Can you travel between Covid tiers to play golf?
It’s a question we’re getting asked a lot – “Can you travel between Covid tiers to play golf?” – so let’s try and clear it up.
Can you travel between tiers to play golf?
Residents in Tier 3 and the new Tier 4 are being told they should “avoid travelling outside of your area… other than where necessary, such as for work, education, youth services, to receive medical treatment, or because of caring responsibilities”.
That has put some clubs in a difficult position as they have attempted to interpret what that means for members. And it has left players, who may live close to their club but reside in a different tier, uncertain about what the rules allow.
Writing on LinkedIn, Martyn Senior, director of Lancashire Golf Union, explained he lived three miles from his club in Southport – a Tier 2 area.
“I am one mile into Lancashire in a small village 18 miles from Preston, but in Tier 3 so currently not supposed to go to play golf, yet for the past four weeks have been walking my dog on the course perfectly legitimately while in full lockdown,” he said.
Lansdown Golf Club, in Bath, meanwhile, tweeted that while they were pleased to be reopening to members, “the Government and England Golf advise that golfers should avoid travelling from a Tier three location to play golf.
“It is our duty to inform you of this advice and to state that we would always advise members to follow Government guidance.”
England Golf said: “Adding an exemption to restrictions for ‘organised sport and leisure’ would eradicate the current confusion around travel and permit all golfers to benefit from the return to play tomorrow (Wednesday).”
- RELATED: What are the Covid restrictions in England, Scotland and Wales?
- RELATED: How is golf affected in each Covid tier in England?
If you have any questions, let me know in the comments, or tweet me.
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Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
