Like many of you, we've been watching closely the coverage of the terrible events unfolding in Japan. The huge earthquake. The devastating tsunami. The evolving nuclear disaster. It's been a sobering, terribly sad experience.
We also kept a watchful eye on the Hawaiian islands and, later the West Coast of the United States as those tsunami waves made their way across the Pacific Ocean late last week. And in a rare bit of positive news where this story is concerned, we were happy to see little, if any, major damage in those locales from the waves.
Still, we were interested in the story from the ground in those regions, and how they reacted to the threat of a tsunami. So Bill Newton, GCSAA's manager of media and public relations, reached out to several GCSAA member on the islands to get their stories on what took place on their golf courses in response to the tsunami warnings. His report follows:
I called the four superintendents who hosted PGA tour events in Hawaii in January, and all four said, including Craig Trenholme, GCSAA Class A superintendent at Ka’anapali Resort in Lahaina (which hosted the Champions Tour’s Skins Game at its Royal Course), that they had no damage, felt lucky, had not heard of any other courses sustaining damage, and that the biggest challenge was keeping the golfers off the course the next morning … since the tsunami warning had not yet ended.
Orlando Baraodian, GCSAA superintendent at Kapalua Resort and Spa in Maui (which hosted the PGA Tour’s Hyundai Tournament of Champions at its Plantation Course), said the hotel was evacuated to the golf course, which is actually on higher ground, and they had guests camped out in the pro shop, clubhouse and even the practice green. The next morning he allowed the most gung ho golfers to start their rounds on the non-oceanside back nine.
Dave Nakama, GCSAA Class A superintendent at Waialee Country Club in Honolulu (host of the PGA Tour’s Sony Open), said after the warning was issued about 10 p.m., he went to the course to make preparations, and then returned the next morning to find no damage to the course, but that there were damaged boats in the harbor.
Earl Sanders, CGCS at Hualalai Resort in Kona, (host of the Champions Tour’s Mitsubishi Championship), spent about six hours after the first wave arrived anxiously awaiting permission to inspect his low-lying, oceanside No. 17 green, and was relieved to find no damage there, or anywhere else on the golf course.
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