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Flooding in the desert? Wildfires on Maui?
It all seems so improbable.
Unfortunately, prime golf destinations throughout the western United States and Canada have been hit hard by natural disasters in August alone. Deadly wildfires, flooding and Hurricane Hilary have wreaked havoc upon Maui, southern California, Palm Springs and British Columbia, closing courses and causing local communities to shift their priorities away from teeing it up.
Although the wildfire that destroyed the town of Lahaina didn't directly damage any Maui golf courses, the golf industry on the island will suffer. Tourists have been canceling visits and many of the courses have closed anyway to allow their staff and members to concentrate on volunteering to help aid the hundreds of homeless, grieving victims. Some of the region's top hotels and resorts are housing displaced residents and won't reopen to guests until October. The search for missing people is ongoing.
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Along the west coast, Hurricane Hilary brought record rainfall to many communities in southern California, but much of its wrath was focused on Palm Springs. National Weather Service meteorologist Richard Thompson told The Daily Mail that the storm dumped 4.3 inches of rain in 24 hours in Palm Springs - nearly a typical year's total. He added that Hilary was the first tropical storm to make landfall in SoCal since Sept. 25, 1939.
Courses, communities and roads flooded, causing varying degrees of destruction. If there is a silver lining for this snowbird community, it's that the high season for tourism doesn't start until November/ December, allowing several months to get back to normal.
Up north across the border, Kelowna is one of Canada's best summer golf destinations, an outpost where vineyards and golf courses flourish. The McDougall Creek fire is currently raging west of Okanagan Lake. Two courses closest to the fire - Shannon Lake and Two Eagles - both closed last weekend as a precaution and because of the poor air quality, as have several courses on the opposite side of the lake. The Lake Okanagan Resort, which includes a nine-hole, par-3 course on the western shores of the lake, has reportedly suffered significant damage.
Wildfires are also whipping up surrounding Spokane in Washington state, according to the BBC and USA Today. Spokane features one of America's best muni golf scenes. Nearby, across state lines in Idaho, the Ridge Creek fire is burning 4,000-plus acres near Coeur d'Alene, home to two popular golf resorts - Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort Hotel and Coeur d'Alene Resort - and several exclusive private clubs.
The moral of this story? Travel insurance is almost becoming a necessity if you're planning an upcoming golf vacation. Calling off a trip and losing countless deposits and paying cancellation fees could really sting. You never know what golf paradise might come into conflict with Mother Nature next.
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