Memories of terrible event all that’s left at Fort McMurray Golf Club
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2017-06-07
By Gord Montgomery (iG)
FORT McMURRAY —While most of the golf world’s focus this spring has been on a course rebuild in Southern Alberta, there is a similar situation being played out in the northern part of the province which has gotten far less notice.
The Foxtail Nine, part of the Fort McMurray Golf Club which was damaged by the wildfire that swept though that area last fall, is now basically complete and the club’s membership is delighted to have their playpen fully functional again.
While the total damages have yet to be tallied as to the northern club’s losses, the club’s general manager, Michael Gillan, said they are substantial given the scope of the damages.
“We are still working with our insurance company in regards to the total loss - being closed for two of our busiest months of the season; losing all of our buildings; (losing) maintenance equipment and over 80 power carts. It does not take long to get to a pretty large dollar value,” he noted.
While the damages to Kananaskis in the south were mainly course related, with a total of 32 of 36 holes of that property being swept away in the raging floodwaters of 2013, the situation in Fort McMurray was different, Gillan continued.
“The damage on the actual course was minimal from the fire itself, to be honest. The fire was really interested in burning the forest surrounding us for its fuel,” he commented.
“The most difficult part was not being on the property for 30 days. Once we managed to get back our team did a wonderful job of accessing equipment from Miskanaw, our neighbouring golf club. As well, our suppliers allowed us to borrow some equipment to get going right away,” with the repair work. “Its amazing what will grow in such a short period of time!”
While the work needed to reopen the Foxtail 9 part of the golf course seems to have been completed quickly, it wasn’t an easy chore. Most of the work that needed to be done in order for club members and guests to once again wander the fairways of the northern track had to do with the removal of charred trees from the boreal forest that the course weaves in and out of.
“We had a professional team come in and asses the entire property right away,” Gillan explained of how the rebuild began and then progressed. “For the safety of our workers, and the safety of our members and guests we tackled it right away.
“Many trees lining the fairways were cut down with the ones near our practice facility being our first priority. It’s amazing to see one year later how much has grown back - some trees you would think had zero chance are now standing tall. Others just are not going to make it. We have a second phase of tree removal (planned).
“There were minimal (ground) burns and we did not need to replace the turf. A few trees fell onto tee decks and fairways that left a singe but all in all the turf survived.”
Amazingly, according to the GM, the repair work has gone so well, and so quickly, that if you had didn’t know a natural disaster had occurred in this area you’d never guess the heartache and panic that beset the area just over a year ago. There is still work going on around the club but for the most part - with one notable exception - things are pretty much back to normal at the northern golf course.
“We are still making some minor repairs, but if you played today you would not even know we had a fire,” said Gillan in closing. “ The turf quality is that good. Now, when you look up and see the state of the forest and the large hole in the ground where the clubhouse used to be … that is a different story!”
As for that other rebuild that’s going on down south, the Kananaskis Country Golf twins of Mt. Kidd and Mt. Lorette are well on their way to being reopened in 2018, the target date set to bring another part of Alberta’s golf community back on stream. When that happens, the golf world in the province of Alberta will be, for the most part at least, back to normal once again.