NEVADANS FLOOD KINGMAN GOLF COURSE

A municipal golf course in Kingman has served as a tourism magnet, much the same as area lakes and waterways have drawn large numbers of out of state residents seeking recreation in less restrictive areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus brought booming business to Kingman's municipal golf course last month.

   Hundreds of golfers from Nevada flocked to Kingman to play Cerbat Cliffs when tighter COVID-19 restrictions closed all courses in the silver state on April 1.

   ``The first day when they closed we had 95 calls from Nevada people to find out if we were open," said Parks and Recreation Director Mike Meersman. ``We were the go-to place. There's no question about it."

   Meersman says lots of Las Vegans made the 90 minute drive to play golf in Kingman before Nevada reopened golf courses on May 1.

   ``We had over 4,500 total rounds of golf. Our rounds were up 65% over the month of April," Meersman said. ``We did over $161,000 in revenue. That was up 57% from the previous year."

   Meersman said the closures in Nevada helped golfers in that state discover what a gem the Cerbat Cliffs course is.

   ``People that have never played our course came here from Nevada and they were in awe of our golf course , our staff and everything about our venue," Meersman said. ``They were amazed by it. Many of them said they had driven by 100 times but this made them play here. They're going to come back and play. There's no doubt about it."

   Meersman said a number of sanitation measures have been implemented to promote public health and safety, including wipe downs each time a cart is used. Rakes have been removed from sand traps to guard against unnecessary common touching.