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Nancy Berkley is President of Berkley Consultant and is an industry expert on growing the women's golf segment and the author of "Women Welcome Here! A Guide to Growing Women's Golf (available from www.ngf.org). She also reviews courses for "The Golf Insider" a golf and travel newsletter. Florida is the most popular golf vacation state in the U.S. and Nancy reports on her observations of post-hurricane Florida. Watch for her Ladies Golf Journey stories on Colorado and New Zealand golf. Golfers have a love-hate relationship with trees. We curse them when they are in our way, but we love their beauty. So it is with much sadness that we report the loss of tens of thousands of trees on Florida golf courses in the path of hurricanes Frances and Jeanne. On the five courses at PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens (a particularly hard-hit area) over 1400 trees were damaged and removed an average of about 15 trees on each fairway. In addition to the trees that were permanently damaged and hauled away, hundreds of others have been propped back up and re-staked with the hope that they will root and blossom again. On some fairways, so many trees are staked, that it resembles a gallery of stick-figures. Further north in the Orlando area, the one-year old Greg Norman design at the Ritz Carleton Golf Club - Grande Lakes built along a natural forest and lake preserve lost many of its feature, native trees. Replacement trees of comparable size and beauty are not only difficult to find, but also challenging to replant. The size and weight of the trees prohibits bringing them over the course by truck so they will be flown in by helicopter. Bunkers also suffered contamination as water collected and sub-soil seeped up into the sand. In restoring its course, Grand Lakes is adding an additional bunker liner to prevent future damage. Hurricanes are quirky. Some courses came through the hurricanes with little damage. Ocean Hammock, for example, south of St. Augustine in Palm Coast, Florida, a Jack Nicklaus design with several holes directly along the ocean faired very well and lost only 30 or 40 trees. It never even looked like a hurricane came through here. reported its pro shop. Championsgate in Orlando, another new Greg Norman design just a few miles away from the Ritz Carleton was also lucky. Its International Course features links-type golf with fewer trees and the extensive drainage system (a municipal requirement) prevented water from collecting on the fairways. The good news is that all the hurricane-damaged courses are open and welcoming golfers some with better rates than in previous holiday seasons. Also on the brighter side, John Lee, Director of Golf Course Maintenance for PGA National courses and a witness to previous hurricanes Andrew and Hugo said It's not all bad trees are down, but in some places we needed more sunshine on the turf. A golfer's optimism is unlimited. For more information, contact
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