Photo courtesy of Pete Dye River Course and by Marty Gordon
Marty Gordon
The Pete Dye Golf Course near Radford suffered major damage at the hands of Hurricane Helene and a rising New River, which rose to over 37 feet during last month’s tropical storm.
Now, it’s back open and facing the struggles associated with renovation.
Michael J. Abraham is the general manager and director of Golf at the Pete Dye River Course. This week, he pointed to the damage on several holes near the river itself.
“Following the impact of Hurricane Helene, we are diligently working to restore full access to The River Course,” he said.
Immediately following the storm, over 400 dead fish were found lying on Hole #14. Crews used water hoses to clean straight-a-ways and greens.
“It was a mess that we had to clean up,” Abraham said.
According to the description online for the course, it says: A clubhouse rests on a rock cliff 70 feet above the pristine New River. The flood as a result of Hurricane Helene but it was so historic the New swelled over its banks and came just a few yards from the steps of that clubhouse.
Homes on the hill above watched as the water continued to rise. Abraham had just attended a Hokie football watch-party against the University of Miami at the course’s golf course.
“The river had just started to rise, and members were sending me photos of the course. By the time I got back in the morning, the river had risen to an unbelievable height, he said.
Originally constructed by Brian Ault and Thomas Clark, the River Course was completely remodeled by Pete Dye when he moved around 40,000 cubic yards of earth whilst rebuilding all 18 greens, reshaping many of the fairways and rerouting a couple of holes.
In 2004, Dye began a renovation of The River Course of Virginia Tech, a golf course acquired by the Virginia Tech Foundation in 2002. Dye spent nearly two years designing the course to fit his vision, and the university thanked him by formally renaming the golf course The Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech.
Opening in August of 2005, the course was selected by Golf Digest as one of the Top Five “Best Newly Remodeled Courses in America” for 2006.
Dedicated formally The Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech in June of 2006, the beautiful course features five sets of tees along 2.5 miles of the scenic and historic New River. The yardage stretches from 5,142 yards for ladies to 7,665 for tournament play.
Abraham estimated the damage from the floodwaters and storm at $1.5 million. He said they are currently in negotiations with an insurance company to cover most of that cost.
The overall course was shut down for three weeks. Currently, 16 holes are available for play (Nos. 1-13, 16, 17, and 18).
Temporary greens are in place for holes 8 and 12, while holes 14 and 15 remain closed for now. The clubhouse and restaurant are also open for business.
Abraham said he appreciated the public’s patience during this time.
“Fifteen of the greens are back to normal,” he said. “Contractors should be onsite next week, but for the most part, realistically we probably will not be completely back and running until April.”
Abraham pointed out the front nine holes were mostly undamaged and #1 and #2 were never under water.
The company which operates Pete Dye River Course, McConnell, had three courses impacted (Pete Dye and ones in Asheville, North Carolina and Musgrove, South Carolina). But it was Pete Dye that suffered the most damage.
Pete Dye has, or had, over 102 bunkers scattered throughout the course. Most of those were damaged or lost their sand. Maintenance crews are working quickly to replace each, but Abraham said there will no longer be over 100 when finished. “It’s just not economical at this point,” he said.
Crews are also busy resodding greens and other spots along those holes near the river.
Wednesday, Abraham just shook his head on what now is so beautiful but yet did so much damage 60 days ago.
“The members have been very supportive through it all, and in the meantime while we were closed, we made arrangements to send members to our other courses,” Abraham said.
