Valley Oaks Golf Course in Visalia closed Tuesday morning. Last Friday, a day after Governor Newsom's order to shelter in place, they implemented new measures to "limit touchpoints" like removing the rakes and ball washers on the course, issuing one golf cart per person and raising the cups to prevent golfers from taking out the flagstick.
Course CO, a golf management company that operates 38 courses across the country including Valley Oaks, checked back in with the county health department to see if they were in compliance. They were informed Monday afternoon that they were not, which lead to the Tuesday closure. "We're very active and want to do whatever the county experts tell us," Tom Bugbee, COO of Course CO told ABC30.
Eagle Springs Golf & Country Club also closed its doors with plans on reopening at a later date. "With the spread of this virus continuing to grow we feel that the best thing for everyone to do at this time is to stay home," Mike Best, the course's operation manager told ABC30 in an email.
Dinuba's Ridge Creek Golf Club is "closed until further notice" according to its website. Riverside and Airways golf courses were deemed "non-essential" businesses and have been closed since Fresno's shelter in place order.
Lemoore Golf Course was in the process of closing Tuesday morning.
Dragonfly and Sherwood Forest Golf Clubs remain open. On its website Dragonfly lists the changes its implemented which include: a closed clubhouse, no food or beverages available and credit card transactions only.