A June 8 storm with an EF-1 tornado took down nearly 100 trees at the club. Superintendent Chad Dorrell says he had colleagues from as far as southern Kentucky reach out to see how they could help. Kyle Frederick, Superintendent at Rattlesnake Ridge Golf Club in Sunbury, Ohio was one who joined the effort. “Anybody in the golf course industry would help each other out even if they didn’t know the person,” Frederick says.
An EF-1 tornado was confirmed just north of Springfield, Ohio after a storm ripped through the area on the evening of June 8, Spectrum News 1 reported. That storm took down nearly 100 trees at Springfield Country Club. Staff and volunteers got to work immediately clearing the golf course of debris and fallen trees.
For the golf course superintendent, Chad Dorrell, he told Spectrum News 1 he never saw damage like it on his course.
“Shocked obviously,” Dorell said. “You always see the forecast where tornado watches are up. The reality is it’s few and far between when we encounter anything like this.”
Dorrell was on the go the morning of June 9, surveying the damage and the cleanup efforts, Spectrum News 1 reported. He pointed to a group of white pines. “We lost all 10 of them.”
He received multiple offers to help, and not just from the local residents, Spectrum News 1 reported.
“I had guys reaching out last night on Twitter just to say ‘what can we do to help?’” Dorrell said. “They’re in southern Kentucky, willing to drive up and help us when needed. So the support is what makes this industry so much fun.”
It included golf course superintendents from other courses across the state, like Kyle Frederick, who came from north of Columbus to help, Spectrum News 1 reported.
“Anybody in the golf course industry would help each other out even if they didn’t know the person,” Frederick said. “But having known Chad for such a long time. My first instinct was definitely do what we could to help him out.”
For Dorrell, while the damage is overwhelming, he’s glad to know the greens, tee boxes, irrigation system, and most importantly, his members and staff are all safe and unharmed, Spectrum News 1 reported.
“In the end, this is all just tree work,” Dorrell said. “No one was hurt, no structures were damaged up at the clubhouse or at my facility. It could have been much worse, so I’m feeling kind of fortunate right now.”
The cleanup is ongoing, but it could take upwards of two weeks to get everything looking back to normal, Spectrum News 1 reported. But thanks to the volunteers, that will happen a lot sooner than expected.
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