By Brian Argabright
For the third time in the past 12 months, the San Felipe Springs Golf Course has been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the golf course’s official Facebook page, the course was closed “temporarily until further notice” on Jan. 2.
Three days later, a second announcement was made regarding the course’s closure. It read, “Due to the severity of COVID-19 in our community, San Felipe Springs Golf Course will be closed until further notice. Golfers/members who would like to pick up their personal items will be able to do so during the below days and timeframes. We will not be able to accommodate additional pickups outside of the schedule below. Members’ monthly fees will be prorated accordingly. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate our customers’ cooperation and understanding as we attempt to do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19.”
The pickup dates are listed as Jan. 5, Jan. 7, Jan. 9, Jan. 12, Jan. 14 and Jan. 16, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. each day.
The most recent post, made Saturday morning, changed the times only for Jan. 9 and Jan. 16 to 10 a.m. to noon and 3 to 5 p.m.
The latest closure of the golf course was the third since March 24, 2020. It was initially closed then out of precaution regarding the rise of COVID-19 cases in the community. It reopened May 9 after Texas Governor Greg Abbott initiated a plan to reopen the state in stages, allowing the sports of tennis and golf to resume due to their being outdoors and participants being able to practice social distancing while playing.
It was closed again on July 1, again as a way to slow the spread of COVID-19. It reopened Aug. 15 by the Del Rio City Council after it was brought up during the council’s meeting that week. The motion to re-open the course was approved by a vote of 5-2.
Since its reopening, the golf course had instituted several measures to help curb the spread of the coronavirus including limiting the number of people in a group, limiting the number of people that could use a cart, the removal of coolers and rakes from the grounds and the washing and sanitizing of carts after their use.
