Club association releases hurricane impact report

July 07--The Florida chapter of the Club Managers Association of America has released its first-ever hurricane impact report, which not only contains damage and insurance claims by member clubs due to Hurricane Irma in 2017 but also details best practices for natural disaster readiness and recovery.

The report, which was compiled with Club Benchmarking and the National Club Association, gave the results of Irma's impact on 79 private clubs in Florida, with 67 percent of them golf and country clubs.

The facilities combined to file insurance claims of more than $27.5 million ($9.5 million for direct damage to golf courses) and the storm impacted 5,855 employees.

The report said 57 percent of the clubs provided emergency relief for their employees and only two percent of the clubs reported layoffs in the aftermath of the storm.

Half of the golf clubs surveyed had to close an average of eight days. One-third reported damage to clubhouses. The Northern part of the state reported the most clubhouse damage, with an average of $280,667, and the second-highest on-course damage among the four regions making up the FLCMAA, averaging $340,200.

None of the responding clubs in the North region reported assessing members to alleviate damage costs.

Members of the FLCMAA also shared their experiences and practices during its recent summer conference.

"The report and the conference will be very helpful because we can all learn from each other ... what we did right and wrong," said Rob Schlingmann, general manager of the Plantation at Ponte Vedra. "We were much better prepared for Irma than we were for Matthew [in 2016] but we'll be even better for the next one."

Schlingmann said one of the most important points that came out of the report and the conference is that clubs with the resources to conduct some recovery efforts should move forward as quickly as safety allows, and not necessarily wait for county or other municipal or state assistance.

"The biggest thing we all learned is not to rely on a county for debris pickup," he said. "Make sure you can do it yourself."

He also said there was universal agreement, especially among clubs in residential areas, that people come before operations.

"We have 579 homeowners at the Plantation and we had employees who lost their homes or had damage and had to rebuild," he said. "The first priority is getting neighborhoods safe and making sure employees are taken care of. Golf is the last thing we think about."

Deacon defends

University of Florida golf coach J.C. Deacon will defend his Florida Open title beginning Friday at the Innisbrook Resort Copperhead and Island Courses in Palm Harbor.

Deacon shot 13-under-par 203 last year at Black Diamond to beat former University of North Florida player Matt Borchert.

There will be up to 21 area players in the tournament. Those qualifying at 18-hole events were Jeff Dennis, Steve Carter, Jared Garcia, Devon Hopkins, Dillon Woods, Duke Butler IV, Joe Stepnes, Stewart Slayden, Devin Suri and Sean Dale.

Exempt into this year's tournament, along with Deacon and Borchert, are Tyler McCumber, Ron Philo Jr., Dan Olsen, Gerry James, Bob Wallace, Chris DeBusk, John Jonas and Brandon Mancheno.

Schaivone rallies

Chloe Schiavone of Jacksonville bounced back from an opening-round 78 and finished third in the girls' junior division of the North and South Amateur last week at Pinehurst, N.C.

Schaivone had a 72 in the second round, then made two eagles and five birdies in the third round on her way to a 70. She shot 4-over-par 220 and finished seven shots behind Presley Bagett of Canton, Miss.

Blue Sky range open

The new Blue Sky Golf Club range, powered by Top Tracer technology, is now open with hourly bay pricing at $5 per hour from noon to 4 p.m. and $10 per hour from 4 p.m. to closing. Each bay can accommodate up to six players.

Food and beverage service also is provided to the hitting bays, with a putting green and cornhole boards located nearby.

The Top Tracer system, which is part of the Topgolf platform, enables players to track the distance and trajectory of their shots on TV monitors inside the bay.

Jorts Open scheduled

The annual Jorts Open will be July 21 at the Palm Valley Golf Club, with the proceeds to benefit Nease High School. Call (904) 824-9279 for information. ... The PGA Tour Golf Academy at the World Golf Village is offering a Long Game Clinic on July 28 from 10-11:30 a.m., with the emphasis on distance and control with the driver and fairway metals. The cost is $30 per student with registration available by visiting worldgolfvillage.com/pga-tour-academy.

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