Golf properties in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida are cleaning up after the storm, with most facilities now open after contending with downed trees, debris and flooding.
Golf and club facilities along the Eastern seaboard are rebounding as quickly as possible following the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Matthew. Below is a roundup of how clubs in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia are faring after the storm.
North Carolina:
Talamore Resort, Pinehurst, N.C. – The New Course at Talamore and the Mid South Club are open in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. All club facilities at The Mid South Club and the Talamore Clubhouse are fully operational.
Outer Banks, N.C. – The three OBX courses on the Currituck mainland, including The Carolina Club, Kilmarlic Golf Club and The Pointe, reopened Tuesday, October 11. On the barrier island, the Currituck Club and Nags Head Golf Links experienced more flooding and hope to resume operations soon.
McConnell Golf, N.C. – McConnell Golf owns a dozen 18-hole, private golf courses plus one nine-hole course around the southeast. Impacted courses experienced some downed trees, debris and heavy rain. Raleigh (N.C.) Country Club, TPC Wakefield Plantation in Raleigh, N.C., and Brook Valley Country Club in Greenville, N.C.—which are normally closed on Mondays—reopened Tuesday.
South Carolina:
McConnell Golf, S.C. – In Myrtle Beach, S.C., the Grande Dunes Members Course planned to reopen Wednesday, and The Reserve Golf Club in Pawleys Island, S.C., on Wednesday or Thursday.
Santee, S.C. – Lake Marion Golf Club has reopened, Santee National opened nine holes Tuesday, and Santee Cooper Country Club welcomed play Tuesday.
Mystical Golf – The Conway, S.C., facility’s Man-O-War and Wizard courses are completely operational and open for play.
Florida:
Rockledge (Fla.) Country Club – Reopened its golf course on Wednesday, after receiving help from the members and Eastern Florida State golf team, who volunteered their time to pick up and pile the debris that was scattered throughout the property. The property lost some trees and recorded 3.75 inches of rain.
Georgia:
Bacon Park Golf Course, which poured in $2.5 million into its Donald Ross golf course in 2014 and was scheduled to host the Savannah City Amateur October 22-23, now has over 200 trees downed, a bridge over a creek that was moved about 15 yards after being buckled by the storm, and extensive flooding. The driving range was damaged with the netting to the left of the range getting tangled up with power lines. Trees landed on five greens, and many bunkers were washed out by the storm surge, the Savannah (Ga.) Morning News reported.
Henderson Golf Club in Savannah, Ga., which was taken over by Chatham County Parks and Recreation last month, had significant tree damage that could keep the course closed to as late as Friday, Parks and Recreation director Steve Proper said.
The Landings Club in Savannah, Ga., and its six golf courses were heavily damaged with 1,200 to 1,500 trees down in the area. Club director Steven Freund said tree removal will take up to two months and will go on while play resumes. At least one practice range will be open so members can work on their games while the work is done. Six golf course maintenance teams are working on two courses at a time to expedite the process. Freund said he hopes to have all six courses open for play within two weeks, the Morning News reported.
The Landings Club may have suffered the worst damage on its 34 tennis courts, which were engulfed by flooding, said Landings Club spokesperson Cara Slider. “They’ll have to be completely resurfaced,” Slider said. “Once the top layer erodes away, it’s not safe. It’s an uneven court. We don’t want any ankle sprains.”
Crosswinds Golf Course in Savannah, Ga., came out of the storm looking pretty good—the course was open Monday and hosted 120 rounds, and was looking to match that total Tuesday. The Seaport Open, an annual tournament for elite amateurs and pros hosted by Crosswinds, has been canceled. It had been scheduled for October 19-21.
The Wilmington Island Club in Savannah, Ga., had about 125 trees down on the course, said head pro Patrick Richardson. “The buildings are all OK, but it was mostly some downed trees and damaged cart paths, thankfully,” Richardson said. “We’re going to get the crews out there working and maybe open nine holes first. We’ll have a better idea by the end of the week.”
The Club at Savannah (Ga.) Harbor weathered the storm very well, said Dana Schultz, club manager, director of golf operations. There were over 100 trees down, but the course took more than 12.5 inches of rain without sustaining much damage, the Morning News reported.
LaVida Golf Club in Savannah, Ga., had some tree damage, with two big pines lying across the No. 1 into No. 9. Work on the course is expected to commence soon.
Power was out at The Savannah Golf Club, and several iconic trees on the historic course reportedly went down. Head pro Alex Messinger could not be reached for comment.
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