Can I play golf in lockdown?

Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced a number of more stringent measures across England on Monday night

Golf courses will shut from Tuesday 5 January in England amid new stricter lockdown rules to tackle the coronavirus. 

Recreational golf in England had been allowed in a maximum two-ball group, but will now fall in line with Wales where golf has been banned since mid-December.

Golf courses remain open in Scotland, however, with play limited to groups of two.

On Monday evening, Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered a new national lockdown for England which means people will only be able to leave their homes for limited reasons, with measures expected to stay in place until mid-February.

In an address to the nation, the Prime Minister said the new variant - which is 50% to 70% more transmissible - was spreading in a "frustrating and alarming" manner.

"As I speak to you tonight, our hospitals are under more pressure from Covid than at any time since the start of the pandemic," he said.

Grassroots sport will no longer be allowed in England, with team sports, tennis and outdoor gyms all banned.

Elite sport will continue, however, with the Premier League and English Football League confident in their stringent testing regimes despite several matches across the four tiers being postponed in December.

England Golf said: "It is with great regret that we share this news with you, but please be assured that we will continue to make the case for golf to reopen whenever possible."