Like the rest of the country, golf France has been confined since Sunday, March 15, 2020. In the early morning, with a few rare exceptions, all the courses were closed to the public but also to their members. A national measure imposed by the sanitary conditions linked to the Covid-19 epidemic. The clubs of the Rhône-Alpes region bowed to the government decision, like the others ...
"On March 15 from 10:00 am exactly," says Pierre-Antoine Missud, the golf director of Aix-les-Bains Riviera des Alpes. It is a decision made collectively between the chair, the committee and myself. Even if the prefectural decree was officially taken on March 20. "
Gloves but no masks
Born in 1895, the Aix-les-Bains golf course (Savoie) has 620 members and supports seventeen employees (plus a seasonal worker). But for more than a fortnight now, activity has slowed significantly around the magnificent Lac du Bourget. Partial unemployment has thus been put in place for positions combining reception and secretarial work.
"The assistant green-keeper comes every other week because he keeps his young children at his home the rest of the time," adds Pierre-Antoine Missud. The rest of the employees are operational with flexible schedules, in teams of two, avoiding all gatherings and performing all barrier gestures. The briefings are done outside, we wash our hands very regularly, the guys have gloves. But no masks. "
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At the Lyon Golf Club, which has the particularity of being located not in the Rhône department but in Isère, the sound of the bell is almost identical. "Out of some twenty employees, 100% of our reception, secretarial, pro-shop and caddy-master teams are unemployed," explains David Richalot, freshly appointed golf director on March 5. They are confined to the house and we hear from them very regularly. We keep a link with them because it is important. Our technical teams (green-keeper, gardeners, assistants) are kept at 100% and respect the procedures of use in good weather conditions. "
“In normal times, we have 35 employees and in high season we go up to 50, blows for his part Stéphane de Durfort, director since January 20 of the Golf & Country Club of Bossey (Haute-Savoie). Currently, we are about fifteen people in partial unemployment. A dozen others are currently continuing their activity on the site. There are six gardeners who continue to refine our course which did not reopen until March 5. I am also surrounded by my assistant, the store manager and another person. "
200 tonnes of sand
All the teams still on deck, more particularly the gardeners and other green-keepers, are active to offer manicured routes at the end of the confinement, which everyone hopes will be close.
"This is a situation that we have not experienced since the Second World War," emphasizes Pierre-Antoine Missud. You should take advantage. 200 tonnes of sand were poured into four course bunkers. We recreated a small play area on hole 13. We re-sod all the chipping zones, we restore all the starting balls. The first mowing on the fairways was carried out on March 27. The pumping system was restarted on March 31. Aeration of the greens will be carried out at the end of the week. "
"Our teams are doing a superb job on our two courses," adds David Richalot. For our 870 members, we want to climb an additional step in terms of maintenance and detail. We undertook a big relining operation, trimming stumps and roots, also pruning to create a little more light on places that needed it. Without forgetting technical work such as aerating greens… ”
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At Bossey, the situation is somewhat different. Closed throughout the winter, the course only opened its doors on March 5 before closing it on March 16, twenty-four hours after Aix-les-Bains and the Golf Club of Lyon.
“We were in full preparation for the season, regrets Stéphane de Durfort, who must manage 920 shareholders and 1,200 members, all players and 80% of whom live in Geneva (Switzerland). A frustration at the level of the staff set up fairly quickly since we worked several weeks on the reopening so that ten days later we were forced to close our gates again. This has been compounded by concern over the epidemic, but also the treatment of wages and of the future. "
Concern for older members
Exactly. How do you see the Rhône-Alpes region in the coming weeks? Can we overcome this completely new situation generated by the Covid-19 pandemic in the long term? In summary, are these golf directors worried about the sustainability of their respective clubs?
"In March and April 2019, between the green fees and the practice, we had made about 90,000 euros," said Pierre-Antoine Missud. But we are lucky to be a club of members. The contributions have been paid. We can hold on a little longer, but the situation should not last too long. "
“Our partner banking establishments were understanding, they allowed us to suspend the repayments of club loans to try to maintain maximum financial autonomy and cash, confesses David Richalot. We are also worried about our older members, especially about the health crisis. We will count on the understanding of all club members to support us. We have already implemented certain investment delay measures that were scheduled for this year. If we resume towards the end of August or the beginning of September, we are going towards serious financial worries. But we are attached to the hope of the deadlines which are given to us. That is to say an administrative closure until April 15. It appears that this deadline will be extended. Until classes resume on May 4. So we hang on to the hope of an end to confinement on that date. After? We'll see ! "
"Am I worried?" wonders Stéphane de Durfort by way of conclusion. No ! Our turnover is already collected at three quarters! Our committee is very involved. The associative environment does not avoid professionalism. We are in a quest for excellence. Suddenly, here at Bossey, commercial and financial management is understood in a very professional way. "
