Valhalla Damaged By Ike

I wondered yesterday if Hurricane Ike would have any effect on the Valhalla golf course. Apparently it did, but not significant.

Preparations for next week’s Ryder Cup were temporarily halted on Sunday as the remnants of Hurricane Ike swept across much of Kentucky.

Winds gusting up to 90 kph blew a television tower on to the 12th green at Valhalla Golf Club, causing minor damage, and the on-course media centre was closed as a safety precaution.

“The wind has had an effect on other items on the course but we do not yet have a full account,” tournament director Kerry Haigh told Reuters. “We will have to wait for the wind to die down before we can make a full assessment.

“We have kept everyone on the course safe and the media centre is closed for the protection of the few people who are still setting things up there.”

Asked about the damage to the 12th green, Haigh replied: “The television tower behind the green was blown over on to the green and caused a couple of small indentations which have already been corrected and repaired.”

Golf.Com has a gallery showing some of the damage. From the photos, Ike mostly seems to have made a mess of the tournament infrastructure.