CALGARY -- Even though the golf industry hasn’t received the green light to open up their fairways, it’s not stopping a few Calgary golf management groups from giving back to essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Windmill Golf Group managing partner Barry Ehlert and his team came up with an idea about how they could give back in a small way to essential workers: why not offer them a chance to play free golf on their days off?
“For thirty days we’re going to have a draw for essential workers to be able to golf at one of our five courses," Ehlert said, in an interview with CTV News.
If you’re an essential worker all you have to do is go to the Windmill Group webpage and register.
If your name is drawn you get to play at one of five courses. Bearspaw, Mickelson National, Heritage Pointe, The Hamptons or Springbank Links.
Ehlert said the winners will be able to golf once the courses open up and the response has been great.
“The winners themselves just being super excited,” Ehlert added.
“We’ve had people (enter) who work in grocery stores to doctors and nurses," he said, "to so many different people that are out there right now, doing so much good.”
Over at Lynx Ridge, they also decided they want to help out. When they knew they couldn’t open up their restaurant they started offering takeout meals from the clubhouse restaurant.
Lynx Ridge director of golf Matt Kirlin said from there, they brainstormed and came up with an idea to make meals more affordable for front-line workers.
“We decided let’s do fifty percent off for first responders and their families,” he said.
“It’s been great so far," he said. "We’ve met a lot of really interesting people, people who are putting themselves right into the heat of this. We feel like it’s the least we can do for what they’re doing for us.”
Kirlin said the first responders seem to like the takeout option, in particular because they don’t like going to the grocery story after working all day in a hospital or dealing with alarge number of people in a non-socially distanced situation.
“We feel like we’re doing a good deed here helping people continue physically distancing," he said.
The club is open Wednesday to Saturday from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM. They’re averaging about 100 meals per day.
Kirlin added that the club hands out meals with gloves and masks on and they sanitize everything before and after.
