VANCOUVER -- The golf carts were rolling and clubs were swinging Friday morning at the just-reopened McCleery and Fraserview golf courses in Vancouver, after a weeks-long closure due to COVID-19.

But the weeks ahead won't be typical for people hitting the links on the two public courses.

The park board has introduced several safety measures to keep golfers and staff safe. The courses had been closed not due to an order from the province, but as a precautionary measure in light of the pandemic.

"We did not feel comfortable at the beginning leaving golf courses open. We weren't sure about transmission. We weren't sure about how sensitive this virus was," said park board general manager Malcolm Bromley. "We are very confident that we can open safely."

The new measures include cutting attendance in half, with tee-times every 18 minutes. All bookings must be made online, and people must stay two metres apart.

Signage greeting visitors when they arrive at the course notes golf carts have been sanitized and staff were briefing all arriving golfers on the new rules, including no high-fiving.

Richard Hawes was among the first golfers of the day on Friday, playing his first game of the year with friends around 6:30 a.m. — one of the only tee times they could get.

"It feels a little bit abnormal as well. Typically the car parks would be full and there would be lots of people looking to tee-off. But they staggered the tee-off, so there's going to be very few people on the court today compared to a normal day."

Doug Wilson is an avid golfer.

"It doesn't feel normal yet," Wilson said. "The thing I worry about is some sort of rebound and then all of a sudden they'll close everything down again. Let's hope everything stays good and then we can gradually open up these opportunities."

He believes being back on the course will be good for mental health.

"I'm a senior. The idea of getting out and doing a little exercise is a big deal."

Some golfers said they took their own precautions to protect their health, including bringing their own sanitizing wipes.

Richard Hawes says being back on the course, even with the new rules, brings a sense of relief.

"I've been isolating for five weeks now. Just to get out and get a breath of fresh air is quite nice," Hawes said.

According to Bromley, the demand for tee times is high. Both courses are about 90 per cent booked over the next three weeks.

Tee times are nearly fully booked this weekend on both courses, even with rain in the forecast.

While McCleery and Fraserview have re-opened, Langara and the city's three pitch-and-putt courses remain closed, with no estimate yet on when they may reopen.

"The goal is to slowly bring services back online that can be operated safely," said Bromley. "That looks like places where there's not going to be lots of congestion, where there's not frequent touch points or contact surfaces and where people can be assured that they're not going to put themselves of their family in harm's way."

Langara’s clubhouse is still being used to cook meals for those living on the Downtown Eastside.

“Langara, at some point in the near future, would also be brought back on stream,” Bromley said.

In addition to the two golf courses, the park board also announced Van Dusen Botanical Garden will be reopening to visitors on Friday with restrictions: only 30 people will be allowed inside every 30 minutes. As of about 10 a.m. on Friday, 551 people had booked a visit, which is close to the capacity for the entire day.

Additionally, Bromley said washrooms in the garden will be cleaned more frequently and extra hand-washing stations have been installed. The use of the garden's maze will also be restricted to single families at one time.

The park board has also installed new signage about physical distancing, etiquette on how to pass someone and how to safely interact with other visitors. ​

As for what’s next, Bromley said staff are taking a serious look at whether city tennis courts could reopen in the near future.

“I have confidence now that if we open tennis with some signage and education that people could play safely,” Bromley said. “I’m getting lots of emails from the rabid tennis community here, and we’d like to satisfy them.”