It’s two months later than they originally planned, but Baker’s Golf here in Lanesborough is finally open for the 2020 season.

“It’s exciting to get back open, just to get back to normal. The phone’s been ringing off the hook, so it’s nice to see people, to get their reaction about being out and about again.”

Manager Debbie Storie says the staff has been working around the clock for the last week to get both the driving range and the mini-golf course ready for customers.

“Originally in April we started putting everything together, getting it ready, and then when we found out we couldn’t open, we just kind of let it go … we just hurried up to mow, get everything cleaned, just make it look good.”

There are several safety measures in place including sanitizing the golf balls and clubs after each use, limiting mini-golf groups to four people, and a creative solution to limit surface contact on the course.

“I cut some pool noodles to fill the hole, because they asked you don’t put your hand in the ball cups. We set those in, so if the ball touches the foam, just consider the ball holed.”

Storie says they missed out on eight weeks worth of business because of the pandemic, but it may still be possible to cover the losses over the summer.

“Typically, our busiest months are July and August, so it really all depends on the impact tourism’s going to have … Usually you have a chance to make it up a little bit in those months.”​