From the pandemic’s earliest days, the need to stay socially distanced and safe gave golf an advantage over other contact-driven sports. It’s part of why local golf courses have seen increased activity over the past year.

BREC’s courses have been busy, says BREC Golf director Mike Raby. Though BREC had to shut down the courses for five weeks during last spring’s stay-at-home order, people were able to walk the courses and get outside.

“When we re-opened,” Raby says, “everyone was anxious to play golf. And they played a lot.”

Across BREC’s six golf courses, total rounds played were up 17% in 2020, according to Raby. It’s a continuing trend—February 2021 saw even more action than the pre-pandemic days of February 2020.

“Golf, as an outdoor activity, is naturally socially distanced,” Raby says. “When four people come to play, they’re around each other a little at the beginning and end, but they’re mostly on their own program.”

Read on for more about how golf is rebounding in Baton Rouge in this story from 225‘s May 2021 issue. Then, cruise down memory lane with our 2016 cover story on top female golfers who are anything but par for the course.