Sir, – Sincere thanks to Johnny Watterson for his piece in Friday's paper; he eloquently highlights the absurdity of the Government's continued closure of golf courses ("Walk tall, golfers, and tell Leo that golf is not the enemy at the gate", Sport, Opinion, March 5th).
I have read the Government’s Covid-19 Resilience and Recovery 2021: The Path Ahead document, which acknowledges in section 3.3 that, “the lack of sporting activities is having an impact on our collective wellbeing, including our physical and mental wellbeing”.
It also states in the same section that, “Sport Ireland is leading a series of initiatives to support everyone to keep active and to exercise within our own local areas.”
May I suggest an initiative to allow golf courses to open to allow members keep active and to exercise? It will save us all the frustration of watching another infantilised TV advert, which presumably is one of these support initiatives.
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As Johnny Watterson suggests, what’s the difference between walking around a golf course with a club in hand, hitting a ball, versus just walking around the same field? – Yours, etc,
SIMON
DELANEY,
Bray,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – Exercise and activities such as walking, jogging, cycling and sea swimming are all permitted under Level 5 restrictions, but are resulting in overcrowding in parks, scenic areas and many public places due to the 5km travel restrictions.
Open other safe (non-contact) activities, such as golf, tennis, etc, to relieve such pressure points.
Standing within two metres of someone swinging a golf club was never advisable, even in a non-Covid world. – Yours, etc,
MARIA MURPHY,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.