The most prestigious golf club in Australia, Royal Melbourne GC, has said golfers will not be allowed to play at the venue unless they provide proof that they have been vaccinated.
The 36-hole venue, which is the oldest in Australia at 130-years-old and features the West Course, widely regarded as one of the best golf courses in the world, has said feedback to the policy has been ‘almost unanimously welcomed’.
More than 1,000 members have lodged vaccination certificates to show they’re eligible to play, said a spokesman.
Other Australian golf clubs are close to finalising ‘no jab, no play’ policies of their own, reports golf.org.au, such as New South Wales Golf Club in Sydney, which has confirmed it will be bringing in a similar measure.
Speaking on the Inside The Ropes podcast, Royal Melbourne Golf Club captain Andrew Kirby said: “Our premier has been very strong that the pathway out is vaccination so we very much saw it as the way to get golf open. That was a really compelling part of it.
“You’re totally free not to get vaccinated but you’re not free to infect others. That’s my philosophy on this.
“It is a pandemic, it is an extraordinary time and the only way out of this is through vaccination.”
Golf New South Wales CEO Stuart Fraser added: “This policy is gaining momentum on the back of Royal Melbourne taking the lead on it.
“Each club is different in its own way but there’s no question the government has shown its cards in this space.
“We’re getting legal advice on it, obviously there’s a lot of water to pass under the bridge but ultimately it will be what our public health order says about what clubs can and can’t do, who needs vaccination and who doesn’t.
“Under the current health order it says people can play in groups of four if they are fully vaccinated but it doesn’t say that unvaccinated people can’t play in groups of two.
“It’s gaining momentum and hats off to Royal Melbourne for taking the lead on that in Victoria.”
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