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A favorite pandemic sport, Longmont expects another busy year for golf

Longmont’s municipal courses are essentially back to pre-pandemic health regulations
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A fleet of golf carts awaits golfers at the Twin Peaks course

With summer weather here to stay, Longmont residents will be able to enjoy the sunshine at the city’s public golf courses once again, with many of last summer’s pandemic-related restrictions for Boulder County recreation now lifted.

The city of Longmont will operate all three of its municipal golf courses: Sunset, Twin Peaks and Ute Creek with very loose COVID-19 precautions that closely follow the current guidelines issued by Boulder County.

“Except where a local order requires closure, golf courses may remain open subject to the following restrictions,” the city of Longmont states in a notice on the Golf Longmont homepage.

As of May 16, Boulder County issued a 90-day observation of “Level Clear,” the lowest tier of its six-level COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines. Under the current level, residents no longer need to wear masks outdoors. For Longmont’s municipal courses, this means that golfers may return unmasked both inside golf buildings and outside on the green if they are two weeks beyond their full vaccine dose.

While Longmont’s municipal courses are essentially back to pre-pandemic health regulations, Jeff Friesner, the city of Longmont’s Recreation and Golf Manager anticipates a fairly high volume of golfers this summer.

“We believe that this summer will be very busy,” Friesner commented, though he added that management at each of the three courses is prepared for a high volume of golfers now due to the fact that very little has changed from golf management last summer.

“During the pandemic, golf was one of the few things that people could do outdoors. We were extremely busy,” Friesner said. “So far in 2021, we've been just as busy, if not busier.”

So, what’s new this summer for golfers in Longmont? Besides no more enforcement of social distancing and sanitization protocols on the courses, Friesner anticipates the return of moderate-sized gatherings on the courses in the form of tournaments.

“(Tournaments) can have anywhere from 40 participants up to 150,” Friesner said. “Groups can run the tournament with guidance or assistance from our golf professionals. So the golf world is as close to back to normal as anything else that we do in recreation.”