Vail Golf Club Reopens For Locals Only On May 15

The Vail Golf Club will open to Eagle County residents only on Friday, May 15. They say:

Vail Recreation District is happy to announce the reopening of the Vail Golf Club for the summer season starting on May 15! The Vail Golf Club will be open seven days a week for passholder and guest play. Please note that play will be limited to Eagle County residents only. Season passes and punch cards are available for purchase online at vailrec.com/register. 

Thanks to the hard work of our local residents who followed stay-at-home orders and have been practicing social distancing, new health orders were released last week that began to relax certain restrictions on businesses and programs. In response, Vail Recreation District has been working closely with Eagle County Public Health on how to safely and responsibly open the Vail Golf Club for the summer.

To do so, Vail Golf Club staff will be implementing a number of new policies and procedures to protect guests and employees so that everyone may continue to safely enjoy our beautiful golf course facility in Vail.

Explanation of the New Public Health Order

Eagle County Public Health recently announced a new order that will transition the community through three phases of recovery from COVID-19. Social distancing will be required throughout the entire process until all health orders are lifted. 

Phase 1: Green Circle, gatherings of up to 10 people

Phase 2: Blue Square, gatherings of up to 25-50 people·     

Phase 3: Black Diamond, gatherings of up to 250 people

When these phases are complete and all health benchmarks have been achieved, Eagle County will enter a final phase where all special public health orders and limitations on gathering sizes will be lifted. Eagle County has not guaranteed a specific timeline for achieving all three phases of the order because each new phase is only triggered by the successful completion of the previous phase. They have indicated that the best-case scenario is that each phase may take approximately four to eight weeks to complete. Remember, this is not necessarily a linear progression, we all must do our part to continue social distancing and staying home whenever possible to keep moving forward through these phases as quickly as possible.

For more information, please visit ECEmergency.org, reference the updated Eagle County Public Health Order, Transition Trail Map and Eagle County Business Q&A. 

Vail Golf Club Update

Golf has been defined as a low-risk recreation type, and therefore the Vail Golf Club plans to open May 15, depending on the weather, with modified rules and all social distancing guidelines in place. The Grill on the Gore restaurant will remain closed through Phase 1, however the starter house will be available for grab-and-go food and drink.

During Phase 1, play will be available to Eagle County residents only and tee times must be booked in advance online. No walk-up play will be allowed. Carts will be available with a limit of one person per cart unless both players are from the same household. Guests must practice social distancing or they will be denied access to the course. 

Guests will be required to wear cloth face coverings when entering the golf shop, and all golfers will be asked to arrive no more than 15 minutes prior to your tee time and leave the property immediately following play. There will not be water coolers on the course. There will be a modified cup for players, so the flagstick will not be touched. As CDC and Eagle County Health guidelines continue to evolve, so will our rules and procedures. 

“We are excited to be able to open the golf course in May!” said Director of Golf Alice Plain. “We currently have quite a bit of snow on the course, but warm temperatures these next ten days will help the turf start growing. We have many of our greens covered right now to help the soil temperatures rise and spur more growth in the turf.” 

VRD also recognizes the hardship that many locals have faced over the past few months, and are pleased to offer a discount on unlimited season passes this year. “We wanted to give our Eagle County residents an opportunity to play golf as much as possible at an even more affordable price,” said Plain. “Thank you for your patience as we navigate our new golf world.” 

Season passes are now on sale and may be purchased online at  www.vailrec.com/register. Once purchased, please fill out the pass application located here, and email to aplain@vailrec.com or fax to 970-479-2197. For updated golf information and to reserve tee times, please visit www.vailgolf.com.

All junior and adult group lessons have been canceled for the month of June. We anticipate modified program offerings in July, based on Eagle County Health guidelines. Private lessons will be available starting May 22. All league play has been canceled for June and we will revisit this status for July.

Events at the Vail Golf & Nordic Clubhouse will be held only as the public health restrictions allow, and are based on the group size, including the number of staff needed. All events that fall within Phase 1 have been canceled as group size is limited to 10 or less per Eagle County Public Health Order. Please reach out to events@vailrec.com with questions or for more information.

The Vail Recreation District’s top priority is the safety and well-being of our residents, guests and employees. VRD will still have social distancing requirements in place at all time, and we will expect the following “Five Commitments of Containment” from all staff and users:

• I will maintain six feet of social distance.
• I will wash my hands often.
• I will cover my face in public.
• I will stay home when I am sick.
• I will get tested immediately if I have symptoms.

All information included here is subject to change, but we look forward to seeing you back on the golf course soon. Thank you for your support during these challenging times, please stay healthy and safe.