Scottish Golf updates travel advice for new COVID-19 restrictions

Scottish Golf has updated its guidance about travel to member clubs ahead of new COVID-19 restrictions which will become law from 6pm on Friday.

Scottish Golf has issued updated guidelines to clubs, which is different to advice provided by the governing body earlier in the week. Picture: Scottish Golf

The guidance has been issued to clarify the rules regarding travel after it had been highlighted that advice provided by the governing body earlier in the week didn't align with the Scottish Government's directions.

Following the parliamentary process, Scottish Golf has now confirm that the rules regarding travel are as follows:

* Participants can travel to take part in organised sport and physical activity or informal exercise within their own Local Authority area.

* If you live in a Level 3 or Level 4 local authority area you should:

Avoid any unnecessary travel out of the area.

Keep journeys within the area to an absolute minimum.

* Participants aged 18 years or over (adults) living in a Level 3 or Level 4 area should only travel locally (within around 5 miles of their local authority area) to take part in physically distanced non-contact sport or exercise outdoors.

You can also take part in local informal exercise such as golf that starts and finishes at the same place but straddles the boundary of two local authority areas.

* Participants aged 18 years or over (adults) who live in a Level 0, 1 or 2 area should minimise unnecessary journeys and avoid travel to Level 3 or Level 4 areas to take part in sport or physical activity.

* Participants aged 17 years or under can travel to and from Level 0, 1, 2 and 3 areas (but not Level 4) to take part in organised sport, physical activity, training and competition.

Where living in a Level 4 area then you should only travel locally (within around 5 miles of their local authority area) to take part in physically distanced non-contact sport or exercise outdoors.

* You can also take part in local informal exercise such as golf that starts and finishes at the same place but straddles the boundary of two local authority areas.

In an email to clubs, Scottish Golf chief operating officer Karin Sharp said: "We appreciate that the guidance for travel is slightly different to detail we provided earlier in the week.

"At all times our information is developed in partnership with sportscotland based on information available specific to sport and at the time of publication was based on the understanding at that time.

"Throughout our response to the pandemic, we have tried to ensure golf clubs have had as much time to prepare as possible ahead of any changes coming into force and been clear that the guidance can be subject to change."

Clubs in East Lothian, which will become a Level 2 area on Tuesday, have informed members living in Level 3 areas that they will not permitted to book times until the new restrictions are lifted.

Those clubs include Gullane, which has one of the biggest memberships in Scotland, including lots of members from Edinburgh, which is a Level 3 area.

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