Sacramento Bee Reports on the Growth of Golf—the Perfect Social-Distancing Sport

Whatever else the pandemic did to society, it gave golf a new cachet—it’s a sport just made for those times when there was no place to go but outside and nothing to do but walk. The National Golf Association claims some 6.2 million new or returned golfers hit the links during 2020, the year of quarantine. In Sacramento, the game was just as popular as it was in the rest of the nation. Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee notes that there hasn’t been such an uptick in golf since the advent of Tiger Woods.

Mike Woods of the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex notes that golf tees naturally socially distance people. “People were looking for a safe, outdoor, recreational activity. ... And it became really clear, very quickly, that golf—at any golf course—really fit that bill really well because it naturally spaces you out.” Golf equipment sales skyrocketed last year. Meanwhile, at the driving range, new touch screens were added so that golfers could forecast their shots and play a few virtual balls.

Read more on SacBee.com: “How the pandemic led to golf’s spike in popularity both in Sacramento and nationwide.”