Hurricane Impacts Rumson Cc, Manasquan River Gc, Other Courses
READ BELOW HOW FIDDLER'S ELBOW PROVIDED REFUGE FOR ALL
Hurricane Sandy has come and gone, but left behind severe damage at several New Jersey courses.
Particularly hard hit were Shore-area clubs Rumson Country Club and Manasquan River Golf Club, which both had the odd occurrence of the storm leaving behind large boats on the courses.
At Rumson, the hurricane completely destroyed the pool house, the club’s seasonal clubhouse located on the Shrewsbury River, which was built in 1972. According to head professional Brian Gaffney, “half of it was destroyed and the other half disappeared. And the docks attached to it have gone missing.”
Gaffney stated that four boats, from as far away as Sea Bright, floated onto the course, up to 600 yards from the river. Also, 150 trees, many of them century-old hardwoods, were downed and water flooded seven holes on the front nine, which is still closed. On the positive side, the back nine was opened for play this past Sunday.
The salt water that invaded the course could not be dealt with, since power remained out for two weeks. That meant pumps could not be used to remove water and the fresh-water sprinklers which would have been used to diminish the salt water on the turf were also inoperative.
“It’s the worst devastation we’ve ever had at Rumson,” said general manager Mike Kurtas.
“We have to overcome this in a positive way,” Gaffney said. “We hope to make the course better than it was. It will give us an opportunity to renovate the holes that needed some help.”
At Manasquan River Golf Club, a 40-foot yacht washed up on the 17thtee, which sits about 30 yards from bulkhead of the Manasquan River. Up to four feet of water crashed over that bulkhead and pretty much covered three holes that front the river, the water almost reaching Riverview Drive, where golfers cross over to the upper side of the course.
“The problem now is the salt water,” said Mike Zusack, the general manager. “We put down gypsum pellets and tried to water it in to diminish the salt, but our irrigation controller was soaked and wouldn’t work. The snow from the northeaster helped melt the gypsum and flush the soil, but I think we probably lost half the turf on the holes closes to the bulkhead.”
On the wooded side of the course, up to 80 trees came down.
“The downside of that is that 25 of them were big showcase trees close to the entrance to the club and on top of the hill on holes seven, eight, nine and 10,” said head pro Brent Studer. “It’s a shame because we thought we had done enough tree removal in recent years.”
The Toms River spilled its banks and raced nearly 500 yards, all the way up to the bottom of the 9thhole which sits close to the Toms River Country Club’s pro shop.
Besides the 100 trees that were damaged, the water carried debris onto the course such as tree stumps, pilings, parts of docks and moved the club’s walk bridges.
The nine-hole course hopes to reopen all but the fourth and sixth holes by this weekend.
Close to 100 trees were felled at Spring Lake Golf Club, but thankfully, “none were on the tees, greens or fairways,” said head pro Bill King. “We have to keep an eye on those widow makers – loose limbs that are in still hung up in trees. I’ve never seen a storm like this one. A few of our members homes were flooded.”
The Colonia Country Club lost 25 trees and lost power for 10 days, before reopening on Sunday, Nov. 10.
“It was bad. I had to help clear the debris. The sad part is, most of our members live in Staten Island and many of them lost houses and cars,” said head pro Casey O’Reilly.
The Deal Golf Club lost 50 trees, but “the storm altered our landscape. We lost a bunch of big trees that were part of play,” said assistant pro Bryan DeMarco. “We were flooded o nthe fifth and 18th holes which back up to Deal Lake.”
Canoe Brook in Summit saw more than 50 trees destroyed and was without power for two weeks. Many of those trees were along our borders, so it didn’t affect play,” said Woody Garavente, Canoe Brook’s greens chairman. “We were back open on Nov. 3, even without power. I played Baltusrol the other day and they lost over 200 trees.”
Most of Baltusrol's tree damage involved the Upper Course. The exact number of lost trees was 264.
"We did lose over 200 trees, but we're pretty fortunate really. We're still in the clean-up process. Several of the trees were significant," said Baltusrol head professional Doug Steffen.
Among the fallen trees on the Upper Course, according to Steffen, was a big cherry tree behind the second green which framed the hole; several trees behind the 12th green, and a big oak tree on the left side of the tee on the 14th hole.
"Most of the trees were on the perimeter of the Upper Course, which has more trees than the Lower Course ," Steffen said on Tuesday, Nov. 20. "The Lower Course has been open for about a week-and-a-half, but we're still working on the Upper Course."
-- Mike Moretti
FIDDLER'S ELBOW PROVIDED REFUGE FOR ALL DURING STORMY TIMES
Most people join a golf club for the chance to play the game, make friends, and relax. But find refuge from a storm? Talk about going over and above…
When Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast a few weeks ago, New Jersey was among the states hardest hit. Power went out, trees came down, rivers overflowed, and residents were stranded throughout the state, not just along the famous shoreline. In central New Jersey, thousands felt Sandy’s wrath. But members of Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club in Bedminster were lucky enough to have a true port in a storm.
While the storm raged, the club didn’t miss a beat. Operating off a generator, Fiddler’s Elbow remained open and provided food, shelter, and other necessities. Members as well as local residents, came to the club to take hot showers, charge their cellphones and other electronic devices, log on the internet, and eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a full week following the storm. (To make life easier, the club’s dress code was temporarily suspended.)
General manager Tom Hurley and his staff made sure the club accommodated its “guests” every way possible. Businesses brought their employees in and took over the meeting rooms. The ballroom was converted into a social center where members could talk, watch television, or simply rest. A full slate of children’s activities kept youngsters busy, including pumpkin painting (the storm hit two days before Halloween) and movie screenings. And all the while, the club’s kitchen kept hot coffee flowing and turned out a steady supply of fresh-baked cookies so guests could savor something sweet among the sorrow and deprivation.
Fiddler’s Elbow was even able to accommodate a wedding on November 4 when the original venue was unable to open in time for the long-planned nuptials. When the roads finally were cleared and power restored, stranded members and others returned to their homes and the club went back to business as usual. And that was when the thank-yous poured in:
“Fiddler’s has been a welcome and refuge during a very difficult time. Many thanks to your employees and staff.”
“…We enjoyed the food, heat, lights, TV, and most importantly, the friendly atmosphere. Hats off to a great job!”
“Thank you so much for your warmth and comfort.”
“All your people treated us like members and we will not forget their kindness and friendly manner under such tough circumstances. We greatly appreciated their good will.”
“We don’t know what we would have done had you not remained operational during these last two devastating weeks. Being able to eat and shower at the club was a little bit of ‘heaven’ in an otherwise ‘hellish’ situation.”
“You guys rock!” --- Karen Moraghan, Hunter Public Relations
