UPDATED: 12:30 p.m. Thursday
The City of Hays plans to reopen Fort Hays Municipal Golf Course with revamped rules, according to a news release Thursday.
Changes include allowing only one person per cart, using the window on the north side of the pro shop for customer transactions and other methods of social distancing.
See the complete set of guidelines below.
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By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Congregations of people and things people have to touch figured into the decision to completely close the Fort Hays Municipal Golf Course and Hays Dog Park on Monday, according to Collin Bielser, assistant city manager.
All other Hays parks and walking trails remain open, although playground equipment, shelter houses and restrooms are off-limits while Gov. Laura Kelly's Stay at Home Executive Order is in place.
"The access point to the golf course is the club house," Bielser said Tuesday, "and that's not an essential business listed under the executive order. So we determined, and it was a difficult decision, in order to control that access to close the course."
City Parks Department employees remain on the job at the golf course.
"We're here taking care of the grounds as we would normally," Fort Hays Municipal Golf Course Superintendent Kevin Kamphaus said late Wednesday morning.
Fighting the gusty southerly wind, one part-time seasonal worker was watering new grass that has been planted to replace a deteriorated asphalt driveway to golf cart sheds.
A lot of local golfers are unhappy about the closure, according to Jeff Boyle, director of parks, and he's received numerous phone calls and emails.
Boyle is reviewing the situation and has been in touch with the state.
Other golf courses in the area remain open, albeit with new rules in place, he said.
"Whether those are actually meeting the state order, I haven't had a response on a couple of those items yet.
"I'm trying to come up with a possible plan for the city manager to review to maybe go a different direction," Boyle said.
There are other concerns about using the golf course.
"The normal way to play is when you get on the green, you grab the flag pole and remove it, then putt your ball into the hole. You reach into the plastic hole and pull out your ball when you're done.
"So there's contact right there in two different areas," Boyle pointed out. "And, there's typically two people to a cart which doesn't provide the social distancing expectations of the state.
"There's a lot of little things like that going on that caused us to close the course."
