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Woodlawn 2011 season probably kaput

With most of the water finally off the course, officials from the Estevan Woodlawn Golf Club were able to see the flooding aftermath first-hand recently. What they found was a scene of unspeakable devastation, particularly on the back nine.
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With most of the water finally off the course, officials from the Estevan Woodlawn Golf Club were able to see the flooding aftermath first-hand recently.

What they found was a scene of unspeakable devastation, particularly on the back nine.

Almost all the lush greenery of a golf course has been washed away, replaced with layers upon layers of silt.

The course looks more like a desert than a golfing destination at the moment.

The executive will confer with consultants and their insurance company before making any decisions on what to do next.

Opening again this season has not been officially ruled out, but it appears very unlikely.

"Obviously we've never experienced this before, so it wouldn't be responsible of us to cancel the season without getting a professional opinion on it. This is a huge natural disaster we have in front of us," said general manager Brian Dueck.

EWGC president Garth Hoffort said the club is still in the process of putting a price tag on the damage and finding out how much will be covered by insurance.

"As we figure out how much it's going to cost and what we have to do first, we'll let all our members know as soon as we can find everything out. Right now we're just researching everything," Hoffort said.

A tentative meeting has been scheduled for Aug. 15 to gather the membership and get their approval on whatever course of action has been decided on by then.

Past-president Jim Wilson said the men's classic, which would have been held at the end of July, has been cancelled.

Slim hope is still being held out that the oilmen's tournament and others can go ahead at the end of the season, but it's extremely unlikely.

"Realistically, they probably won't take place," said Wilson.

No decision has yet been made on what to do with membership fees if the season is indeed over.

Les Furber, who originally designed the course in 1986, paid a visit on Friday to see how bad the damage is. He will help guide the club through the next steps to be taken.

"The first step is to get Les in here and to get him to help us make the right decisions," said Hoffort.

Furber said he's never seen a case where most of the course - aside from holes five and 16 - have been underwater for close to 10 weeks.

"We don't want to open the golf course just for the sake of opening it if we don't have quality turf grass," he said.

As for the extent of the damage on the back nine, Wilson said most people will be in for a shock when they see how bad it is compared with the view from Highway 47.

"They've seen it from the road, but they haven't seen this."

The club has also gotten to work on gutting parts of the main level at the clubhouse, with drywall being torn down and most items removed from the building.

In a press release issued Friday, Hoffort said the aftermath was much worse than anyone anticipated.

"The executive of the golf course are all members, and everyone was hoping that when the flood waters retreated, the water would be pumped off and then we would be playing golf (possibly only the front nine at first).

"The reality is we have found that we have a course covered in silt, varying in places from slightly over an inch to a couple of feet thick in places."

Hoffort went on to thank the executive and staff for keeping their spirits up during a tough time.

"We are just a golf course, and nobody's lives or heirlooms were affected, but it still impacts so many people in so many ways."