Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/165363
iG1308--proof2 8/27/13 3:07 PM Page 1 IMAGE CREDIT / COURTESY RYAN DITTRICK Brent Ellenton, the retiring executive director of Alberta Golf, is also on the board of the Alberta chapter of NAGA (National Allied Golf Associations). As part of that group, Ellenton has been quarterbacking the industry response and has been in contact with many of the facilities affected by the deluge of water that left untold destruction in its wake. "I think it will be a while before we have any kind of tally," he reflected in early August regarding monetary damage estimates. "When you talk about the manpower, the downtime, the machines, that type of thing, it's going to be a dramatic number. The kind of research we've done, we think there have been at least 30 courses affected." Sticking with the boxing analogy, two courses that are down and out, at least for this year, are Kananaskis and High River's Highwood Golf Course. At Kananaskis, both Mt. Kidd and Mt. Lorette were extensively affected. While everyone assumes all 36 holes were lost, that wasn't quite the case. GM Darren Robinson noted that four holes on Kidd were unscathed for the most part. The rest though, weren't so lucky. "There were varying degrees of damage," he stated. "Some holes had channels carved through them, (and) rocks and trees deposited on them. Others had water on them and silt deposits." Coming when they did, the floods not only devastated the magnificent Rocky Mountain layout, they did considerable harm to the club's bottom line. Robinson suggested they lost somewhere in the neighbourhood of 40,000 rounds or more, plus pro shop and food and beverage sales equating to a staggering financial loss. As of the second week of August no repair work had begun at Kananaskis but hopes are high that the provincial government may step in with some monetary help in getting the world-famous layouts back on track. Interestingly enough, Robinson was able to see a silver lining from this very dark rain cloud. "The facility is 30 years old, so from a timing perspective there were a lot of capital requirements that needed to be undertaken — everything from tees to bunkers to fairways to irrigation systems to green complexes — in the next four or five years... if there is such a thing as good timing, from that perspective it helps on that front." In High River, the club's general manager and executive professional, Chad Thomlinson, said they are also closed for the season after the river they're named after, the Highwood, overflowed its banks and wreaked havoc everywhere on the 27-hole layout. By having to close down for the season following the flood, Thomlinson said he figures the course lost around 20,000 rounds of golf and with that, about $1 million in revenue. But that is not all. The cost of rebuilding and lost revenues in 2014 and 2015 also have to be factored in. "The best early estimates are between three and four million dollars," he said of losses from green fees and overall long-term recovery costs. "We didn't lose any of our property as we had very little erosion from the flood. We lost several tee boxes and four greens but considering the magnitude of the flood, and what other places have experienced, ours is, I'd say, a monumental or catastrophic cleanup. Every square inch of some 200 acres is covered in silt. Our course is like the bottom of a lake where Continued On Next Page 27