Stay-at-home order amended

CLOVIS - Sergio Sanchez has been playing golf for about a year.

His buddy, Adrian Romero, has been playing for 23 years, since he was 5.

Both are equally avid golfers, though, and both had been denied the opportunity to play in Clovis due to restrictions put in place to combat the coronavirus.

Thursday brought good news for Sanchez, Romero and anyone else who likes golfing in Clovis and throughout the state. In a remote news conference, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham amended her stay-at-home order.

While New Mexico's emergency public health order will continue to run through at least May 15, it has been revised to ease some restrictions, including some outdoor activities.

It seems like you need a scorecard to keep track of the stay-at-home orders and the updates of the stay-at-home orders, but this one doesn't change anything for restaurants that were already restricted to curbside and delivery service only. Nor does it change the fact that grocers and essential retailers can only operate at 20 percent of their maximum capacity.

The order does allow most non-essential retail services to offer curbside pickup and delivery. Federally licensed firearms stores can open by appointment only, state parks can open during the day, veterinarians can operate, and pet services such as grooming and adoption can be made available again.

And, golf courses can open for golfing.

Concertos to the ears of Sanchez and Romero, who were playing golf regularly at Clovis' Colonial Park Golf Course until mid-March, when COVID-19 closed courses across the state.

Sanchez and Romero were just finishing up Friday's round that had begun with a 1:30 p.m. tee time as they reflected upon why it felt good to be golfing in Clovis again, sweltering heat and all.

"Just playing," Sanchez said, "coming out here, enjoying the sun, enjoying the outdoors. Everything."

They had played some across the state line in Farwell. They prefer their home course.

"It's a lot bigger (than Farwell)," Romero said. "Roomy."

Not that Friday was exactly the same as Sanchez and Romero were used to. Though the New Mexico courses are open to golfers again, social distancing of at least 6 feet is still the rule, so they had to drive separate carts.

"Having your own cart is wonderful," Sanchez said.

Back on their unofficial home turf of Colonial Park, each golfer has a hole he prefers.

"My favorite hole has to be No. 1," Romero said, "because you can cut the trees and hit the green. But you've got to hit the ball long to do that."

Sanchez likes No. 5. "It's more open," he said of the par-5 hole. "It gives you the opportunity to smack the ball as hard as you want."

Though golfing is back at Colonial Park and other New Mexico courses, dining in or retail services at the clubs are still prohibited for now.

Beyond the golf course, the governor's relaxed orders had little obvious impact on local business activity. Republican Party of New Mexico Chairman Steve Pearce said the changes "fall far short of what's needed."

"... (S)he favors out of state corporate giants over the little guy - the locally owned mom-and-pop stores that drive New Mexico," Pearce said in a written statement.

"There is no equity of treatment for our businesses. Until small businesses have the same rules as the national chains, there's favoritism and discrimination. This is something that not only cannot be tolerated, but will continue to destroy livelihoods and lives in New Mexico."

Lujan Grisham warned, "These changes do not make our fight against the virus any easier.

"In fact, New Mexicans' obligation to our social contract only deepens as we enter the next phase."