NYS COVID-19 Guidelines

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the New York State on PAUSE Executive Order, which has been in effect since Sunday, March 22. “All non-essential businesses statewide will be closed, non-essential gatherings of individuals of any size for any reason are canceled or postponed at this time, and any concentration of individuals outside their home must be limited to workers providing essential services and social distancing should be practiced.” This order has been extended until May 15.

Click here to view the latest Empire State Development (ESD) Guidance on Executive Order 202.6 (see #13), last updated on April 17th, and currently reads:

“However, golf courses are not essential and cannot have employees working on-premise; notwithstanding this restriction, essential services, such as groundskeeping to avoid hazardous conditions and security, provided by employees, contractors, or vendors are permitted and private operators may permit individuals access to the property so long as there are no gatherings of any kind and appropriate social distancing of six feet between individuals is strictly abided.”

The New York State Club Association contacted New York State for clarity and confirmation of the meaning of the new language. To that end, the following was reviewed and approved by New York State.

• There can be no employees working at the recreational component of the golf operation with the exception of security personnel
• Security personnel can be delineated by each club (ex. A pro and the head starter) and will be present to enforce social distancing
• No access is permitted to club facilities including but not limited to the club house, pro shop, bag room and locker room
• No caddies. No golf carts (except pull carts), you must either carry your own bag or use a pull cart **see update below
• All golfers must maintain proper social distancing at all times, this is mandatory, no exceptions
• Allowing guests is to be determined by the security personnel on the golf course
• Maintenance personnel are permitted to work on the golf course
• Clubs are strongly advisted to provide a printed copy of the new guidance to security personnel, as local law enforcement may come to a club and may not be aware of the new guidance

*On May 6, the following clarifications on allowing golf carts were provided by the Governor’s office:

• Under the current guidance, golf courses are not fully open in the state of New York and the only employees allowed to work on site are for maintenance and security purposes and the use of motorized carts would require nonessential employees to work on site.  If permitted by the course operators, personally owned carts that are used by a single individual (allowances for members of the same household) are permitted.

• If an individual is seeking a reasonable accommodation in the form of a motorized golf cart and the private operator is permitting individuals who are members of the public access to the course, it is within the discretion of the private operator to consider and, on a case-by-case basis, fulfill a request for a motorized golf cart so long as it does not require non-essential employees to be on-site and so long as social distancing, as well as appropriate cleaning and disinfecting protocols, can be maintained.