“The simple math is more tee times,” he said. “When the weather gets nice, the traffic really spikes.”
Locking the clock doesn’t change how much daylight South Carolina or other states have, “just where it shows up on the clock for golf,” Karen said, adding the conversation is just as much about tennis and baseball, biking and walking.
Like those outdoor sports, golf offers significant health benefits with physical activity, mental acuity and social connection, he said. A typical 18-hole round involves walking four to six miles and burning up to 2,000 calories.
Rounding up
Along the Grand Strand, commonly known as the “golf capital of the world,” DST plays an important role in the local economy.
Jeff Diehl, a PGA professional based in the Myrtle Beach area, said golfers typically are big proponents of the “spring forward” option as it allows more daylight to play during peak season. For business operators like him who sell tee times and other packages, more time to play 18 holes is always preferred.
“The longer the days, the more rounds we sell,” said Diehl. “(Golf course) members want to go out and play when they get off work, so they need those longer days for sure.”
Diehl, a former president of the Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Owners Association, said the golfing community has long been an advocate for maintaining daylight saving time.
Regardless of where people are based, he said, and even up in the Northeast where it can still be cold deep into the spring, golfers will find a way to take advantage of the extra hour of sunlight.
Karen of the NCGOA said about 66 percent of his group’s members were in favor of locking the clock in DST, while 27 percent preferred to keep the status quo because slow play in the winter allowed breaks for the staff and early nights to get home to their families. The rest were in favor of moving to permanent standard time, and Karen said those businesses thrive more on morning tee times, particularly resorts that want guests in dining rooms at a reasonable evening hour.
