EVANS, Ga. (WJBF) - Tuesday is the first practice round of the Augusta National Women's Amateur and the beginning of Masters-related activities in our area. Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans will once again host the first two rounds. It's been a race against the clock to get ready since Hurricane Helene left its path of destruction in September.
What a difference 6 months can make. Helene wreaked havoc on not just homes in our area, but also the golf course. Millions of dollars later and it's in incredible shape, ready to be back on the world stage.
"I got here around 7 in the morning just to kind of see the lay of the land and again, it was just catastrophic," said Mike Rymer, Director of Golf, Champions Retreat Golf Club.
Catastrophic! It's the best way to describe the destruction Hurricane Helene did to Augusta and Champions Retreat on the night of September 27th.
"Hard to put words to what I saw. To me it looked like something that would have us close for 6 months. That's how bad it was," said Rymer.
Mike Rymer is the Director of Golf at Champions Retreat, home to the first two rounds of the Augusta National Women's Amateur.
"Like a transformer walked through the golf course and ripped trees out of the ground and threw them down," said Rymer.
There were thousands of trees down and root balls exposed as far as Rymer could see.
"You couldn't get across Betty's Branch here. Water up to your ankles over here," said Rymer. "So you couldn't, the cart paths were completely covered here."
One of the most devastating losses was their iconic 'Broccoli Tree' on the Island Course's 5th hole. The hurricane ripped it's massive trunk right out of the fairway.
"It was so big that when you were on the tee box, it looked like it was 300 yards out, but it wasn't. It was just so massive," said Rymer.
And while there was a lot lost on the course, there's also been a lot gained, especially for golfers.
"You're going to have some more forgiveness off the tee now. There are some holes you know that the trees, the tall pines have been thinned out," said Rymer. "Now you're going to be able to see the group in front of you, or who's teeing off."
Despite some changes in landscape, one thing that hasn't changed is how important this week's tournament is for Champions Retreat, especially this time around.
"This is going to be a very special year for us. Like I said, that end of September standing there I thought, 'I don't know how we're going to have this tournament in early April'. But the team has done an amazing work," said Rymer.
As for that Broccoli Tree, you may see it again but in a different way. They've saved as much of it as they could to create pieces of art or furniture out of it.
Photojournalist: Gary Hipps