ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Wrapping two years with its new operators, golfers said the historic Asheville Municipal Golf Course was looking better than it had in a decade. The city was nearing completion on multimillion dollar capital improvements — restoring fairways, bunkers, cart paths and greens across its 18 holes, along with substantial stormwater repairs.
After Tropical Storm Helene lashed Western North Carolina Sept. 27, the Swannanoa River, which runs alongside the course, crested at more than 26 feet, spilling from its banks and engulfing whole areas of the city.
Chris Corl, whose department oversees the course, said the water poured down through the surrounding neighborhood. It geysered up from the inlet drains, hitting walls of floodwater, left with nowhere else to go. The front nine holes were almost completely inundated as stormwater burbled up through the irrigation system, pulling the course apart from below.
View looking across the destroyed Asheville Municipal Golf Course with the Manna Food Bank at left along Swannanoa River Road in East Asheville. Photo taken on October 2, 2024
When waters receded, it left behind downed trees, debris, powerlines and multiple feet of silt. Improvements to the front nine were largely undone by the storm, Corl said — about one-third to a half of the overall work. The city estimates roughly $7 million in needed repairs.
The course, affectionately known as “Muni,” was designed by Hall of Fame golf architect Donald Ross and opened for play in 1927. It remains the last “affordable” public fee course in Asheville and is home to Skyview Golf Tournament, the longest running professional tournament in the country owned and operated by Black residents, which held its 64th annual tournament in July.
‘Incredible damage’
Corl had a heads up before he surveyed the damage. But it didn’t entirely soften the blow.
“It was a lot worse than I expected, I’ll say that,” Corl said.
The back nine escaped the worst of the damage and reopened for play Oct. 28. The view from the lush green of the open holes to the devastation of the front nine is jarring — contrasting sharply with the dusty, tree-strewn desolation beyond.
Asheville Municipal Golf Course front nine holes are not open for play on Nov. 7, 2024 due to damage from Tropical Storm Helene that came through in September. The back nine are open for the public to play on. This small portion along Fairway Drive had just a small area untouched.
Phil Miles, 76, a regular Muni golfer who before Helene played weekly, was back at the course for the first time Nov. 7. He was out of town when the storm reached WNC, and said even from afar, watching the devastation was “heartbreaking.”
Back at the Muni, he was left wondering at the “incredible, incredible damage.”
“You couldn’t recognize anything,” he said of his return to the course. “Where the seventh hole used to be, there was nothing.”
Across the Muni’s 122 acres, 103 trees were down, about 4.5 percent of the total count, many of them large hardwoods, Corl said. A building housing bathrooms near hole five was swept away. The river had picked up cart paths and moved them, creating new channels, dislodging and depositing massive amounts of rock, trees, buildings and earth.
“I know there’s some people who have lost their homes and lost their lives, and that’s certainly a lot worse than just a golf course going. But it’s a place that, basically, we called home,” Miles said. He and friends golfed there every Monday, “and all of sudden, it’s not there anymore.”
Downed trees, branches, dirt and sand cover a large portion of Asheville Municipal Golf Course front nine holes on Nov. 7, 2024 due to damage from Tropical Storm Helene that came through in September. The back nine are open for the public to play on.
Possible debris site?
The damage to the front nine was so extensive, that in October it was approved by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality as a temporary debris processing site. Following some pushback from residents, much of it centered around another debris site near the Deaverview public housing complex, the city said the site would be “deactivated,” and only used if needed.
The city has since announced several other debris sites that are being actively utilized. No debris has been brought to the golf course as of Nov. 1, Corl said.
Part of Swannanoa River Road is washed up on Asheville Municipal Golf Course front nine holes on Nov. 7, 2024 due to damage from Tropical Storm Helene that came through in September. The front nine are closed for play but back nine are open.
Timeline?
There’s no current timeline for repairs to the course after Helene’s damage, Corl said. His department is working with a contractor hired by the city to move through the FEMA process, determine what funding might be available and how to fill any gaps.
To golfers out in the community, he just asks for patience.