About 100 golfers at Peacock Gap Golf Course in San Rafael were told by police to pack up their clubs and go home on Thursday.

The golf course was shut down for violating the “shelter in place” order that was issued throughout the region to control the spread of the coronavirus, San Rafael police Lt. Dan Fink said.

The order mandates that non-essential businesses close until April 7, but the golf course had been operating all week — giving people a place to escape seclusion and enjoy the outdoors.

Looking for exercise during the shelter in place order? Peacock Gap Golf Club in San Rafael is open for individual golf play, provided you book online 🏌🏻‍♂️ @KPIXtv #coronavirus #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/xzaltNTdRm — Betty Yu (@BettyKPIX) March 18, 2020

“It was a gorgeous day, a beautiful day,” said Spencer Michels, 82, a San Anselmo resident. “And for two to three hours it was wonderful. We were away from all the mess, playing golf. No one was around and then the police came and screwed it up.”

Michels said he arrived at the golf course at 9 a.m. with friends. He said they did not use golf carts and stayed 6 feet away from one another, but there were a lot of people at the driving range and that may have been the problem.

Even though the confinement order approves outdoor activity, Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County public health officer, said the county ordered the closure because the golf course is a business that requires employees, employers and customers to be near each other to stay open.

“The intent of order is to limit travel within the community and interactions between individuals in order to limit the total number of social encounters that can lead to transmission of COVID-19, and that strategy is to slow the spread of this epidemic,” Willis said. “So when we make a decision on what is essential and what isn’t essential we communicate with other counties who also have this this order — and the business of a golf course is non-essential and there is consensus on that.”

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Coronavirus: How close is the Bay Area to reopening? Here’s what the real-time data says The owners of the golf course could not be reached, but Fink said they were cooperative and misunderstood the intent of the shelter order.

“People want to voluntarily comply,” Fink said. “People are confused on what this order means and what they can and can’t do. People are saying outdoor activity fine as long as social distancing is happening. So there was a little confusion and some learning as we continue to get direction from the county.”

Earlier this week, the golf course published a notice that it would remain open with limited functions despite the shelter in place order.

Any non-essential business violating the order will be issued a warning, and further violations are considered a misdemeanor and a citation will be issued, Fink said.

Another golf course, Indian Valley Golf in Novato, is also closing after being semi-open this week, said Jeff McAndrew general manager.

The course is in talks with the county and is waiting for a decision, McAndrew said.

“We are talking to the county and are not accepting tee times,” he said. “At this time we don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Public golf courses in Marin that are also closed are Mill Valley Golf Course and McInnis Golf Course in San Rafael.

Another business that was reported to be violating the order is the Marin Firearms store in Novato, police Deputy Chief Jim Correa said. The proprietor was not cited.

Correa said citations are a last resort and the main priority is to mitigate the risk of infection for people in the community.

“We are trying to educate business owners on what the order means and also trying to get them to be in compliance,” he said.

The owner of the store could not be reached.

Willis said gun stores, like golf courses, are considered non-essential in the virus containment order. However, there are contingencies for non-essential businesses that allow them to keep functioning.

“If they can find a way to observe the intent of the order, which is to limit gatherings of employees or customers, then we are not intending to adjudicate every single situation that seems like a reasonable strategy,” Willis said.