A few spots remain for Greater Niles Chamber of Commerce golf outing

Published 3:00 pm Thursday, August 13, 2020

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NILES — The Greater Niles Chamber of Commerce is bringing back its Summer Swing Golf Outing.

After a brief hiatus, the 2020 golf outing at Orchard Hills Country Club was supposed to be a big celebration on Monday. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, plans had to be dampened.

Still, the outing will go on as planned. According to Eileen Villanueva, membership coordinator for the chamber, there are still a few spots left in the limited field.

“We are limiting our numbers to make sure we do not go over 100 people, per the executive orders [from the state of Michigan],” she said. “We have a couple of foursomes still available.”

Golfers may register at GreaterNilesChamber.com/Golf! On Monday, golfers can begin checking in at 9 a.m. with golf set to start at 10 a.m.

The cost is $380 for a foursome or $100 per individual. That includes 18 holes of golf (scramble format), contest holes, putting green, golf cart, two mulligans per player, beverages on the course, a picnic lunch to go and awards.

Since the outing was planned months ago, the chamber decided that it would wait as long as it could before making its decision.

“It was pretty much a wait and see,” Villanueva said. “We had no idea any of this would happen. We continued to wait and see what was going to happen, but it was on the table as far as whether or not we would cancel the event for this year.”

When things started to improve in June, the chamber decided to move forward with it.

During that time, the chamber has also had to make a few adjustments as to how they would run the outing based on current state guidelines.

“We are trying to take every precaution that we can,” Villanueva said. “Because, in the end, our priority is everybody’s safety above everything else.”

Among the changes are a lunch-to-go meal and not giving out the awards at Orchard Hills.

“We decided that we didn’t want to promote any unnecessary gathering,” Villanueva said. “Instead, with the lunch-to-go, everybody is still able to have a nice delicious lunch from Orchard Hills, and then we will notify any award winners afterward. That way everybody can keep their distance.”

In adherence to state guidelines, no more than 10 people will be allowed in the clubhouse or the pro shop at one time. Breakfast and lunch will be outside so that contestants can grab it and move on. Golfers will be asked to wear masks when they are unable to social distance.

For more information, contact Villanueva at Eileen@GreaterNilesChamber.com.