Gulf Coast golf
tournaments hit
hard by Katrina
By Tim McDonald,
National Golf Editor
(Sept. 20, 2005) - The last thing in the world people in the Gulf Coast are thinking about these days is golf tournaments. But, with the recovery effort from Hurricane Katrina finally underway, economic issues are beginning to emerge in terms of getting the region back on its feet.
Tournaments, both PGA Tour events and others, are closely related to tourism, one of the sectors the Gulf Coast will suffer from for a long time. Most tournaments in the Gulf Coast have been affected, with some being canceled outright and others on hold. The futures of others are unknown.
The Zurich Classic, to be played for the first time at the TPC of Louisiana in the New Orleans suburb of Avondale, is certainly in jeopardy. Scheduled for late April and early May, it's difficult to see New Orleans recovered sufficiently to the point it could host a major tournament. Certainly, there are much higher priorities.
PGA Tour officials told TravelGolf.com they were still in the process of assessing damage to courses and are waiting to make a statement about the future of some of the Gulf Coast tournaments.
The Southern Farm Bureau Classic in Madison, Miss., is scheduled for early October at the Annandale Golf Course, which lost hundreds of trees, but the tournament has been moved to the first weekend of November. It will be played opposite the Tour Championship in Atlanta Nov. 3-6. Tournament director Robert Morgan said all net proceeds will go to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in Mississippi, according to the PGA Tour.
"Southern Farm is heavily involved with the relief effort," John Marovich of Bruno's Event Team, which runs the tournament, told SI.com's Gary Sickle. "The last thing anyone is worrying about is a golf tournament."
The
Nationwide Tour Championship in Prattville,
Ala., is due to be played the last week of October. Like Annandale, the tournament
is well inland and should be ready.
Other tournaments weren't so lucky. The LPGA Tournament of Champions is scheduled for November in Mobile's Magnolia Grove Golf Course, an area hit hard by the storm. Magnolia Grove lost hundreds of trees and two of its three courses will be closed for another two or three weeks, while the third, the Crossings, opened earlier this week.
Two other Mobile courses were hit hard: Gulf Pines was forced to close nine of its holes, and Isle Dauphine Country Club, which was still recovering from Hurricane Ivan, will again be closed for an undetermined length of time, according to the Mobile Register.
Other Mobile tournaments affected included two, major amateur tournaments. Both the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Junior Classic and the Labor Day Invitational at the Country Club of Mobile were canceled. The Junior Classic may be re-scheduled, according to PGA.com.
Shaquille O'Neal's golf tournament in Baton Rouge was canceled because much of Louisiana State University is being used to house hurricane victims.
The scant good news is that the hurricane didn't affect tournaments further north as feared. Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa in Farmington, Pa., has been slapped by the remnants of hurricanes the last two years before its 84 Lumber Classic. Hurricane Frances last year dumped five inches of rain before the tournament and the year before, Hurricane Isabel caused a day's delay in the tournament. It was not affected this year, according to a Nemacolin spokesperson.
Aside from tournaments, other golf-related news is mixed. In Morgan City, La., the opening ceremony for Atchafalaya Golf Course has been postponed and re-scheduled for later this year, according to the Morgan City Register.
Alabama beach resorts made it through the storm relatively unscathed. The Gulf Shores Golf Association reports its 10 courses are up and running after cleaning up debris.
Still, southern Alabama and Florida Panhandle courses will almost certainly feel the aftermath of one of the most devastating hurricanes ever to make landfall on the U.S. With nearly two million people between Biloxi, Miss., and New Orleans without homes, and with roadways severely damaged, business is likely to suffer.
"It's probably going to have a negative impact," said Bob Barrett, president of Honours Golf, which manages courses throughout in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Florida.
As for the Mississippi Golf Coast, the situation is bleak for the golf industry. The courses themselves are most likely destroyed along with the rest of the area, including the casinos. And with tourism severely impacted, it's likely many courses will simply go under.
The
Golf Coast, consisting of more than 300 holes along the 26 miles of Gulf of Mexico
coastline, including the historic, Donald Ross-designed Great
Southern Golf Club in Gulfport,
lost not only its courses, but most of its casinos and 17,000 rooms.
Some of the casinos have pledged to rebuild, and the Beau Rivage has already started. Others will most likely not re-build, like Treasure Bay, which had no insurance. Still others may be hampered by insurance companies, which might be reluctant to insure the casinos, which are on barges.
The casinos work hand in hand with the golf industry and brought in about $2.7 billion in annual revenues before the hurricane. They paid $98 million in taxes last year, accounting for about 10 percent of the state budget and $49 million to city and county governments.
That doesn't count sales tax, income tax paid by employees, or property tax. Officials there, many of who are pushing to pass laws legalizing land-based casinos, say it will take three-to-five years to re-build the floating casinos under current laws.
Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.
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