On Augusta And The Long Road Ahead
Helene devastated the community and home of the Masters. The club has pledges over $5 million in local support while images confirm the "significant" damage done to the course.
As another monster hurricane bears down on Florida and multiple states deal with the aftermath of Helene, it can feel a bit unseemly to wonder what happened to Augusta National ahead of the 2025 Masters. The post-Helene outcomes for towering pines, ancient magnolias and other impacts all seems especially minor set against the loss of life, property and well-being suffered over an enormous stretch of the American south.
Given what the Masters means to the region and the sports world, the hurricane’s impact on Augusta National has been of great interest to the world. Masters Chairman Fred Ridley briefly addressed the gravity of Helene at last week’s Asia Pacific Amateur and pledged $5 million of club money to recovery efforts. He vowed the tournament would go on as scheduled. So before delving into what was damaged and what must be repaired before the Masters, a recap of Helene’s progression and impact on Augusta:
The storm hit overnight from Thursday, September 26th, into Friday the 27th. (A full timeline was presented here by the Augusta Chronicle’s Joe Hotchkiss.)
A rare inland “extreme wind warning” was issued. The designation is typically only given to Category 3 or stronger hurricanes.
Helene weakened to a Category 1 after hitting Valdosta, Georgia but still brought sustained winds between 70-75 mph within the storm.
Helene’s forecasted turn to the west did not follow most projections, bringing the eyewall and “dirty” side of the storm closer to Augusta.
A gust as high as 82 mph was measured in Augusta. (A Golf Digest social post inaccurately suggested winds reached 140 m.p.h., though surveys of damage have surmised there must have been gusts pushing 100 m.p.h.)
By Sept. 27, over 4 million customers were without power from Florida to Virginia to Indiana. Power has been restored in significant numbers, but according to a WRDW report Monday, “Georgia Power shows nearly 26,000 Richmond County residents are without power” while nearly 18,000 in Columbia County and 13,000 residents in Aiken County remained without power as of Sunday.
Augusta National issued its first public statement on September 28th:
On October 3rd, Ridley turned up at the AAC in Japan, saying there were key staff members who stayed home to deal with the storm’s impact on their lives. The chairman announced “a joint $5 million donation towards the Hurricane Helene Community Crisis Fund” to support local relief efforts. The pledge was made in partnership with the Community Foundation for the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA).
“I was in Augusta in the days immediately after the storm and have seen firsthand its devastating impact,” Ridley said. “Our employees, neighbors, friends and business owners need, and deserve, immediate and meaningful assistance to overcome the hardships being experienced at this moment throughout Augusta.”
Augusta National, the Community Foundation for the CSRA and the Medical College of Georgia Foundation have made separate contributions to support the response and recovery efforts led by the American Red Cross and community partners.
A photo essay by Andrew Dolph of the Augusta Chronicle documented damage to the neighborhoods around Augusta National.
Area golf courses were hit hard by the storm. According to a report by the Post and Courier’s John Boyette, Aiken Golf Club, Palmetto and Tree Farm reported tree losses in the hundreds. Champions Retreat, host to the first two rounds of the ANWA, suffered extensive damage, including the loss of 1453 trees. No specific reports of tree loss or course damage have been confirmed at the neighboring Augusta Country Club(but it’s believed to be extensive).
Ridley added this at the Asia Pacific Amateur regarding Augusta National: “As far as the golf course, it really was affected just as the rest of the community was. There was a lot of damage. We have a lot of people working hard to get us back up and running. We don’t really know exactly what that’s going to mean but I can tell if you it’s humanly possible, we’ll be back in business sooner rather than later.”
The club’s traditional mid-October re-opening will be delayed.
Damage to the course, as seen in the few images captured and posted online suggest transformative changes across the property with Helene doing more widespread damage than October, 1990’s storm destroying the 11th green or 2014’s Winter Storm Pax that took out the Eisenhower Tree.
The club has not confirmed any details of damage since they are of minor importance compared to the widespread community suffering. And once operations resume, there will undoubtedly be detailed accounts via the air or from visiting players in the lead-up to the Masters.
Here’s what is known, starting with the first posted images picked up by news operations around the world, and up to images captured Friday, October 4th by a drone operator.
A YouTube short posted by “MrHushPuppy” shows Magnolia Lane after Helene where multiple trees were lost or damaged. The famous magnolias were planted from seeds “shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War,” according to David Owen in The Making of the Masters:. The lefthand image was also by “MrHushPuppy” but is undated.
The Founders’ Circle before and after Helene:
A view of the tenth and 18th from the same YouTube short showing things in normal times next to a glimpse of tall pines down just off the 10th tee:
Augusta aerial specialist Eureka Earth has understandably decided to stand down in the wake of the tragedy, but did post this ground view of the Masters patron parking area looking up toward the main patron entrance gate.
In the following images posted to Instagram stories by FAA-certified drone pilot and photographer SkyDBProductions, a basic sense of the destruction becomes apparent. These views from afar often look benign until you pinch in on areas and see the destruction. Aerials also flatten things out, likely failing to capture what undoubtedly looks worse given how much Augusta National is known for its backdrops and forested surrounds. The screen grabs show an overall thinning of trees caused by the winds along with to the outright loss of hundreds of trees. Since most are mature pines this will have an enormous impact on aesthetics and several of the tee shots.
Miraculously, the 11th and 12th greens survived the Raes Creek flooding:
The area around and just past the Hogan Bridge took the brunt of flooding. The lone tree behind the 11th green appears to have been lost and already removed when this was captured:
Significant pine tree loss has occurred adjacent to the 13th green and by the 14th tee:
The 16th green appears (A) to have been completely covered in significant run-off based on this view blocked by trees, or, (B) it has already been stripped of sod in preparation for re-grassing. The significant loss of trees left of the sixth tee can be seen here as well:
The most extreme loss of pines appears to have gone down a straight path starting at the sixth tee before moving behind the 16th green, then through the left and right of the third hole, before decimating the beautiful grove between the eighth and ninth holes. This view shows some of those areas:
Significant loss of mature trees between the eighth and ninth holes can be seen in this view. It also shows the loss of tall trees between the second/third fairways (left) and first/ninth fairways (right):
Majestic pines surround the 10th green and many appear to have been lost or severely damaged. As were some on the right of the 14th fairway and at the 18th tee:
Significant losses occurred in the forested area around cabins left of the 10th fairway. The Eisenhower Cabin and practice putting green sit just outside the top of the first photo, while the damaged lower right cabins are set off the 10th hole landing area. The view after Helene and October, 2023:
The patron entry and clubhouse areas show less obvious damage and the Big Oak appears in good shape:
The area around the member short game area (right) and back of the member range (left) appears to be flooded, covered in mud or some combination of the two.
More incidental and of less concern: the fall ryegrass overseed appears thin and will be updated after repairs are made. The grey bunker lining installed to preserve sand during the overseed appears damaged throughout the property, meaning the bunkers were likely washed out. Also unknown is the extent of damage done to the unique Berckmans nursery plantings that define each hole and make the property so special.
Then there are the surviving trees. Anyone who has gazed into the taller pines has inevitably noticed cables and other human-engineered adjustments. These efforts prevent unwanted branch failures during the week when thousands of patrons are on the property (and, of course, for the members’s protection, too). Undoubtedly every surviving tree will be inspected to ensure safety prior to patrons showing up 179 days from now on April 5, 2025.
“I’m confident that the Masters will be held on the dates that it’s scheduled to be held,” Ridley said last week.
Given the club’s resources and track record of making swift repairs, there is little reason to doubt the Chairman. But early evidence suggests everyone at Augusta National will be logging extra hours under already trying circumstances just to put on the next Tradition Unlike Any Other.
Nice update, Geoff