We know you can’t wait to tee off again, but our golf courses are still out of bounds

An easing of lockdown restrictions over the weekend by Prime Minister Boris Johnson saw him allow golf courses in England to re-open under social distancing measures.

On Wednesday morning golfers south of the border took to their local courses once more for the first time since lockdown was enforced across the UK.

Courses in Wales are now following suit, again under social distancing and safety guidelines.

But up here the message remains very much that local courses and facilities remain out of bounds.

St Andrews based Scottish Golf issued a statement this week confirming that nothing would be changing in Scotland for the time being.

“Following on from the Prime Minister’s announcement, we are writing to confirm that the position outlined by Scottish Golf on Friday, 8 May for Golf in Scotland remains unchanged,” the governing body said.

“The message is still clear – Stay at home and save lives.”

Scottish Golf says it is in regular communication with top government advisors as it looks to help golf return quickly - but safely.

“We remain in daily dialogue with the Scottish Government and other golfing bodies throughout the UK, to ensure that when it is deemed safe to do so in Scotland, that we are ready to support our golf clubs with a concise protocol for reopening,” it added.

“We will update our membership as soon as the Scottish Government agrees a plan on a safe return to golf.

“Scottish Golf would like to thank all of our members for their continued support in following the guidelines in such difficult times.”

When the green light is given to resume golf in Scotland, we can expect to have to observe similar, if not the same, safety guidelines as they will in England and Wales currently. In England golfers are allowed to play with one member of another household, but this is not the case in Wales where you must exercise alone or with members of your own household.

A number of alterations are likely to be made on course, too, including covering up ball washers and removing rakes.

• While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you. In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you - wherever possible and providing it is safe for you to do so - to also please purchase a copy of our newspapers; the Fife Free Press, Fife Herald, St Andrews Citizen, East Fife Mail and Glenrothes Gazette.

Inevitably falling advertising revenues will start to have an impact on local newspapers and the way we continue to work during this period of uncertainty.

The support of our readers has never been more important as we try to make sure that we keep you connected with your community during this time. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. We need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Our team of trusted reporters are working incredibly hard behind the scenes - from kitchen tables and spare bedrooms - to look at how we can do this, and your continued support of our newspapers across Fife will help to protect their viability in the days and weeks ahead.

For more details on our subscription offers please visit email [email protected] or call us on 0330 4033004

Thank you

Allan Crow, Editor, Fife Free Press