Although the center of Hurricane Irma never directly impacted the Charleston area, the storm surge created by the storm pushed water onto the golf course, resulting in significant flooding on the front nine.
Related: Golf Tournaments Affected by Hurricane Irma
The Country Club of Charleston sits hard against the marshes adjacent to the Ashley River as it empties into the Atlantic Ocean, and as Irma moved up Florida and into the southeast U.S., it pushed water through the marshes and onto the course.
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The 2nd hole at the CC of Charleston (Paul Corder/CC of Charleston photo) |
"We got killed," said Country Club of Charleston director of golf Hart Brown. Superintendent Paul Corder told Brown the water was at least a foot higher than when Hurricane Matthew hit last summer, and texted photos of waves breaking on the fourth fairway. Brown said the greens on No. 1 and No. 8 were completely submerged and "the rest of the greens on the front side came close. It was a solid lake all the way across to No. 18."
"The worst thing is that we got saltwater in our pump house and it got into our pumps," Brown said. "They are broken. And we got some saltwater in several of our control panels. We rely on our ponds for our irrigation water and now all the ponds are brackish."
It is the second hurricane-related cancellation in three years for the Senior Azalea. In 2015 (when the tournament was held in early October), the first round of play was completed, but with heavy rain falling on the course, and the possibility of Hurricane Joaquin affecting the Charleston area by the weekend, the decision was made to cancel the tournament.