Page 18 - GBC Spring 2022 ENG

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Golf Business Canada
Images 1-2: Demolition at Fraserglen Pro Shop and Restaurant following the flood damage.
Image 3: Kayaking beside the Fraserglen Clubhouse.
Image 4: Corrine Allan decorated a tree in the Fraserglen parking lot with debris that had washed up on their property such as beer kegs, zucchini and bags of vegan cheese.
To make things more interesting, there are two new tributaries that have formed on the course that will have to be worked into the course design; one in front of the fourth green and one directly behind it, creating an unintentional island green. “As a Golf Professional that would be a great feature to maintain,” shares Cianfagna, but it will depend on funds available to stabilize the shorelines of the tributaries and build bridges to access the green.
In addition, the extensive damage to the riverbanks from being hammered with rushing waters now means that at least 900 yards of waterfront property along the course will need to be reshored to prevent future erosion. Another challenge appeared once the waters receded back into the confines of the rivers: the first green was buried in upwards of three feet of silt. Thankfully, the silt was successfully removed and the green is salvageable. However, the silt currently sits around the green and the entire area will need to be reshaped.
While there appears to be less beer kegs and zucchinis scattered across the property than was found at Fraserglen, there is no shortage of rubble littered throughout Hope Golf Club in the form of rocks, piles of logs and entire uprooted trees, which will need to be removed over time as the course becomes more accessible. Similar to Fraserglen, the property of Hope Golf Club is situated on a floodplain so flood insurance will not fully cover the costs associated with the course rebuild. Luckily, if you can call it that, all of the course structures including their clubhouse, wedding ceremony venue and golf course equipment came out generally unscathed.
Despite the ongoing challenges, Cianfagna is optimistic of what the future holds. “Going into next season we don’t have a clear picture of how much of a golf course we will have to play with... but we hope to have some semblance of an executive length golf course by April or May.” Cianfagna anticipates a gradual reopening for other areas of the golf course as repairs are completed until the course is able to operate at full capacity once again.
Paralleling the experience at Fraserglen, the succession of storms made it difficult to start any significant clean up until weeks after the initial destruction. However, the town of Hope was in an especially unique situation as the storms ultimately left them isolated. With road closures, bans on non-essential travel and even more mudslides, it took nearly a month from the initial storm for most roads to reliably reopen
to public. This made receiving assistance from anyone not located directly in the town of Hope quite difficult.
Regardless of the unprecedented circumstances, Hope Golf Club saw an outpouring of support from their local community. Volunteers were eager to donate time, supplies and equipment to help their local course manage the destruction. In particular, the Club saw a lot of assistance from their membership base who were devastated to see their home course torn apart by the severe weather, and willing to help in any way possible.
PROVIDING SUPPORT TO THE COMMUNITY
There is another heartwarming story buried in the ruins: while their golf course was being ravaged by storms, Hope Golf Club selflessly turned their attention to the needs of their community. During the atmospheric river events, all highways leading into and out of Hope were completely blocked with mudslides trapping hundreds of long weekend travellers in the small town with not nearly enough lodgings to accommodate the sudden influx of people.
“We had a lot of people that were stranded,” reflects Cianfagna. Vince himself was actually stuck in another town west of Hope