Tag: hurricane

Hurricane Ian dropped a hot tub on the 18th green of this iconic Florida golf course

“Well, the island is still there … a lot of homes are still standing,” Dopslaff said. “In our case, we took a pretty devastating hit.”

Mike Dopslaff visited the golf course he operates on Sanibel on Wednesday. It was the first time he’d been there since Hurricane Ian pummeled the island on Sept. 28.

He was straightforward when asked about what he witnessed.

“Well, the island is still there … a lot of homes are still standing,” Dopslaff said. “In our case, we took a pretty devastating hit.”

A hot tub ended up on the 18th green at The Dunes on Sanibel Island.
Sanibel is the home of The Dunes Golf & Tennis Club at The Inns of Sanibel. Dopslaff, a Bonita Springs resident, has served as the PGA head professional there for two years. He and his staff have a lot of work ahead of them.

The list is long and includes everything from replacing a damaged fleet of golf carts to understanding what the long-term impact is from the surge of salt water that covered the greens and Bermuda grass fairways.

Topgolf damaged: Topgolf’s giant nets in Fort Myers are shredded

Before and after Hurricane Ian: Satellite images show significant damage to Sanibel Island vacation destinations

There’s a good chance it will all need to be replaced.

Damage assessments ongoing

Assessments of the damage will be ongoing, Dopslaff said. He and other members of The Dunes will be returning, by boat, to Sanibel on Friday. There is no access to the island by car or truck after Ian caused five breaches to the Sanibel Causeway.

“Some of our members have docks behind homes and we walked to the club,” said Dopslaff, who is 62. “Ten of us were walking down the street carrying supplies. We just wanted to get a look at what we need to do.”

Besides the potential saltwater damage to the grass, Dopslaff said there are numerous “big beautiful” trees that have been uprooted, similar to what happened during Hurricane Irma in 2017.

Clubhouse, pro shop still stand

The clubhouse still stands.

“To the extent there are walls and a roof still there. We will start tearing out carpet,” he said.

The pro shop is located on the south side of the clubhouse and is where the storm came in from. About eight inches of water came inside.

“And would you believe not a shirt was knocked off of a hanger,” Dopslaff said. “We have some total losses and nice surprises. Our pavilion is still standing.”

Dopslaff said there are approximately 500 members (about 100 play golf) at The Dunes, which also has tennis courts and a swimming pool. The par-70 golf course is 18 holes and measures 5,600 yards from the back tees.

The Dunes is located on the northeast side of the island and strangely enough, based on Ian’s path this was good news. The damage could have been worse.

The Dunes is one of two golf courses on Sanibel. The Sanibel Island Golf Club is the other. Dopslaff has not heard about the damage there. And there is a course on Captiva called The Sanctuary.

Eyes on recovery

Dopslaff understands golf is not something many people are thinking about right now. He said he and his staff and The Dunes organization is committed to helping the island recover as quickly as possible.

“My heart goes out to the residents out there,” he said. “Businesses we rebuild but there are full-time residents with no place to live.”

When the day comes that Sanibel is returned to its pre-Ian state, if that is even possible, Dopslaff is looking forward to that day and especially the good feelings it will bring to him and countless others.

“Once the shock wears off, and the inspiration I will get from bringing it back and overcoming the challenges … it will feel good when we open the doors and have someone teeing off that first tee again,” he said.

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Rockets, Fertitta family hosting Hurricane Ian relief drive at Toyota Center

The Fertitta family, Rockets, and Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen are hosting a Hurricane Ian relief drive, and fans who donate at least seven items will get a ticket voucher.

The Houston Rockets, along with the family of team owner Tilman J. Fertitta and Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen, are hosting a relief drive at Toyota Center for victims of Hurricane Ian. Fans who donate at least seven needed items will get a ticket voucher.

Items will be accepted at select times on Friday, Oct. 7 and Saturday, Oct. 8, and the voucher can be used on free tickets for the team’s regular-season game on Monday, Oct. 24 versus Utah.

Here are more details from the team’s announcement, including details on when and where donations are being accepted:

The Fertitta Family, Houston Rockets, and Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen are teaming up to host a relief drive for victims of Hurricane Ian which caused widespread damage last week in the southeast United States.

Donations will be collected curbside at the intersection of Polk and La Branch Streets at Toyota Center on Friday, Oct. 7 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. (local time) prior to the Rockets’ preseason game later that night versus Toronto.

Fans attending the Rockets’ annual open practice and fan fest on Saturday, Oct. 8 are also encouraged to donate items when they enter Toyota Center. Information on registering for Saturday’s event, which is open to the public, is available at Rockets.com.

Fans who donate at least seven items will receive a voucher to attend the Rockets game vs. Utah on Monday, Oct. 24. Items needed include water, non-perishable food, baby food, diapers, and cleaning supplies. American Red Cross Texas Gulf Coast is aiding by identifying those in need from impacted areas to distribute the donated items.

Constable Rosen was first elected to his position in 2012 and has three decades of experience in local law enforcement. He established the first homeless outreach team for his department and managed security of the NRG shelter during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017.

Further information on all of these events and activities is available from the team’s official website at Rockets.com.

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NFL to auction Chiefs-Buccaneers game-worn jerseys to benefit Hurricane Ian relief efforts

The NFL has announced its plans to auction off game-worn jerseys from the #Chiefs vs. #Buccaneers Week 4 game to benefit American Red Cross Hurricane Ian relief efforts.

The NFL is doing its part in supporting Floridians in Hurricane Ian relief efforts. Not only will the league match the $1 million contributed by the Buccaneers ownership, but they’re doing something cool surrounding the Week 4 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The game will be played as scheduled in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. With it being the only game played in Florida this weekend, the NFL is planning to auction off jerseys worn by Chiefs and Buccaneers players in the game in order to benefit the American Red Cross relief efforts across the state.

Here’s a look at what the league said in their press release:

“Following Sunday night’s Kansas City Chiefs – Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, the NFL will also be auctioning off a limited number of game-worn jerseys and other unique items which fans can bid on at NFL.com/auction to support the American Red Cross’ Hurricane Ian relief efforts. NFL Auction also has several items already listed to bid on to raise funds for hurricane disaster relief.”

If you’re in a position to contribute, you can wait until after the game and bid on a jersey. You can also visit www.redcross.org/nfl or text IAN to 90999 to make a $10 donation and help relief efforts now.

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Hurricane Ian has wreaked havoc on numerous Florida, South Carolina courses

Flooding and downed trees closed many top-rated golf courses in Florida.

As Hurricane Ian rampaged north along Florida’s Atlantic Coast, officials and first responders in the state were focused on providing relief and rescue for the thousands of people most in need. As various local and state agencies assess possible loss of life, golf is of course a low priority for those affected by the storm that approached Category 5 strength as it roared ashore.

It’s still worth a look to see how courses in Florida might have been impacted as well as what might be in store for the second projected landfall in South Carolina as what is now a tropical storm continues north. Golf is a huge industry in both locations, with thousands of employees and hundreds of courses likely already affected – or soon to be – by the devastating storm.

As of Thursday morning, it proved impossible to obtain status updates for the courses closest to landfall near Fort Myers, Florida. Communications have been compromised, and many residents of Southwest Florida are still without power and could be for days or weeks. Golf course operators and superintendents were in the field or attempting to reach their courses to evaluate damage, reports of which will roll in slowly.

There are dozens of golf courses, public and private, around the Fort Myers area, parts of which are reported to have received winds in excess of 140 mph along with massive storm surges of coastal water and flooding. All that area’s courses likely received damage of some sort, some of it possibly disastrous. Based on past experiences with hurricanes in Florida, it’s likely most of them have trees down, with some courses losing hundreds or possibly thousands of trees. Past hurricanes of lesser strength have proved capable of rendering tree-lined fairways into jumbled messes of snapped conifers and oak trees.

Courses also might be underwater, especially those close to the Gulf of Mexico, the Intracoastal Waterway and inland bays, rivers, creeks and other waterways. In Southwest Florida, that list includes almost every course. Standing water has been reported on courses as far north as The Golden Bear Club at Keene’s Pointe just west of Orlando not far from Disney World, and damage also likely includes washed-out bunkers at many courses – in past storms, it wasn’t uncommon to see bunkers inundated or stripped completely of sand.

It could be weeks or months before some of the worst-hit courses are able to reopen. Grass can continue to grow so long as fresh water receded fairly rapidly, but the general cleanup efforts can be extensive.

Golfweek’s Best maintains a list of top courses across the state, both public-access and private. Many of the courses on these lists likely experienced some damage, with several courses in particular a cause for increased concern.

Nearest Fort Myers and landfall, the public-access Gasparilla Inn & Club in Boca Grande sits just a few miles from the initial landfall site. Likewise, the private Coral Creek Club in Placida was directly in the track of the storm. Both courses sit near saltwater, with Gasparilla Inn & Club on a barrier island. Emails and calls to that facility were understandably unanswered as relief officials and first responders continue to focus on other more pressing matters. Gasparilla Inn & Club ranks as No. 27 on Golfweek’s Best list of public-access courses in Florida, while Coral Creek Club is No. 14 on Golfweek’s Best list of private courses.

Moving east from landfall, Hurricane Ian will have impacted many other courses on Golfweek’s Best lists as it rolled across Central Florida toward an exit near Titusville, Merritt Island and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center about 50 miles east of Orlando. Top-ranked private courses likely to have felt the effects of the storm include Calusa Pines (No. 2 private in Florida) in Naples; Mountain Lake (No. 3) in Lake Wales; Naples National (No. 7) in Naples; Concession (tied for No. 10) in Bradenton; and the aforementioned Coral Creek Club, among possibly others.

The list is even longer for top-ranked public-access courses along the storm’s path likely to have felt impacts large or small. That includes the three courses at Streamsong (ranked No. 2 Red, No. 3 Black and No. 4 Blue) in Bowling Green; Bay Hill Club & Lodge (No. 5) in Orlando; the two courses at Hammock Beach (No. 11 Ocean and No. 12 Conservatory) in Palm Coast; Hammock Bay (No. 17) in Naples; the two courses at Orange County National (No. 20 Panther Lake and No. 24 Crooked Cat) in Winter Garden; Southern Dunes (No. 26) in Haines City; and Reunion Resort (No. 30 Watson Course) in Kissimmee, among possibly others.

Several of these and many others have reported closures of various duration on their websites and social media. Streamsong, one of the most popular golf resorts in Florida, is an example of how even inland courses not directly on the center track of the giant storm were affected to some degree. The resort hosted play through Tuesday morning as crews prepped the courses, but it announced on its website that all three courses will be closed through Sunday. That comes at a destination featuring wide-open layouts with relatively few trees in play to have blown down – the hurricane’s massive rainfall and the effects of storm surge can cause closures even miles from the coasts.

“The thing we were most concerned about was our location near the Peace River and possible storm surge, and would we have flooding?” said Craig Falanga, Streamsong’s director of sales and marketing. “But we were really fortunate, and the damage is minimal, just cosmetic really. … We plan to have it all cleaned up and reopen Monday.”

Streansong Resort
Streamsong, home to three top courses including the Blue (pictured), received light damage in Hurricane Ian but was lucky to avoid intense flooding and will reopen Monday. (Courtesy of Streamsong Resort/Laurence Lambrecht)

Anyone with plans to travel and play golf anywhere in Southwest or Central Florida in the coming days and weeks should check with the courses before embarking.

As the storm moves north, it possibly will affect TPC Sawgrass and its two ranked courses (No. 1 public-access Players Stadium and No. 18 Dye’s Valley), as well as the private Pablo Creek (No. 17) in Jacksonville. Those are just the ranked layouts in a region full of dozens of compelling courses.

The storm moved into the Atlantic Ocean late Thursday morning and made a second landfall mid-day Friday in South Carolina. The projected cone includes courses from Hilton Head and its dozens of layouts north through Charleston – a region that includes Kiawah Island Golf Resort and its highly rated Ocean Course – all the way to Myrtle Beach.

In fact, numerous courses in that area reported considerable flooding.

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College football in a hurricane: Notre Dame tries throwing 31 times in middle of literal hurricane

What is your pick for all-time most memorable “weather game” in Notre Dame history?

This week ESPN’s “College Gameday” travels to Clemson, South Carolina for a battle between a couple of unbeaten squads as the host Tigers take on North Carolina State.  Notre Dame is off for their bye this week but with the weather that is expected it’s seemingly fitting from a Fighting Irish fan’s perspective that these two are meeting up.

Hurricane Ian is making landfall on Wednesday on Florida’s gulf coast and with it is bringing an incredible amount of rain and dangerously high winds.  In all seriousness, far beyond the importance of a silly football game this weekend or from years ago now, all the best to those having to evacuate or ride this thing out.

Clemson playing host to North Carolina State on Saturday will be played in what should be a ridiculous amount of rain and probably wind, too.  With it being at Clemson it brings back memories for Notre Dame fans as in 2015, the unbeaten Fighting Irish and Tigers met in Clemson and played a classic while being poured on by the rains from Hurricane Joaquin.

We looked back at that memorable night with photos here.

For Notre Dame fans it also brings back memories of one of the ugliest games in Notre Dame football history, the 2016 game at North Carolina State as the rains from Hurricane Matthew took a toll on the east coast.

The game was only memorable for all the wrong reasons, especially for Notre Dame.  Brian Kelly’s questionable game plan that afternoon called for 31 passes (five of which resulted in sacks) in conditions that featured a constant downpour as well as wind gusts north of 50 miles per hour.

It’s no surprise that the teams combined to throw for less than 100 yards and the only touchdown came on a botched punt.

Said [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] after the 10-3 defeat, “I think it was pretty evident to me that we were in need of throwing the football when we did throw it. We just weren’t as effective as I thought we could be.”

That one is still mind-numbing six years after the fact.

Perhaps it would have been wise to have pushed that one back a few weeks.

Then again, would anyone really look back on this meeting had it been played in sunny conditions?

Enjoy some incredible photos below from perhaps the most infamous weather game in the long history of Notre Dame football.

College football in a hurricane: Notre Dame-Clemson from 2015

Did someone say hurricane levels of rain on a Saturday at Clemson?

This week ESPN’s “College Gameday” travels to Clemson, South Carolina for a battle between a couple of unbeaten squads as the host Tigers take on North Carolina State.  Notre Dame is off for their bye this week but with the weather that is expected it’s seemingly fitting from a Fighting Irish fan’s perspective that these two are meeting up.

Hurricane Ian is making landfall on Wednesday on Florida’s gulf coast and with it is bringing an incredible amount of rain and dangerously high winds.  In all seriousness, far beyond the importance of a silly football game this weekend or from years ago now. all the best to those having to evacuate or ride this thing out.

Clemson playing host to North Carolina State on Saturday will be played in what should be a ridiculous amount of rain and probably wind, too.  With it being at Clemson it brings back memories for Notre Dame fans as in 2015, the unbeaten Fighting Irish and Tigers met in Clemson and played a classic while being poured on by the rains from Hurricane Joaquin.  It also brings back memories of one of the ugliest games in Notre Dame football history, the 2016 hurricane game at North Carolina State, something we also took a look back on.

Thanks to costly Notre Dame turnovers it looked like most of the night that Clemson was going to run the Irish out of the building.  Stretching their lead to 21-3 just after halftime, the rout was seemingly on.

However, Notre Dame mounted a comeback by dominating the fourth quarter and a touchdown pass from DeShone Kizer to Torii Hunter, Jr. with just seven seconds left brought the Irish within two.  Brian Kelly called a Kizer designed run to the outside for the two-point conversion try that was stopped and with that, Clemson escaped with the 24-22 victory.

Take a look back at that memorable but heartbreaking night in Clemson below:

High school football schedules changing with Hurricane Ian on southeast coast

As Hurricane Ian approaches, many districts in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and North and South Carolina have rescheduled games.

With Hurricane Ian approaching the southeast coast, many schools in states that are expected to be impacted by the storm are changing their football schedules.

The Fort Myers News-Press reported that Lee and Collier County school districts are among districts in Florida that are adjusting their schedule. Lee hopes to play games Monday, if the teams are able to hold three practices ahead of their respective games, while Collier is still evaluating a plan.

The Florida Times-Union has a longer list of games that have been rescheduled, with some planned out as far as mid-to-late October. According to the outlet, district games that are postponed must be made up at some point during the season.

In Georgia, many varsity games are being moved to Thursday, while some are even playing on Wednesday, according to GPB News. Local outlets like Al.com and Fox5 have pulled together schedules with the new dates for the games.

Some areas in North Carolina are also moving games. The Charlotte Observer published its list of the altered schedule.

Scorebook Live similarly has a running list for games in South Carolina, some of which are expected to take place next week.

Check local websites for more information on schedule changes.

Hurricane Ian made landfall in Cuba late Sunday night and left the country in a blackout. It is expected to become a Category 4 hurricane by the time it reaches Florida. Follow local news for storm warnings and calls for evacuation during this potentially catastrophic event.

More Stories:

USA TODAY Sports Super 25 high school football rankings: Week 5

California football coach placed on leave following alleged battery after Friday night game

Oklahoma high school calls upon two girls to help avoid forfeit

Live-Stream High School Football:

NFHS Network

As Hurricane Ian bears down on Florida, Jim Furyk’s PGA Tour Champions event is preparing for any scenario

“Right now we’re going around the course and taking up anything that’s loose.”

JACKSONVILLE, Florida — They’re battening down and getting prepared at the Timuquana Country Club to keep next week’s Constellation Furyk & Friends PGA Tour Champions in play.

While none of the tournament structures such as hospitality areas and bleachers are being taken down, other precautions are being made for the arrival and in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, which is expected to bring tropical-force winds to the First Coast by Thursday morning.

Tournament week is scheduled to begin on Oct. 3 with the Florida Blue Pro-Am, followed by the Jake Owen concert on Oct. 4 at Daily’s Place, two more pro-ams on Oct. 5-6 and the tournament Oct. 7-9.

The tournament field is scheduled to include World Golf Hall of Fame members Ernie Els, Davis Love III, Vijay Singh, Bernhard Langer and Retief Goosen, as well as tournament host Jim Furyk, David Duval and John Daly.

More: Josh Scobee, Jerome Bettis added to Furyk & Friends
More: No Phil but field at Timuquana still loaded with Hall of Famers

“We are doing everything we can to prepare and to clean up after the storm clears out,” said tournament director Adam Renfroe on Tuesday. “We’re confident we have a good plan and we have a full-on team effort going on right now.”

Renfroe said the metal frameworks for the hospitality and food service tents are not being taken down, but the tent flaps are being rolled up and secured to allow wind to get through. He said the manufacturers of the structures have been consulted and they said the frames will be within the tolerances of the current forecast for duration and velocity of the wind.

“We expect the tents to be in good shape, based on the current forecast,” Renfroe said. “Right now we’re going around the course and taking up anything that’s loose.”

Timuquana recently finished a nine-month renovation project that improved, among other things, the irrigation and drainage – a crucial component given the forecast of rain up to 10 inches or more.

Renfroe said two golf-course construction companies, Maccurach Golf and Vallencourt Construction, have already been scheduled to be on-site Saturday to assist the Timuquana Country Club maintenance staff with the cleanup or downed trees and limbs.

Jim Furyk, Mike "Fluff" Cowan
Tournament host Jim Furyk talks with caddie Mike “Fluff” Cowan ahead of the 2021 Constellation Furyk & Friends at the Timuquana Country Club in Jacksonville, Florida. Photo by Bob Self/Florida Times-Union

One of Timuquana’s characteristics is its tall, stately pine trees and oaks but each tropical storm that has come through the First Coast usually topples a few of them.

There is only one function related to the tournament that has been scrubbed, a pre-qualifier for the tournament scheduled for Friday at the Jacksonville Beach Golf Club. It will not be rescheduled. A qualifier for the main draw of the tournament is scheduled for Monday at the TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley.

The First Coast lost one golf tournament in recent years to tropical weather, the 2016 Korn Ferry Tour Championship at the Atlantic Beach Country Club. It was canceled two days before the first round because of Hurricane Matthew.

The Furyk & Friends was also affected by the weather last year when a severe thunderstorm forced the suspension of the first round. It was completed later that day, with no fans on the course, but the weather was flawless on the weekend.

Information on the tournament can be found at furykandfriends.com.

Contact Garry Smits at gsmits@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @GSmitter

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Have the Houston Texans ever had to reschedule games?

The NFL is rescheduling games again due to COVID-19. Have the Houston Texans ever had to reschedule games?

The NFL is back to rescheduling games as they navigate the final four weeks of the regular season amid a COVID-19 outbreak.

The Browns-Raiders Saturday tilt for Week 15 is being moved around to accommodate outbreaks while the same goes for the Seattle Seahawks versus Los Angeles Rams encounter.

The Texans did not have a game moved around last season when the NFL was far more likely to move around games. Teams were playing on Tuesdays and Wednesdays just to get through the entire slate of regular season games.

With the Texans’ inaugural season coming in 2002, have they ever had any games rescheduled?

The answer is yes.

In Week 2 of 2008, the Texans were slated to host the Baltimore Ravens at then-Reliant Stadium for a standard early afternoon Sunday kickoff However, with Hurricane Ike approaching, the league decided to move the game to that Monday. However, damage to the stadium forced the NFL to grant both teams their bye weeks early and tinker with the schedule.

The Texans played their “Week 2” game with Baltimore in Week 10. Of course, the Texans were scheduled to play the Cincinnati Bengals that day, so, the NFL moved the Houston-Cincinnati game to Week 8.

Hurricanes affecting the Texans aren’t unprecedented. In 2017, the Texans were scheduled to play their preseason finale against the Dallas Cowboys on Aug. 31 at NRG Stadium. However, the devastation from Hurricane Harvey made the game unfeasible in Houston. After initially deciding to play the game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the league ultimately canceled the exhibition contest entirely.

Rockets deliver Hurricane Ida relief supplies to Houma, Louisiana

The Rockets, Kroger, and owner Tilman Fertitta’s Golden Nugget Lake Charles Hotel & Casino delivered relief supplies after Hurricane Ida.

The Houston Rockets, Kroger, and the Golden Nugget Lake Charles Hotel & Casino (also owned by team owner Tilman Fertitta) teamed up Thursday to deliver relief supplies to Houma, Louisiana, which was one of the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Ida in late August.

Rockets employees left Toyota Center early Thursday morning and stopped off at the Golden Nugget Lake Charles to pick up more volunteers before proceeding to Houma, which is located an hour southwest of New Orleans.  Kroger transported the supplies from Houston to Houma via an 18-wheeler, and the volunteers handed items out at a distribution event in conjunction with the Red Cross.

“We have seen what it’s like,” said Sarah Joseph, senior director of community relations for the Rockets, from the distribution site. “We know what it’s like, as Houstonians. So to be able to come in and support this community, it means a lot to us. It’s just who we are as an organization. It’s important to the Rockets, and to the Fertitta family.”

Video footage can be viewed below. In order, the featured speakers are Lawrence DeHart, executive director of the Terrebonne Churches United Food Bank; Sarah Joseph, senior director of community relations with the Rockets; and Mike Buckley, operations director for the Golden Nugget Lake Charles. The video concludes with distribution footage.

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