Isla Del Sol Golf Course News: September 2017

Unless you live under a rock, you most likely are aware of the recent natural disaster named Hurricane Irma. (If you do live under a rock, you were probably much safer than anywhere else in Southwest Florida.) Irma graced us with her presence last Sunday into Monday. Unfortunately, she was not a nice guest and left our property a mess. The Grounds Department has been working since Tuesday to clear the golf course of debris which includes close to 100 fallen/damaged trees! A big shoutout goes to Fred Curtis and the Golf Department, a few other club employees and even a couple members who have all pitched in to keep the recovery process moving along.

The cleanup process began by clearing all greens of debris. We had very limited staff on Tuesday and the greens were one area where we could make an immediate impact. Obviously, the greens are the livelihood of the property and needed to be tended to quickly. I am relieved to say none of the greens suffered significant damage.

On Wednesday we had the staff and equipment to begin clearing trees off of condos and from roadways. Work also began to clear obstructions from cart paths to make travel easier when hauling debris. This work has continued through today and will continue into next week.

For the safety of both employees and members, the golf course will remain closed into next week. Fallen trees present a safety hazard to anyone walking near them as they can cause someone to trip, bang their head or even potentially roll on and crush them. We continue to inspect trees that are still standing for evidence of cracked limbs that could fall onto anyone below. We had a number of palm trees blow over from the winds. On Monday and Tuesday, we have a machine coming that will help us stand the palms upright and hopefully save as many as possible. I am currently expecting that we will be far enough along to open for play on Wednesday, September 20th.

While what we experienced isn't ideal it could have been much worse. For the most part, the storm was weakened and missed hitting us directly by the time it made its way this far north. We did lose a significant number of trees but the majority were melaleuca trees (also referred to as punk trees or paperback trees). These trees are actually an invasive species in Florida and and not commercially valuable or desired. For us, they create a safety hazard when the wind blows. They tend to split easily and, as we observed this week, blow over.

Thank you for your patience as we continue to work hard to put your golf course back together. Here are just a few pictures showing what Irma left us.