Local golf: Cranberry Valley ‘closed indefinitely’ after storm damage

Jul. 27--HARWICH -- Cranberry Valley Golf Course, one of the top public golf facilities on Cape Cod, and Harwich Port Golf Club both sustained major damage to their respective properties when rare twisters touched down Tuesday.

"We have 170 trees down in playable areas," said Roman Greer, Cranberry Valley's director of golf. "The two hardest hit holes were the 15th and 16th, which are also the closest to the Queen Anne Road area that was the path the tornado took."

There was also other damage around the course, which is forced to close in the heart of its busiest time of the season.

"We usually do between 300 and 350 rounds of golf per day at this time of year," Greer said. "This is going to have a major impact. We are closed indefinitely due to the storm damage. The scope of the amount of work that has to be done is beyond what our staff is capable of handling without some outside assistance."

The closing of the course impacts approximately 42 part-time employees, who are now sidelined by the closing of Cranberry Valley.

A big concern that is forcing the closing of the course is the insurance factor. Loose hanging branches and limbs, flying twigs, twisted tree trunks and debris along the course pose a serious danger to players, and once the course reopens, golfers will be playing under adverse conditions.

Most of the damage is on the back nine with holes 15 and 16 suffering the most damage. There was also a line of felled trees between the first and ninth holes and a massive limb was twisted off a tree behind the 13th green.

Cranberry Valley was supposed to host the Mass Golf WGAM Junior Girls Championship on Aug. 5.

"There is no way we can host that," said a disappointed Greer. "Mass Golf was very understanding and is looking for a new site."

A tour of the course by Town Administrator Christopher Clark, Greer and course superintendent Shawn Fernandez on Friday afternoon helped define a clearer course of action for funding of outside companies that will help in the cleanup of the course and a potential schedule for reopening the 6,600-yard layout.

"After our tour today, we are hoping to have the practice range open Saturday and then possibly have the front nine open by Thursday," Greer said. "When the back nine can be opened is still to be determined, depending on the speed and ability to remove most of the damage."

Cranberry Valley has 1,150 yearly fee-paying members. Courses in the area, such as Captains Golf Course in Brewster and both Barnstable town courses -- Olde Barnstable Fairgrounds and Hyannis Golf Course -- have offered any of the Cranberry Valley members the off-season reciprocal rate of $25 to play their courses until Cranberry Valley reopens.

Some of the non-members who have tee times reserved during the time the course is closed have been searching for sites to play. Bass River Golf Course in South Yarmouth, which was closed Wednesday to clean up the trees it lost, has been able to assist some of those groups that lost their tee time reservations.

A check of other area courses, such as New Seabury, Captains, Cape Cod National and Eastward Ho!, showed little destruction.

"We had very minor damage," said Mike Walker, general manager of Cape Cod National Golf Club in Brewster. "It was a strange day on Cape Cod, and we were lucky not to get hit," Walker said. "Typical of the Cape Cod golf world, other courses are helping out in any way they can. It's a true sense of community."

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