Gang:
Last Wednesday, major thunderstorms rolled through the upper Great Lakes region and brought with them large amounts of hail in some spots, including two inches' worth in my old hometown of Marquette, Michigan.
Near golf ball-sized hail hit the Heritage and Greywalls courses, forcing them to close for maintenance the following day. Everyone I've spoken with there says they've never seen anything like it.
My question: has anyone here had experience with large hail storms like this in the past, and what maintenance challenges are created as a result? Is it as "simple" as fixing a million ball marks and re-raking the bunkers?
Here's what the superintendent had to say in the local paper:
At the Marquette Golf and Country Club, course superintendent Craig Moore said this morning the course suffered “severe damage” from Wednesday’s hail storm.
He said three trees were uprooted on the sixth hole on the Heritage Course and another between holes two and seven on the Greywalls layout.
“The majority of damage was on our greens (though),” he said. “The hail left them totally unplayable. There are thousands and thousands of dents on each green. It just pulverized them.”
Moore added the amount of foliage brought down by the storm was “unbelievable.”
“I’ve never seen so much damage,” he said. “It’s a war zone out here.”
Below are a few photos taken of the Heritage course a little while after the storm (note the hail has melted a bit). It's an eerily beautiful scene...
