Sorry doom mongers

[Frijj]

What?? Nothing to do with costs.

I’m not a golfer, but to me, if you can meet up with a friend for a walk outside, then why not walk around an area where you know you will not get close to anyone, hitting a ball with a stick as you go. It seems no lower risk than out for a walk.

The only thing I can think of is that it might encourage travel from outside the local area to courses and there will have to be staff on the front counter. But then again, sea front ice cream parlours are open, obviously with staff behind counters, so would golf really be that bad?

It isn’t about the risk but how it’s seen. Golf is a predominantly higher income sport.

That’s in the words of golfing magazines and websites bemoaning the lack of people playing it, not just my own opinion.

Telling folk they can’t go to the pub, can’t play football or whatever else, but saying you can golf, if nothing else, looks bad. It looks elitist.

It is remarkably cheap normally. Can get a round at Matfen Hall for £15 in normal times.

Aye, and how much does the gear cost? Most people don’t have a full set of clubs lying about so they’d have to rent the clubs too.

 

[DaveH]

It isn’t about the risk but how it’s seen. Golf is a predominantly higher income sport.

That’s in the words of golfing magazines and websites bemoaning the lack of people playing it, not just my own opinion.

Telling folk they can’t go to the pub, can’t play football or whatever else, but saying you can golf, if nothing else, looks bad. It looks elitist.


Aye, and how much does the gear cost? Most people don’t have a full set of clubs lying about so they’d have to rent the clubs too.

Ok, I see your point. Though people can do cheaper things like walk, run, cycle etc. Clearly football is out. 1v1 with social distancing would be dull (though interesting to see if Rodwell would still run away from the ball).

I know that is what logic says and people would not see it as logic and not equate sitting inside with 10 mates drinking to standing outside with one mate.

 

[Harry Angstrom]

Aye, and how much does the gear cost? Most people don’t have a full set of clubs lying about so they’d have to rent the clubs too.

You borrow some and then if you like it you buy a second hand set. Golf is not expensive. It can be very expensive if you want it to be.

 

[0321safc]

Are you taking into consideration the new variants, plural ? Cases are down ofcourse, due to lockdown. Set everyone free and up they go again. Itchy feet will backfire. Need or want to go back to school is irrelevamt to the virus. We must have learnt something in 12 months , or at least since last September. Its like rinse and repeat. This time has to be different.

I’m aware of many variants including the one with alleged 30-70% more transmissibility aka. The Kent variant, yet cases have fallen down in spite of this and the relatively weak lockdown in comparison to last March and April. New variants of Covid will be a permanent feature of life, something we have to learn to live with. The difference this time is we are now vaccinating at a mightily impressive rate, 88% of deaths occur from the groupings who will all have received a vaccine dose by February 15th, that’s an absolute game changer and puts the virus on the backfoot. I think schools will be back late February, no one disputes that the virus will spread in that environment, but where is the line drawn? Do we still send kids home with a cough and only allow them to return with a negative result in 2022? 2025? 2030?

 

[Frijj]

Ok, I see your point. Though people can do cheaper things like walk, run, cycle etc. Clearly football is out. 1v1 with social distancing would be dull (though interesting to see if Rodwell would still run away from the ball).

I know that is what logic says and people would not see it as logic and not equate sitting inside with 10 mates drinking to standing outside with one mate.

Oh absolutely they can. Two people playing Golf, socially distanced, outside, is not much of an infection risk, I think we're in agreement that two people golfing is safe.

You borrow some and then if you like it you buy a second hand set. Golf is not expensive. It can be very expensive if you want it to be.

I think you're overestimating how many people have golf clubs. Either that or maybe you've lost focus on how much things cost relative to a lower income.

 

[pixie345]

I’m aware of many variants including the one with alleged 30-70% more transmissibility aka. The Kent variant, yet cases have fallen down in spite of this and the relatively weak lockdown in comparison to last March and April. New variants of Covid will be a permanent feature of life, something we have to learn to live with. The difference this time is we are now vaccinating at a mightily impressive rate, 88% of deaths occur from the groupings who will all have received a vaccine dose by February 15th, that’s an absolute game changer and puts the virus on the backfoot. I think schools will be back late February, no one disputes that the virus will spread in that environment, but where is the line drawn? Do we still send kids home with a cough and only allow them to return with a negative result in 2022? 2025? 2030?

I think the key thing is wait and see. You can't make a plan until the numbers are right. Its been embarrassing how theyve dealt with it and how some people have acted. From the get go, now irrelevant, the orders should have been closed and movement within the country reduced until the cases were right down and teh vaccine was ready too. Yep, economy would have been a problem, but would prob have been up and running last September if we had done it properly like NZ.

For too many covid is not a real issue until they or a family memeber get it, but you can't change personalities. It was clearly a misatke to open things too soon last July, send kids to school and the University thing was a fiasco/disgrace. The non circuit breaker subsequently followed by a months lockdown, except London. From that we have a new variant. Its been handled really poorly and the figures show it. If they make teh same mistake again whist handing out vaccines it will cause total dismay and be very depressing once again.

 

[Mackemmark74]

It isn’t about the risk but how it’s seen. Golf is a predominantly higher income sport.

That’s in the words of golfing magazines and websites bemoaning the lack of people playing it, not just my own opinion.

Telling folk they can’t go to the pub, can’t play football or whatever else, but saying you can golf, if nothing else, looks bad. It looks elitist.


Aye, and how much does the gear cost? Most people don’t have a full set of clubs lying about so they’d have to rent the clubs too.

Sorry but that's nonsense. You cant compare golf to going to pub or playing football its non contact so I think most sensible people would accept there is no issue with playing golf.
Golf is no longer an elitist sport. It probably costs more to watch L1 football than join a club. And you can get decent gear for reasonable prices.

 

[bahtat]

lockdown wont end until we stand up like france holland and austria. burning the covid test centres down and rioting. only way out of this mess

You sound more and more like a Trumpist with every post

 

[zinedine]

You borrow some and then if you like it you buy a second hand set. Golf is not expensive. It can be very expensive if you want it to be.

If anybody wants cheap golf clubs charity shops always seem to have at least one set or a part set. There's loads second hand on internet sites as well.
I've often thought of taking it up and if I did that's the route I'd go down. There's a reason there are so many second hand sets about. It's obviously a sport a lot take up but don't keep it going. So rather than buy new I'd just buy cheap second hand and upgrade at a later date if I find golf is for me.

 

[Frijj]

Sorry but that's nonsense. You cant compare golf to going to pub or playing football its non contact so I think most sensible people would accept there is no issue with playing golf.
Golf is no longer an elitist sport. It probably costs more to watch L1 football than join a club. And you can get decent gear for reasonable prices.

It's not nonsense though.

All sports are as expensive or as cheap as you want to make them, but on average golf is one of the most expensive sports. Don't take my word for it, take the word of golfing websites. This one literally says, that on average, golf is the most expensive sport to play in the UK.

Golf is officially the most expensive sport to play

Golf is officially the most expensive sport to play

www.todaysgolfer.co.uk

Hilariously, this website says that golf isn't that expensive, and one thing you can do to reduce costs is...develop your own course. Seriously.

Is golf an expensive hobby?

The beginnings of golf date back to the 15th century Scotland, where it was a posh sport played by aristocrats.

www.thegolfbusiness.co.uk

In fact, someone did an academic study on widening participation in golf, and reported that golf is predominately a sport of white, middle-aged, middle-class men.

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/29018735.pdf

"In addition to this downward trend, golf’s participation demographic has been shown to be somewhat skewed towards old, white males in higher socio- economic groups."​

My point that I'm trying to make, is that whether or not golf is an expensive sport, whether or not it is safe to play or not, the perception amongst the electorate, if you open golf courses but keep everything else closed would be "one rule for them, one rule for us" because golf is not a working-class sport and is not seen as a working-class sport.

 

[Enable]

You sound more and more like a Trumpist with every post

thats the truth mate i dont like trump or biden. more of a sanders and corbyn fanny on me x

 

[Helmerroids]

It's not nonsense though.

All sports are as expensive or as cheap as you want to make them, but on average golf is one of the most expensive sports. Don't take my word for it, take the word of golfing websites. This one literally says, that on average, golf is the most expensive sport to play in the UK.

Golf is officially the most expensive sport to play

Golf is officially the most expensive sport to play

www.todaysgolfer.co.uk

Hilariously, this website says that golf isn't that expensive, and one thing you can do to reduce costs is...develop your own course. Seriously.

Is golf an expensive hobby?

The beginnings of golf date back to the 15th century Scotland, where it was a posh sport played by aristocrats.

www.thegolfbusiness.co.uk

In fact, someone did an academic study on widening participation in golf, and reported that golf is predominately a sport of white, middle-aged, middle-class men.

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/29018735.pdf

"In addition to this downward trend, golf’s participation demographic has been shown to be somewhat skewed towards old, white males in higher socio- economic groups."​

My point that I'm trying to make, is that whether or not golf is an expensive sport, whether or not it is safe to play or not, the perception amongst the electorate, if you open golf courses but keep everything else closed would be "one rule for them, one rule for us" because golf is not a working-class sport and is not seen as a working-class sport.

It’s as you say, a perception thing. There’s thousands of working class lads that love their golf, I’m not denying that there’s an elitist side, it’s just frustrating that because of this there’s a huge swathe of people being denied something that’d be a huge boost to their well-being.

I personally wouldn’t begrudge any sporting/hobby group being allowed to continue if participation is genuinely safe. I haven’t heard any outrage about golf being allowed to continue north of the border. Down here it’d be seen as Boris’ boys looking after their well to do chums, which is a shame for your average recreational golfer.

 

[Frijj]

It’s as you say, a perception thing. There’s thousands of working class lads that love their golf, I’m not denying that there’s an elitist side, it’s just frustrating that because of this there’s a huge swathe of people being denied something that’d be a huge boost to their well-being.

I personally wouldn’t begrudge any sporting/hobby group being allowed to continue if participation is genuinely safe. I haven’t heard any outrage about golf being allowed to continue north of the border. Down here it’d be seen as Boris’ boys looking after their well to do chums, which is a shame for your average recreational golfer.

It's a massive shame for the recreational golfer, I agree. Not sure if you could claim it as exercise if you played on a public course, not that there are many of those I suppose.

 

[RichB]

It will have an effect, but not in as short term as 3 weeks. You have to wait 21 days after your second dose to be considered safe, so we would be needing people getting their second dose today to hit that target. That still leaves those under 70 at risk, with high hospital numbers and more younger people going in to hospital.

I think it will be a couple of months before the vaccine really starts having an impact on the numbers.

I think the Pfizer data was that it was 90% effective 3 weeks after dose 1 then 95% 7 days after dose 2.

My feeling is the lockdown and vaccine will start to see the effects in a few weeks. From todays figures cases are dropping but hospitals are still chocka so need number in ITU and in hospital to drop before anything starts to open up

 

[Deleted member 43869]

You have to be deluded or the government even more stupid than they already have been, to think the unlocking will happen to any serious degree until the cases and death rate is reduced dramatically due to the vaccine. For the spread to come close to a standstill we need 75% of the population to have the jabs.

Christ! You really think 75% of the population need to be vaccinated before the death rate comes down dramatically? More like 15%.

 

[TopCat]

Back to your cellars. We will start opening up next month, great news. Boris Johnson confirms some UK lockdown rules could be lifted in THREE WEEKS

Would be a massive, massive mistake to open things up so soon

 

[Paddy O'Dors]

You borrow some and then if you like it you buy a second hand set. Golf is not expensive. It can be very expensive if you want it to be.

You can pick a half set of clubs up for 50 quid in Sports Direct.

 

[Tin Soldier]

Absolutely nothing will reopen before a massive reduction in hospital intensive care and admissions.
Schools will be first, then we will be back into T4 probably until April. Maybe into T3 by May. If hospitals are manageable by then we might get out by July imo

 

[0321safc]

I think the key thing is wait and see. You can't make a plan until the numbers are right. Its been embarrassing how theyve dealt with it and how some people have acted. From the get go, now irrelevant, the orders should have been closed and movement within the country reduced until the cases were right down and teh vaccine was ready too. Yep, economy would have been a problem, but would prob have been up and running last September if we had done it properly like NZ.

For too many covid is not a real issue until they or a family memeber get it, but you can't change personalities. It was clearly a misatke to open things too soon last July, send kids to school and the University thing was a fiasco/disgrace. The non circuit breaker subsequently followed by a months lockdown, except London. From that we have a new variant. Its been handled really poorly and the figures show it. If they make teh same mistake again whist handing out vaccines it will cause total dismay and be very depressing once again.

We will reach a point though whereby we can say with a huge degree of confidence if not near certainty that hospitals will not get overrun. And that point won’t be far away at all.

 

[pixie345]

Christ! You really think 75% of the population need to be vaccinated before the death rate comes down dramatically? More like 15%.

To stop the spread it will be a lot more than 15% . It needs around 75% of people to have some form of immunity.