SUNRAYSIA golfers on the Victorian side of the Murray River are sweating on a green light to get back out on the fairways.
The Mildura and Riverside clubs have been closed since a State Government ban on golf six weeks ago due to the coronavirus.
But with the state of emergency set to end on Monday, Victorian clubs expect the golf ban to be lifted, allowing play to resume immediately.
It will put them on par with other states, including New South Wales, who have been permitted to play through the crisis under social distancing guidelines.
“We are ready to go,” Mildura Golf Resort manager Nick Cavallo said.
“The course looks an absolute picture and we’re preparing to be ready for Monday.”
Riverside manager David Gardiner said his club was also hopeful to receive good news from the Victorian Premier on Monday.
“Obviously Daniel Andrews is standing firm until May 11, so we will wait and see what gets announced on Monday, but we’re planning at this stage to be open some time next week,” he said.
“It has been hard to fathom that you can drive across the river to Coomealla and have a hit, but not play here.
“It’s the same with fishing — you can’t fish on the Victorian side of the river, but you can fish on the other side of the river. It’s the same river.
“All that has been been difficult for people to understand, but hopefully common sense prevails and players can get back on the course and outdoors again.”
Adding to the sense of frustration at both Riverside and Mildura is that, with recent autumn rain, the courses have “never looked better”.
“Obviously this is our best time of year weather-wise, and the last six weeks the weather has been absolute perfect for golf,” Mr Cavallo said.
“That rain three weeks ago — and then topped up last weekend — it’s been exactly what we needed and the course is sensational at the moment.”
Mr Cavallo said with the forced closure of the course, as well as the club’s pokies and hospitality facilities, staff had been stood down and placed on JobKeeper payments.
But JobKeeper had allowed the club to maintain its green staff to continue working on the course over the past six weeks.
Riverside has also used the forced closure as an opportunity to give their picturesque course some extra love.
“We’ve had our guys on course working full-time through this period,” Mr Gardiner said.
“We’ve done a lot of topdressing and fertilising and getting to some projects that we have wanted to get to for a while. Some of these things are difficult to get to when you’re working around players all the time.”
Both Riverside and Mildura are confident that, despite the six week closure, members will remain loyal when play resumes.
“Prior to the shutdown, we were actually expecting an increase rather than a decrease in numbers, so it will be interesting to see what happens when we are opened back up again,” Mr Gardiner said.
“Our hope is that with it looking like there will be no footy in Sunraysia this season, people will be looking for something to do.”
Both clubs sit around the 400-member mark, and Mr Cavallo said it was crucial players supported their local clubs in their time of need.
“The message is all local clubs need their members to support them when renewal memberships go out,” he said.
“We do see this as an opportunity for people that are at home to come out and get active outdoors again.
“Obviously there are some other sports that aren’t allowed to play, so players can come out in the open with those social distancing rules and have a hit.”
If play is to resume on Victorian courses, it will be under a number of new social distancing rules, including only two players per group.
Many of the rules were already in play on local courses before the Victorian Government banned golf.
Mr Gardiner said players would do the right thing.
“They just want to get back out there,” he said.
