North-east golf clubs are counting the cost of damage caused by Storm Arwen last week.
Ellon McDonald, Hazlehead, Portlethen, Edzell, Forfar, Newmachar and Westhill were among the courses affected after thousands of trees throughout the area were uprooted.
Some courses are still shut until the safety of golfers is assured.
Ellon captain Stewart MacLeod said: “There are more than 100 trees down in the McDonald Woods, which are in the centre of our back nine course.
“Although the majority are not impacting on our course, several trees are blocking access areas and forced us to close last week.
“The McDonald Woods and our back nine are managed by the club and Aberdeenshire Council and we are meeting this week to risk assess.
“Several trees did come down on our front nine, but the damage has been cleared by our greenstaff.”
David Fleming, captain of Portlethen, said: “Sadly, we’ve suffered considerable damage.
“I walked the course the following day and counted 40 to 50 trees down, but course manager Neil Sadler later accounted for 163 trees which were either down or damaged.
“We were fortunate to get the help of contractors to quickly make the course safe and we have 15 holes open, with the 12th, 13th and 14th still closed.”
More than 50 Newmachar members have been clearing debris on the Hawkshill course.
Newmachar greens convener David Forsyth said: “We’re thankful to our volunteers, who have been working at the 12 affected holes, and we are hoping to have the course open again by the end of the week.
“Fortunately, the Swailend course is still open for play.”
Two greens at Westhill were affected by adjacent falling trees.
Captain Alan McCue said: “Most of our damage was done by falling trees. We estimate that about 200 trees have either fallen or will require removal.
“Large quantities of debris did land on some greens, although there has been no major impact on them.
“We were fortunate to have volunteers who helped the greenstaff tidy up in a bid to get the course playable again.”
Hazlehead courses closed until further notice
More than 150 fallen trees forced the closure of the two 18-hole Hazlehead courses.
The MacKenzie Championship and Hazlehead Pines are expected to be out of action until recovery work is undertaken.
A Golf Aberdeen sportsperson said: “There is a significant amount of clear-up work required.
“We would urge local walkers to be mindful of hanging trees that haven’t fully fallen but are damaged.”
Forfar was one of the severest hit with the course expected to be closed until next year.
Club manager John Rankin said: “Most of our holes have trees blown over on to fairways or greens.
“We estimate 300 to 400 trees are down or needing to be felled.
“We will need to heavy machinery after we receive a felling licence and insurer permission.
“The course will remain closed until 2022, which is obviously not ideal for member and visitor income.”
Edzell suffered major damage at the seventh, eighth and ninth holes, but later managed to have 14 holes open for play.
Recovery work is expected to take some time and the club is in discussions with a local contractor to assist.
Fraserburgh suffered damage to their lounge roof, which has since been repaired.
Graham grabs hole-in-one at Alliance event
Murcar Links member Graham Thom aced his tee-shot at the 164-yard 16th hole at Montrose during the North-east Alliance.
Graham used a six-iron when partnering Craibstone’s John Kennedy and Deeside pair Adrian Blake and Ian Jack.
Meanwhile, entries are being accepted for the Aberdeenshire Coast Links Championship next year.
The competition, from October 4-6, will be played at Cruden Bay, Royal Aberdeen and Trump International.
The cost of £469 includes bacon rolls and tea/coffee ahead of the first two venues and of a two-course prize-giving dinner at Trump International.
For more details, email Sean Coyle at sean@southportcoastchampionship.co.uk.
