Augusta National remains focused on community, not golf course damage

The remnants of Hurricane Helene blasted into Augusta, Georgia, with strong, destructive winds Friday morning, downing trees and causing damage. While the extent of any damage at Augusta National Golf Club remains unclear, the club released a statement Saturday focused on the surrounding community. Scores of area residents lost their lives during the storms, and much of the region remains under a weekend curfew as crews work to repair damage and restore services.

“Our Augusta community suffered a devastating and historic impact from Hurricane Helene. We are currently evaluating the impacts at Augusta National Golf Club,” ANGC president Fred Ridley said in a statement. “In the meantime, our focus and efforts are primarily on our staff, neighbors and business owners in Augusta. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them and everyone affected in Georgia and the Southeast.”

Wind speed gauges measured hurricane-force winds of 82 mph at the Augusta airport at 5:37 a.m. Friday. This is more than enough to bring down the tall pine trees in the city, which generally have shallow root structures. The remnants of the storm, which made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, caused strong winds in the region for several hours.

Images on social media following Helene’s arrival in Augusta and surrounding areas showed clipped and broken pine trees as well as overflowing images of Rae’s Creek, which runs through Amen Corner.

Last year, pine trees fell at Augusta National during the windy second round of the Masters. No customers were injured and trees were removed and damage repaired before the start of the third round.

The Eisenhower Tree, the most famous tree on Augusta National’s property, was damaged during the ice storm of 2014 and was removed soon after.