Augusta National Assessing Damage To Golf Club After ‘Catastrophic’ Hurricane Helene

Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley says the golf club is “assessing the effects” of Hurricane Helene, which has caused havoc across the southeastern United States.

In the early hours of Friday morning, Florida's Big Bend region was hit by its most powerful storm on record, with rain and winds of up to 70mph causing trees to fall, leaving many homes damaged and without power, and reportedly killing at least 42 people.

Augusta in Georgia, home to Augusta National which hosts the Masters every year, was one of the areas severely hit by the storm on Friday , with more than 200,000 residents reportedly without power.

Augusta National boss Ridley said the impact on the golf club is being assessed and offered his “thoughts and prayers” to the community impacted by the storm.

“Our Augusta community has suffered catastrophic and historic impact from Hurricane Helene,” Ridley said in a statement. “We currently are assessing the effects at Augusta National Golf Club.

“In the meantime, our focus and efforts are foremost with our staff, neighbors and business owners in Augusta. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as well as everyone throughout Georgia and the Southeast who have been affected.”

The extent of the damage to Augusta National is still unknown, but images shared on social media showed fallen trees on Washington Road, on which the golf club is situated, while a video on X appeared to show an overflowing Rae’s Creek – which flows close to the 11th and 12th holes at Augusta National.

First responders reported that houses, cars and roads in the Augusta area suffered damage from fallen trees.

At the 2023 Masters, strong winds caused three trees near the par-3 16th at Augusta National to fall near spectators during the second round, causing play to be suspended for the day.

Augusta National is scheduled to host the 89th Masters in April next year.