So what's it like to spend two weeks in self-isolation?
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"Boring."
That's the description from Port Kembla golfer Travis Smyth, who's one week into his 14 days of isolation after returning from Malaysia last Tuesday.
A professional on the Asian tour, Smyth was biding his time after playing in the Malaysian Open earlier this month. Waiting for certainty regarding the upcoming slate of tournaments, the 25-year-old remained overseas along with the tour's other players.
He was caught out by Prime Minister Scott Morrison's announcement regarding self-isolation for all people arriving in the country, and made the decision to return home.
A week into his isolation, Smyth has whiled away the hours providing golf advice to Twitter followers and unsurprisingly he knows exactly where he'll be going next Tuesday once the quarantine period comes to an end. The golf course.
"It's definitely boring," Smyth said. "But in a way, it's okay, it forces me to relax a bit. If it wasn't for this, I'd still be out there running on all cylinders, this is a good break for me.
"I'll put together a plan golf-wise and practice-wise so once I can get out I get straight back into it. It's weird not having tournaments to prepare for, hopefully I'm still motivated."
Golf has been particularly hard hit by the spread of coronavirus, with the international nature of the sport posing a significant hurdle as nations shut down their borders.
The suspension of tournaments comes at a frustrating time for Smyth, the golfer having recorded a string of impressive results in recent months.
Those performances included a third-place finish at the Victorian Open, a result that earned the professional a place in the field at the Oman Open on the European Tour.
While he missed the cut, Smyth is confident he has the game to match Europe's elite in the coming years.
"I've played really well, I thought 'you beauty, this will be a great year.' I'm hoping that's not going to be the entire year, I hope to get back playing and continue where I started.
"I'm much more comfortable at that level. The European tour is a different environment, players are much better, but the more I play, I feel like it's still within reach. If I play well, then I'll contend."
Smyth's immediate future is uncertain, two events in Korea and Japan loom on the calendar, though it's unlikely they will go ahead.
While he concedes he may struggle for motivation at times, Smyth is looking forward to using the spare time to make minor improvements to his swing.
"The technical side of golf is quite important," Smyth said.
"When you're a pro golfer, you don't get to work on that very much. It doesn't get you better right away and it can be hard to play well.
"With this big gap, I'm definitely trying to work on faults in my swing. Maybe when all this is done, I'll get back on tour, be technically better and get off to a good start."
