EX-PATS EX-PATS
HURRICANE IRMA HITS AUSSIE EX-PAT SUPERS HARD
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Above and below: Vanderbilt Country Club, home to ex-pat Australian superintendent Stuart Bothe, suffered extensive damage when Hurricane Irma slammed into Florida in September
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ore than two weeks after Hurricane Irma crashed into the southern USA in September, Stuart Bothe was still 10 days away from reopening his first nine holes at Vanderbilt Country Club in Naples, Florida. The back nine would have to come later still as Bothe, his staff and multiple contractors worked on more than 600 trees that were either uprooted or so damaged they had to come down. Other crews were working to replace sand in all of the club’s 85 bunkers after torrential rains and sustained winds of more than 200kph turned them into “washing machines”. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Bothe says, who also endured hurricanes Charlie (2004) and Wilma (2005). “It’s the worst one we’ve had. It was as if there was an agitator from an old-fashioned washing machine in the middle of the bunkers just stirring everything up. We’ve got fine sands, coarse sands and native soils all mixed together. It’s a mess.” Bothe was probably the hardest hit among several ex-pat Australian superintendents affected by the storm. Unlike many courses in Florida with palm trees and native vegetation adapted to heavy
AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 19.5
winds, Vanderbilt Country Club is a sea of pines and oaks. “It’s not just that we’ve got trees down,” Bothe says. “We’ve got leaning trees and we’ve got trees, 50-foot or 60-foot, that are snapped off half way up or higher. They’ve all got to come down because stressed trees are vulnerable to pine beetles that can end up attacking your healthy trees.” As Hurricane Irma approached, Bothe evacuated his wife and two sons to Jupiter on the other side of the state, using accommodations arranged by fellow Aussie Matthew Tacilauskas from Palm Beach Country Club. He wasn’t sure what he would find when he returned. Fortunately his house suffered only minor damage but he was without power for a week until he secured a generator. Bothe and his crew spent the first three days after the storm clearing streets in the club neighbourhood. At one point they had most of the roads cleared before another four-inch deluge flooded streets again, blocking culverts with debris. With three months left to go, Bothe had recorded 90 inches of rain for the year versus the average of 54. Ironically, despite all that water and because of no power and compromised sewage systems, Bothe and his team were without ice and drinkable water – unless they boiled it – for about a week, in temperatures of 30 degrees and higher. Still, he says, perhaps the cruellest part of the aftermath was having to keep the course closed even when tees, fairways and greens were thriving again. “That’s the demoralising thing, when all the turf is clear and looks good but we’ve still got all this work in the wooded areas to do,” says Bothe. “The members are jumping to get out there. And we could open the golf course right now if not for the bunkers and the trees on the edge. Putting golfers out there with all the chainsaws and heavy equipment would just be impossible.” Not surprisingly as the clean-up operation ground into its third week, the wear and tear was beginning to take a toll. Bothe was heavily congested and running on medications that countered his cold but kept him awake at night despite his exhaustion. “I was in bed at 7pm last night and my eyes were wide open until 11.30pm. It’s ridiculous!” he says. David Dore-Smith’s hurricane experience at Copperleaf Golf Club in Bonita Springs, while significant, was not as bad as Bothe’s. With some 240 trees down and another 160 in need of professional pruning after the storm, he was able to get the course open 12 days after the storm. Getting the golf course back in action so swiftly had another significant benefit. Dore-Smith was able to jump on a plane on 27 September and head for the MCG to watch his beloved Richmond Tigers win their first AFL premiership in 37 years. His match ticket was provided by uncle and former Essendon great Ken Fraser, who had long promised his nephew he would get him a seat if the Tigers ever made it to the Grand Final. - Trent Bouts