shop operations, such as:

• Discouraging customer handling of items when considering purchase, with designated areas for patrons to place unwanted items they’ve touched
• Hygiene practices for staff coming into contact with public items
• Cleaning protocols for fitting rooms
• Separating incoming and outgoing customer flow where possible
• Avoid use of bulk bins (ex. single golf balls, tee jars, ball markers, etc.)

Click here to see WorkSafeBC guidelines for retail operations and links to additional retail-focused resources.

Similarly, those phasing office functions back to their facilities can click here for a list of workplace recommendations, with an emphasis placed on distancing measures for staff.

Teaching & Coaching

We recommend that facilities take a cautious approach to the resumption of golf instructions and lessons, and to apply the same principles of physical distancing and increased hygiene measures being used throughout facilities.

Please click here to review a list of best practices for teaching and coaching from the PGA of America amid current conditions.

We also encourage you to review a compilation of Frequently Asked Questions on the return of sport from viaSportBC.

We applaud the efforts of our members and all throughout BC’s golf industry to keep their patrons and staff safe during these unprecedented circumstances.