MISSOULA — Last week’s devastating storm knocked over hundreds of trees across all of Missoula’s golf courses.
Linda Vista Golf Course Superintendent Jon Schmautz detailed the extent of the storm damage.
“This is pretty devastating stuff for all of the golf courses here in, in the area.” Schmauts said. “We all lost massive amounts of trees and it's gonna cost thousands and thousands of dollars and nobody knows exactly what it's gonna cost for all of us and it's just, you know, we got plush golf courses and it devastated all of them.”
Since that day, people at the courses have been working tirelessly to open them back up.
Nick Marquesen from Missoula Country Club says club members and other golf courses helped immediately with the cleanup.
“It's just a team effort and I know that we're just a small part of this town and this town has taken it and so the effort I've seen in this town from our members, our friends just helping everybody out has brought people together and I think that's an amazing thing.”
Missoula Country Club lost trees that were over 100 years old during the storm and Marquesen says the course will never be the same, but they will recover.
“This course continues to change. Mother Nature proves that she's always in charge and she likes to remind us that every once in a while. Marquesen said. “So we're going to move forward, it's the only thing we can do and we'll make the place better than it ever was. It's sad, but we can't go backward.”
The people at Linda Vista Golf Course have also been working hard to re-open their course and Schmautz is grateful for the work his clubhouse workers and other employees have put in, to help with the effort to re-open the course to the public.
“Taking care of ours it's kind of sad. I mean, this is our place that, everybody else that comes out and enjoys it and it's been an emotional time for all of us," Schmautz told MTN.
Missoula Country Club hopes to open its full golf course next week and Linda Vista plans to open Wednesday, July 31.
