Paul DeCoste was ready for the green light. With his engine revving.

A Somerset resident and longtime member at Fall River Country Club, DeCoste played nine holes on Friday morning, the day his club re-opened after the governor had closed all state golf courses almost two months earlier due to COVID-19. Gov. Baker last Thursday gave golf courses the OK to re-open.

On Saturday and Sunday, DeCoste got dead serious, 18 holes each day.

There are many golf course restrictions, including no use of motorized golf carts, no golf balls allowed in the holes, no rakes in the bunkers, and no access to the pro shops or clubhouses, to name just a few. (On Sunday, the governor said that in compliance with the American Disabilities Act, golfers with disabilities are allowed to use motorized carts.)

“My reaction is it (re-opening) makes sense. Being outside is the safest place to be, just be careful,” DeCoste, 57, wrote in an email. “The restrictions as far as no bunker rakes and the ball not going in the cup make sense. No carts doesn’t seem to be fair to players who can’t walk. I think limiting to one person per cart should be a good solution.”

Don Daley, head professional at Fall River Country Club, said Friday was busy. Saturday and Sunday were not so busy, but Saturday’s weather was a bit nasty while Sunday was also cool, plus it was Mother’s Day, traditionally a slow day at FRCC.

“I think this week will be really busy,” he said.

Concerning the prohibition (exclusive of ADA compliance) of motorized golf cart use, Daley said more than a few FRCC members think that restriction may actually be counter-productive. They advocate the use motorized golf carts with just one person per cart.

“That makes for easier social distancing,” Daley said, adding that walking players carrying their own bags or using push carts tend to drift closer together than they would be driving separate carts.

FRCC is among courses which have tweaked their compliance strategy for no balls in the holes and no touching the flag stick. After originally going with a raised hole liner, FRCC has switched to inserting small slices of swimming noodles into the cup, allowing for ball removal without touching the hole wall. The pin cannot be removed, but this change at least makes the putting experience more golf and less pinball.

COVID-19 has recently swelled the FRCC membership rolls, by one. Daley said a Bay State resident and member at Montaup CC in Portsmouth recently joined FRCC because Rhode Island prohibits out-of-staters from playing on R.I. courses.

At Swansea Country Club, which features both an 18-hole course and a par-3, 9-hole course for members and the public, business was brisk at first on Friday until the weather started turning for the worse, said General Manager Robb Martin.

Martin said he enjoyed seeing people, especially those 60 and older who may not operate in the world of FaceTime and Zoom, reuniting with friends, albeit with proper social distancing. “Just from a human standpoint, it’s great to see,” he said on Monday.

Concerning the prohibition of motorized carts, number Martin among those who would like to see that edict soon scrapped. He said for its carts, Swansea CC follows Yamaha/CDC guidelines of, after each use, spraying with a bleach-water solution and then letting the cart stand for two minutes before it can again be used.

Golfers looking to book a tee time at Swansea may pay through the club’s website or by calling and providing a credit card number. He said the club is looking to develop an app for online booking and payment.

Martin said the less-than-ideal golf weather this past weekend may have been a blessing, allowing clubs to conduct a “soft re-opening”, getting use to the new rules without big crowds.

Diana Nolan, an owner of Touisset Country Club in Swansea, agreed that the bad weekend weather was a blessing. Grateful that the governor would re-open courses, she was troubled with his abrupt open-the-floodgates approach. Members, of course, wanted to get right into the swig of things but, Nolan noted, her small, third-generation, family-owned, 9-hole course needed more time to comply with the laundry list of regulations. Touisset, she said, is operating with three unpaid workers, herself and fellow owners Rayna Brigham (her sister) and their uncle Raymond Brigham.

Among the many challenges, she said, have been coming up with contact-free payments and the required 15-minute-spaced tee times. Touisset has never had tee times. And as for motorized carts, Touisset not only rents but is one of the few area courses which allows members to store their personally owned carts at the course.

"We were scrambling," Nolan, a fulltime computer scientist and the mother of three, said on Tuesday. "I was upset, to be honest."

Touisset officially re-opened on Monday.

At Acoaxet Club in Westport, the green light to take to their scenic ocean-side nine-hole course had the membership smiling.

“Things are rolling pretty smoothly at Acoaxet,” head professional Brent Amaral wrote in a text on Monday. “As soon as the governor opened things up the phone was off the hook. We got more rounds Saturday than I thought we would with the poor weather and the other days were very busy as well.

“People are excited to be able to get back out. They’ve been very respectful of the policies, and maybe a little unsure of what they can or cannot do.”

For now, Acoaxet golf is operating with a members-only playing policy.

One of those members is John Baldwin, 18, of Little Compton, R.I. and a senior team captain at St. George's School in Middletown, R.I.. A scratch golfer, Baldwin last spring was the Independent School League MVP.

"I've gone about a month without golfing," Baldwin said during a brief break in his round on Monday. "I was hitting balls in my back yard, just itching to get back out here. Right when it opened back up, I came out and I've been out here every day since."

Here are Massachusetts-mandated rules for golf course operation:

• Security personnel can be delineated by each club (ex. A pro and the head starter) and will be present to enforce social distancing. There can be no other employees working at the recreational component of the golf operation.

• All staff must wear face coverings while on property.

• Course facilities including but not limited to the clubhouse, golf shop, restaurant, bag room and locker room must remain closed.

• No caddies allowed.

• No golf carts allowed.

• Push carts may be used. Players must either carry their own bag or use a push cart.

• All golfers must maintain proper social distancing of at least 6 feet at all times.

• Groups of players are restricted to no more than 4 players at one time.

• Members-only clubs can allow guests as determined by the security personnel on the golf course.

• Private clubs that allow non-members to make reservations can do so at their discretion.

• Maintenance personnel are permitted to work on the golf course.

• Tee Time Policy must be 15 minutes between groups.

• Golfers must stay in their car until 15 minutes before their tee time and must return to their car immediately following play.

• Online and remote payment options must be utilized.

• All golfers must use their own golf clubs. Sharing golf clubs or rental golf clubs is not allowed.

• Flagsticks must remain in the hole. Hole liners must be raised so picking a ball out of the hole doesn’t occur.

• Bunker rakes must be removed, and ball washers must be removed or covered.

• Practice putting green, driving range, and chipping areas must be closed.

• Facilities must have readily accessible hand sanitizer.

Email Greg Sullivan at gsullivan@heraldnews.com. Follow him @GregSullivanHN.