GOLF:

 ST. ANDREWS SOUTH GOLF CLUB

Arbor days at St. Andrews

Golf course replacing trees lost in hurricane

By JASON ELEK ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

    PUNTA GORDA — St. Andrews South Golf Club was nearly wiped off the map when Hurricane Charley blew through the area in 2004.
    The clubhouse was torn to shreds. Parts of its roof were found embedded in nearby fairways. Trees were scattered across the course — a total of 570 were lost to the hurricane.
    Since then, the clubhouse has been reconstructed, but the majority of the course’s trees are still missing.
    “This is a great course,” said Chairman of Greens and Grounds J.C. Marchitello. “But without trees, it’s like a sundae without the cherry on top.”
    Thanks to an ongoing fundraising campaign and a team with a plan, the club is well on its way to replacing those trees.
    No. 7, the signature hole at St. Andrews, boasts a fresh quartet of geiger trees near its tee box, and a brand new black olive flanks the green at No. 12. In all, nearly 50 trees have been planted since fundraising began about six months ago.
    The replacement process is not as simple as it may seem. Because of the high salt content in the soil on the course, the selection of trees that are able to grow on the tract is limited. But Marchitello’s crew of Hans Wenger, Jack Sanner and Gail Johnson narrowed the field down to seven — mahogany, geiger, areca palm, cabbage/sabal palm, fox tail palm, black olive and southern red cedar.
    Dave Kneski, the St. Andrews groundskeeper since 1987, and his crew have the unenviable task of actually putting the trees in the ground.
    “We have 21 trees coming in soon — red cedar and mahogany — so we’ll be planting those next,” said Kneski.
    The crew also has to make sure the newly planted trees stay alive, which can be a chore when the current drought conditions combine with the high salt content in the water from the aquifer that is used to irrigate the course.
    The fundraising effort culminates with a tournament and dinner Oct. 6.
    You can e-mail Jason Elek at jelek@sun-herald.com.

SUN PHOTO BY SARAH COWARD, scoward@sun-herald.com 
Newly planted yellow and orange geiger trees festoon the No. 7 tee box at St. Andrews South Golf Club in Punta Gorda.