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Augusta National took a pretty hard hit from Hurricane Helene after the storm swept through Georgia at the end of September. There were concerns the damage it caused could end up impacting The Masters, but the club’s chairman seems pretty confident it’s going to be negligible.
One of the reasons The Masters is considered one of the most prestigious events in golf is the painstaking amount of work that goes into maintaining the hallowed grounds of Augusta National Golf Club, the wildly exclusive institution that’s been hosting the tournament since 1934.
A number of people who’ve been lucky enough to attend The Masters in person have noted a suspicious absence of wild animals (including birds), and if you tune into the broadcast, you’ll be hard-pressed to spot a single blade of grass out of place on the pristine course that’s free of the leaves and other natural debris you’ll usually encounter during a round.
However, there’s one factor the folks at Augusta National haven’t figured out how to control: the weather.
In 2023, we were treated to a wild moment when heavy winds knocked over a couple of trees near the 16th green during the second round, and while no one was harmed, play was understandably suspended due to the dangerous conditions.
That scene had nothing on the one Augusta National found itself dealing with when it ended up in the path of Hurricane Helene last fall, as drone footage captured a ton of fallen timber on Magnolia Lane in addition to a significant amount of damage on the course itself.
At the time, Augusta National chairman Fred Ripley acknowledged there was plenty of work to be done to fix the fairways and greens that were impacted by the storm but was confident the course would be ready to host The Masters, which is slated to get underway on April 10th this year.
There was little reason to doubt that prediction based on the club’s reputation, and according to Golf, Ripley shared a positive update while speaking with reporters at the Latin America Amateur Championship in Argentina on Thursday, saying:
“As far as the impact—the long‑term impact—we have not quite as many trees as we did a year ago. As far as the golf course goes, it’s in spectacular condition.
I think we had minor damage to the course, the playing surfaces themselves, but we were able to get that back in shape, but I don’t think you’re going to see any difference in the condition for the Masters this year.”
Sounds about right.