It was a dizzyingly busy first week back to work for local golf courses, plant nurseries, garden centers, and landscapers, following a loosening of Michigan’s statewide stay-at-home order on Friday, April 24. These businesses and others had been forced to close under previous executive orders, but were told by Governor Gretchen Whitmer that they could begin operating again so long as they observed strict social distancing. The new order went into effect immediately, leaving local businesses scrambling to get their doors open last weekend.

Grand Traverse Resort and Spa was one of several local golf courses that pulled things together to open at 10am on Saturday, April 25 – less than 24 hours after Governor Whitmer’s announcement. To start, the Resort opened just one of its three courses (The Wolverine), adding a second (The Bear) on Friday. Tom McGee, director of golf operations for the Resort, says the plan is to stick with just those two courses for the foreseeable future, with the third (Spruce Run) remaining closed.

Even with less than a day’s notice and just one course operational, McGee says the Resort saw a fair amount of traffic last weekend.

“There was definitely a huge demand [for golf] after people being cooped up,” McGee tells The Ticker. “We had nearly 100 golfers on the Wolverine on Saturday, and we had more than 100 golfers on Sunday.”

Carolyn Olson, one of the owners of Elmbrook Golf Course, reported similar numbers. Olson says Elmbrook had initially planned to take its time, do some last preparations around the course, and open on Tuesday morning. Excited golfers – plus a gorgeous weather forecast for the weekend – changed those plans.

“Because of the demand – our phone was ringing off the hook – we put things together as fast as we could and opened Saturday so that we could accommodate our golfers,” Olson says. “There was so much pent-up desire to get outside and be with nature, and we were blessed to be able to offer that opportunity.”

It wasn’t just golf courses that benefitted from flashes of spring weather and the newly-amended stay-at-home order. Local garden center and plant nursery Garden Goods mobilized quickly to open on Saturday morning at 9am. According to Julie Sovereign, who owns Garden Goods along with her husband Gordy, the “effective immediately” nature of Governor Whitmer’s executive order sent shockwaves through the Michigan garden center industry.

“We all assumed [Whitmer] would keep us closed until May 1,” Sovereign explains. “When she did it effective immediately, it was a shock to our industry. Businesses had to scramble. People didn't have staff. People didn't have products in. We were very thankful that we had enough staff respond and were able to open, because Saturday and Sunday were incredible days.”

Before a previous Whitmer executive order closed garden centers in early April, Garden Goods was on track to have its biggest year on record. Even with the extra traffic, though, stores like Garden Goods rely on the spring and early summer season to survive. That peak season is right around the corner, and Sovereign is grateful that Whitmer opened garden centers “just in time” to take advantage of it.

“Our busy season effectively starts around Mother's Day and runs through July 4,” Sovereign says. “We make 60 percent of our annual revenue in that six-week period. So we really needed to be opened, and we're thankful that she did open us.”

As with golf, there was a pent-up demand: Garden Goods tracked day-to-day sales numbers that were as much as 40 percent higher than the same time last year. Sovereign attributes the boost both to pent-up demand and to rising interest in the “grow your own food” movement, on the rise for several years and now seeing hit a huge nationwide spike due to the pandemic.

In addition to courting big traffic, newly-reopened businesses spent the week adjusting to new safety protocols. Golf courses, for instance, aren’t allowed to offer golf carts to most golfers – though Waters says that Elmbrook will be able to provide carts to handicapped golfers starting this weekend. According to McGee, there was some concern among golfers at first that the lack of power carts would slow down pace of play and make it more difficult to maintain social distancing. But McGee says play has been “surprisingly fast” and that golfers have been more than willing to make do with pull carts or lighter-weight carry bags if it means being allowed to play. The Resort has also made other modifications to eliminate chances of on-the-course contamination, such as removing rakes from bunkers and installing apparatuses on each cup that allow for hands-free ball retrieval.

At TruNorth Landscaping, the first week back to work has been all about preparations, from training summertime staff to recharging vehicle batteries that had died during the mandated closure. According to Heather Kortokrax, marketing and advertising specialist for TruNorth, the company was racing to cram prep work that typically happens in March and early April into just a few days.

“The time that we were shut down is our prime time for ramping up and getting everything situated and ready to go,” Kortokrax says. “Middle of April is when all our employees are usually called back and everyone is working. So, we are a couple weeks behind on our work front, but we were also 3-4 weeks behind on the prep time that we needed to get everything ready. By the time we hit May 15, we’re hoping that we’ll be caught up and back on track.”