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114 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 1 worship for Peninsula golfers. "We had lines of people outside just waiting to get in." Westover noticed a particular enthusiasm as far back as April, when the federal government's $1,200 stimulus checks were received. "A lot of cash started coming over the counter," he says. "I think guys didn't want a paper trail so wifey wouldn't know what they were spending the checks on." The demand has gone in waves. Local courses were shut- tered in late-March as the pan- demic first began to play out but by Memorial Day, most had cautiously reopened. (Every course on the Peninsula is now back in business save Monterey Pines, which is closed to the public but available to active duty military.) Golf carts were sidelined in the early days to reduce shared flat surfaces on which the coronavirus could be spread. With golfers suddenly having to walk instead of ride, "The first thing we sold out of was pushcarts," says Westover. "With supply-chain issues, it was impossible to restock for a while. I was seeing pushcarts that retail for $250 being sold for $800 on eBay. That was a new one." Jitters about the supply chain also led to a run on golf balls at Golf Mart. The past is always pro- logue: On Dec. 17, 1941, the Federal Office of Price Administrations announced a rationing plan for civilian use of rubber products. The next morning, the Abercrombie & Fitch store in New York City was cleaned out of 24,000 balls, its entire inventory. The Spalding store on Fifth Avenue sold more than 17,000 balls that day, and across the nation, golfers similarly stocked up on the most precious of commodities. Factory-refurbished used balls became such a thing that Gene Sarazen used one in the second round of the 1942 Masters, prefiguring Ameri- cans who would turn T-shirts into face masks to thwart the coronavirus. As the pandemic has stretched on, local golf courses have seen an evolution of the clientele. In May, Pebble Beach Golf Links dropped its long-standing re- quirement that to book a tee time a pricey room at the Lodge also had to be reserved, resulting in a lot of first- timers finally taking the plunge, particularly Californians who could daytrip. That helped keep the lights on at Pebble Beach Co. while the Lodge and Spanish Bay were mostly empty. "Golf has been a blessing for us," says Sawin. "We're not growing, but golf is doing well for us." It wasn't until September that more than Last Spring, the legendary Pebble Beach Golf Links allowed tee times to open up to players without needing a reservation at the Lodge, which encouraged many new players to try the course for the first time. Photo: isogood / Alamy Stock Photo A crucial demographic for growing the game is kids, and, from a golf perspective, that is some of the best news to come out of the nascent coronavirus era.