It's been several weeks since Glen Abbey, one of Ontario's most famous golf courses, was hit with severe flooding. Those heavy rains back in July closed more than half of the holes for almost a week. Read more here: 'Most of the course is under water': Glen Abbey Golf Club closed due to flooding Though the damage was extensive, Oakville's Glen Abbey Golf Club reopened for 18 holes almost a week to the day that the club's valley (featuring holes 11-15 on the course) was underwater.
Oakville News reporters had the opportunity to sit down with Allan Huibers, Glen Abbey's director of operations, who has worked at the course for 15 years. He walked us through the steps taken to recover from the flooding and reopen the course so quickly. Due to Sixteen Mile Creek running through the course, flooding is a regular occurrence at Glen Abbey Golf Club.
Huibers says the course staff is accustomed to managing flooding, especially during the spring. When the water began to hit the course, staff started preparing for flooding as they normally would - but they quickly realized something about this water wasn't usual. "The difference with this flooding was that we had Wednesday after Wednesday after Wednesday of severe rainfall and with that happening there was nowhere for the water from the Monday and Tuesday to go," said Huibers.
"This one took longer to recede, that was the issue," he continued. "You think you know what you need to do, but you don't really know what you need to do complete.