While the local 18-hole layout was joined by the Lynbrook Golf Course and Deer Ridge executive course as the first sports facilities to open after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were hundreds of questions and only a few answers to be had.
Now, five months later and a season filled with beautiful and warm weather behind them, there’s little question it was all worth it.
“I’m not going to lie, the first month or so was definitely sketchy as to what the season was going to look like, who was going to come out and golf, just in regards to our revenues and how we were going to make our bottom line,” said Hillcrest manager Jasmine Cameron.
“But once we got rolling and a few of the restrictions were lifted, we definitely got into a groove and were able to accommodate all those who walked through the doors and give them an opportunity to get outside and have fun rather than being cooped up with all the other rules and regulations that were on us.”
Initially, the largest concern was the 20-minute staggered tee times, a far cry from the usual seven-minute send-off. That was eventually reduced to 10 minutes and actually became one of the few relatively positive features of the whole situation.
“We had a lot of players that did come out and say they enjoyed the 10 minutes,” Cameron said. “It gave them a bit more of a relaxed playing atmosphere rather than feeling pushed or having the gatherings at the front entrance. So that actually worked out that way.”
While losing the revenue from a handful of dropped tee slots every hour was less than ideal, it did make for busy times -- from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, players were hitting the links.
There were some issues that were hard to get around, though.
“Change was definitely hard in a golf setting, where people are accustomed to how they golf, whether it was a certain tee time or the opportunity to just show up and join a group to go out, we couldn’t do that,” Cameron explained. “There were restrictions in place from the government, so just trying to work with those who came to the course was another struggle in itself. Eventually we got everyone on the same page and we were able to keep everyone safe and healthy.”
From a financial perspective, the fact the Hillcrest was open right up until this past weekend says it all -- they found a way to get things done even with the reduced cash flow from not having tournaments, league nights or the usual myriad of money-making activities.
“We did okay,” Cameron said. “If we could have had a regular season where we had the 23 tournaments we had booked as well as the men’s nights and regular league play, it could have been one for the history books. But because those large-scale events weren’t there, we did well but not as well as we could have.
“We also took advantage of the wage subsidies the government had, just trying to get creative trying to bring other revenue opportunities through the door. We’re above water, though, and that’s all that matters.”
Now comes the planning for next year. And based on what they’ve seen so far and the outlook for COVID-19, Cameron expects to take the approach that this isn’t going away any time soon. The good thing is, at least when it comes dealing with the pandemic and what to expect, knowing is half the battle.
“It was definitely a shocker, no one can plan for anything based around a pandemic, so everything was new to us as we woke up every day and there was a new rule or regulation either added or taken away,” Cameron said. “So we have some experience in it, but some things we usually take for granted like shotgun tournaments and things like that, I really don’t see them being available next summer again.
“The end of the season, I reflect back, and it was positive,” she added. “We were one of the first places to maintain an open facility, we gave our community something to be able to do, we were essentially the first recreational activity that could be done at start of the summer.
In that regard we did what we needed to do, and I think with what we were dealt we did well.”
