Message from The Landings Club on The Korn Ferry Tour

  Dear fellow Landings Residents, The PGA TOUR and The Korn Ferry Tour were the first professional sporting events to resume play since the shutdown of virtually every form of entertainment or large group events in mid-March. When the postponement of the Savannah Golf Championship was announced,   The Landings Club expressed willingness to consider a future date under the assumption that the impact of the virus would eventually abate and life would return to normal. After the establishment of rigorous operating protocols, the Korn Ferry Tour (KFT) approached our Club with options on dates. After review of the KFT’s protocols and face to face meetings with staff, our Golf Committee and then our Board of Governors, we were confident that hosting our tournament, as part of the rebooted season in late September, was reasonable and presented nominal incremental risk to any member or resident of our community. When the TOUR presented their plan, they offered a range of possibilities as follows:

1. No tournament – cancelled due to local conditions, assessed at a time approaching the tournament
2. Competition only tournament – no spectators, limited volunteers, no contact with Club or local individuals, similar to the GSGA Championship held this past week at Oakridge
3. Local / inside the gates spectators only – no gathering spaces, no congregating, no stands – very limited volunteer needs, the golf course and player areas roped off, limited or no contact with members
4. Something between what we did in past years and competition only – no stands but closer to normal with all protective protocols in place
5. Normal – as was done in preceding years.

My point in sharing this is to make certain our community knows there are options – and that in reality, the more likely scenarios are 3, 2 or 1. Our Club will not jeopardize our members and the PGA TOUR will do what is required to protect their competitors, staff and their brand. Together, we will make the right decision for all concerned. Further, the TOUR has enacted stringent testing protocols – ensuring that staff and competitors test negative before stepping onto  Club any property where they compete. In a statistical sense, it is much more probable that a resident or any of the thousands of non-resident guests, vendors, or contractors that come and go from our community each day will have the virus than a competitor, caddy, or PGA staff member. The risk presented by someone connected with the TOUR is negligible as a result of the TOUR’s protocols and the nature of a golf tournament. We believe the Savannah Golf Championship is a valuable event for our Club and community. We will continue to update Club Membership and TLA so that non-members are aware of the plans as they unfold. We are confident our tournament will bring the excitement, high quality play and fun of past years, albeit in a different format. Above all else, we believe it will be executed as safely as the 12 tournaments conducted by the PGA TOUR and KFT have been as of this writing. We hope to see you, safely spaced, on the grounds of our Deer Creek golf course, October 1 – 4! Sincerely, Steven Freund