Sept. 26, 2024, was a day far-from-the-coast Augusta, Georgia, won’t soon forget. Hurricane Helene roared through, leaving in its wake a battered and devastated community, parts of which are still recovering today. The Bobby Jones Links-operated Forest Hills Golf Course – suffered its own unique misfortune.
The classic Donald Ross-designed course owned by Augusta University, and where Bobby Jones once won the Southeast Amateur in the same year he won the Grand Slam, had closed in June 2024 for a complete greens renovation and generated a lot of excitement for its planned Oct. 1 reopening.
Then just days before, the hurricane hit. At least 1,500 trees went down, with debris Oct. 1 throughout the property. The course staff, many whose homes were also damaged, worked overtime on the clean-up, two tree companies were engaged, and within six weeks, the course reopened. Today, with a few minor projects remaining, Forest Hills is thriving again.
“The entire team pulled together to get the job done,” says Joshua Deal, Vice President of Operations at Bobby Jones Links, and President of the Georgia Section PGA of America. “It was a collaborative effort. First and foremost, the team at the facility immediately got in contractors to assess the damage, particularly with the tree cleanup. That was the biggest hurdle and to make sure we could eventually reopen to members and guests when it was safe…