The first step into golf’s new normal

FORT WORTH, Texas – There were plenty of hand waves Tuesday as PGA TOUR pros said hello to fellow competitors that they had not seen for three months. Handshakes, of course, are not acceptable in the COVID-19 environment, so a friendly gesture from social distance must suffice.

That’s not to say, however, that fist and elbow bumps also completely disappeared. Playing partners finishing their practice rounds at Colonial just couldn’t help themselves. It felt so good to return to work, to prepare once again for a tournament, that 6-foot rules were occasionally violated.

“People need to realize that some mistakes will happen because we're so used to a routine that it's going to be hard to just be constantly aware of the situation we're living in,” said Jon Rahm. “At some point somebody is going to slip. Somebody is going to fist bump.”

For the golf world, the Charles Schwab Challenge marks the first time TOUR pros have gathered en masse since March 12, the first round of THE PLAYERS Championship. After the rest of the TOUR’s signature event was canceled as the coronavirus pandemic took hold, the 2019-20 season also was suspended … until this week.

Excited to get back into action, many players arrived at Colonial on Monday to go through the on-site protocols and get in some practice time. Rahm was not one of them.

One hour into his flight on a private plane, Rahm realized his golf bag and suitcases had not been loaded. So the pilot turned the plane around and headed back to Arizona. Load the bags, refuel the jet, and take off again. It threw off Rahm’s entire schedule. But he just shrugged. Even in the new normal, old nuisances can still happen.

“It's not the first time that a suitcase gets forgotten,” he said. “Travel inconveniences are extremely common. It's kind of like, welcome to life again, right? Where things can go wrong. You can do nothing but laugh about it.”

Rahm wasn’t laughing, though, early Tuesday morning when he underwent the mandatory testing for players. The 6-inch cotton nasopharyngeal swab hurt more than expected. “I'm not going to lie,” he said. “I think it was pretty far up your nose.”

Despite the COVID-19 fears and the uncomfortable tests (as of Tuesday morning, no players or caddies had tested positive) and the underlying nervousness that permeates our daily lives now, seeing players laugh and smile and just enjoy being back inside the ropes should lift the spirts of all golf fans watching from afar this week.

There was Jim Furyk, who just turned 50, sharing a story with Bud Cauley, 20 years his junior, while the two were practicing their chipping. Furyk’s longtime caddie, Fluff Cowan, kept his hands in his pockets, his way of curtailing the urge to toss golf balls to his man. There was Billy Horschel and Danny Willett, trying to decide who was going to putt on a particular hole on the practice green. “Are you going to use this right now?” Horschel asked.

There was Jordan Spieth with his longtime friend Kramer Hickok against Colonial members Ryan Palmer and Franklin Corpening in a friendly nine-hole match. Spieth won the Charles Schwab Challenge in 2016, but the local knowledge paid off for the members, who “won a little bit,” said Palmer.

The match has becoming something of an annual tradition among the four, so it was a good thing to rekindle. “That sense of normalcy was nice to have today that we haven't had in three months,” noted Palmer, who has the honor of hitting the opening tee shot Thursday.

There was Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson – partners in the recent TaylorMade Driving Relief charity match – checking out something on DJ’s phone while standing on the 10th tee box as they waited for the fairway to clear. Whatever it was, they were clearly enjoying it.

Even though the general public is not allowed on-site this week, that doesn’t mean there aren’t fans in attendance. Corpening, who played collegiately at nearby TCU and received a sponsor’s exemption this week, is making his fourth TOUR start of his career. Each one has been at Colonial, where his family are long-time members and where he’s worked in a variety of roles when not in the field.

“Rory is my favorite player,” Corpening told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I love his action. I’m going to sit on the top putting green just so I can watch him tee off or hit some balls. That’s where we all want to be — No. 1 in the world.”

For others on-site, no fans means being able to listen to exchanges and conversations that might otherwise be drowned out, like Brooks Koepka – sporting a bushy mustache -- talking about a particular hairstyle Tuesday in between putting practice.

And no grandstands nor hospitality tents means getting an unique look at Colonial, which has hosted an annual PGA TOUR event since the 1940s, making it the longest-running non-major venue on TOUR. The compact, old-school layout can be appreciated in all its original glory. Standing near the 10th green Tuesday, you could see parts of at least seven holes on the back nine. In previous years, that 360 view would include several stands.

“It's awesome,” said Justin Thomas, getting his first up-close look at Colonial, as he had never been able to work it into his playing schedule in previous seasons. “It's a place that I've always watched on TV and I love how it looks. It's a fun tournament to watch.”

In some ways, the new normal looked very much like the old one. Players working on their games, instructors nearby to offer advice. Volunteers in golf carts filled with water bottles scurrying around to resupply coolers on tee boxes. Leaderboards and videoboards in their usual spots. The fairways roped off – except for the crossover areas. Two security officers on bikes even accompanied McIlroy and DJ, even though no one was following the world’s No. 1 and No. 5 ranked players. It’s McIlroy’s first visit to Colonial; practicing in shorts, his bare legs seemed ripped from the pages of the latest fitness magazine thanks to all his recent Peleton work.

But the reality is that golf is entering unchartered territory this week. Tests and protocols and social distancing and no fans and no high-fives and Jim Nantz in a booth (not even behind the 18th green) by himself.

Maybe it’ll be a brief trip. Or maybe some things will be permanently changed.

“You can't go into this thing [saying] it's going to be normal because it's not,” Thomas said. “I would say 2020 is beyond a bizarre year so far, and especially in the world of sports -- it's just going to be different.

‘If we all want to get back and play the game that we love and not just for us but for the fans and everybody at home, we're just going to have to get over the fact that it's going to be different and be a little weird.”

Weird, however, can be interesting. Different can be a positive. It’s just a matter of keeping an open mind. The good news is that the world’s best golfers are back in action this week. After 91 days, the time finally has arrived.