Source: Pensacola News Journal (Florida)
During his 23 years in the golf course industry, Geary Leathers has seen some of the worst effects of nature's wrath.
First, it was Hurricane Hugo in 1989 tearing through golf real estate along the Atlantic seaboard. Three years later, Hurricane Andrew struck southern Florida.
But nothing prepared Leathers for his first view of the damage Hurricane Ivan caused on four Pensacola Bay Area golf courses his company manages.
"Unbelievable devastation, debris and destruction," said Leathers, vice president of operations for Meadowbrook Golf, which operates Scenic Hills Country Club, The Club at Hidden Creek and the two courses at Tiger Point Golf and Country Club.
"You can't imagine people having to go through that. ... all of the homes and property damage, it's very significant," he said.
While homeowners continue dealing with Ivan's aftermath, so is Meadowbrook Golf and its courses in this region.
As post-Ivan recovery passes through its third full month this week, Scenic Hills, Tiger Point and Hidden Creek courses remain closed. It will be sometime next year before any of the courses are ready for play.
Together, these three golf clubs are among the longest-established courses in the region. The west course at Tiger Point is one of the oldest. With each passing week, Meadowbrook Golf company must absorb the financial strain.
A fourth Meadowbrook course in Northwest Florida, Shalimar Pointe in Niceville, is operating without problems.
"It's never good in the golf business when you have essentially four courses not generating any revenue," said David Porter, director of tournament operations and one of several Meadowbrook company executives who has made frequent visits to the Pensacola Bay area courses. "But every time I go back, week to week, I'm seeing a tremendous amount of progress from the guys who are out there doing cleanup.
"It's moving in the right direction. We'll do what we need to do to get those courses back in top shape and playable as soon as possible."
A majority of employees at each club were laid off. Daily cleanup, debris and tree removal continues. Damage assessment remains a fluid process.
Hidden Creek in Navarre is most likely to be the first course open, possibly within the first two months of 2005. The outlook for Scenic Hills and Tiger Point is much less certain.
Like nearly everyone else in Pensacola, it's a wait-and-see matter with insurance claims.
While the total damage estimate is not final, Leathers said it will be "well into the significant millions" to repair the three courses. He assures, however, it will be done.
"We are confident by the end of 2005, we'll have rebuilt facilities at all three courses," said Leathers, a 1978 West Point graduate who is responsible for the 40-plus courses nationally that Meadowbrook Golf operates. "It has taken literally months to ascertain the full extent of damage, but we have gotten full cooperation from everyone we've worked with."
Of the three course facilities, Tiger Point sustained the worst damage. Both the east and west courses are framed by Quietwater Sound.
It turned loud and angry during the height of Ivan's wrath. The bay combined with the Gulf of Mexico raging across Pensacola Beach to create a storm surge that slammed into homes and golf holes along the entire Tiger Point area. On both the east and west courses, holes that were near the water were destroyed.
The entire golf complex was submerged after Ivan passed. Less than two years ago, Tiger Point had celebrated a $1.8-million renovation on the east course. The original designer, Pensacola touring pro Jerry Pate, worked with his company to install a new irrigation system and revamp the greens.
At Scenic Hills, the greens had just been upgraded before Ivan struck. In addition to tree damage, clubhouses at all three clubs sustained moderate to substantial damage.
"A lot of the debris at Tiger Point washed up from the beach," Leathers said. "We actually found signs saying, 'Keep Pets Off The Beach' that you knew had washed across from beyond the Portofino towers.
"The front nine on the east course and portions of the back nine on the west course are significantly damaged. There's multiple holes on both courses that are going to require reconstruction of tee, green and fairway."
To restore the luster will cost millions of dollars. Leathers said Meadowbrook Golf, which is headquartered at ChampionsGate Resort near Orlando, has the same insurance policy on all of its courses.
Until the insurance companies agree on a claim amount, the remodeling can't begin. Meadowbrook executives are confident it will happen soon. The company is trying to adjust to the revenue losses.
"This company has a solid financial backbone," said Leathers. "We're going to weather this, no pun intended, as a company. These courses deserve it. The community deserves it.
"We've had to make difficult decisions with employees. It's been difficult to cope, as it will be several months before we have income coming in from those courses. But we will have those courses back and better than ever."
The company operates nine courses in Central Florida, which got hit in succession by three hurricanes. But none sustained water damage like Tiger Point, nor had the extensive tree loss that Scenic Hills had.
"We had lots of wind damage on the courses here in Central Florida, but nothing like what happened up there (Pensacola)," Porter said. "The first time I went, I was not prepared for what I saw.
"Aside from the golf course damage, it was difficult to handle all of the homes you saw that were destroyed. I mean, people's entire lives were lost. Empty lots where there were once homes. Depending on where you drove on the golf course, you saw televisions, furniture, beds, books, clothing. It was devastating to see."
It's also placed golf and the business of operating golf courses in perspective.
"Right now, people are just trying to get their lives back," Leathers said.