One river, many problems

Located 30 miles west of Cleveland, northeast Ohio’s Black River can be described as both a friend and an enemy — at least that’s how Forest Hills Golf Course superintendent Joe Yourkeiwicz defines it.

The river, which is divided into three branches, is a tributary to Lake Erie. Multiple golf courses reside along those three branches, including Forest Hills, a municipal facility operated by Lorain County Metro Parks.

While the river can bring benefits to these courses, including providing a water source for Forest Hills, Valley of the Eagles and Elyria Country Club, the river also presents issues, most notably in the form of flooding. Weather near Lake Erie is unpredictable, and the river can crest at any moment.

“You just hope you don’t have a bad flood, but you have no control,” Yourkeiwicz says. “You don’t know when it’s coming, you just have to be prepared.”

Valley of the Eagles, a Nicklaus Design daily-fee facility on the main branch of the river, has experienced its share of flooding and significant damage. July 2021 brought damage superintendent Sean Brennan had never encountered.

After rainfall and minor flooding on July 17, Brennan arrived at work on July 18 to find the 14th hole island green gone. Numerous greens were completely underwater, and damage to the course was visible all along the river side.

“Your training kicks in,” he says. “All those guys that I worked for instilled certain things in me, and what they really instilled in me is how to identify what is most important at the place you're working. And so, I identified here, the first thing when we have storms, because we have every cart path, is make sure the golfer is going to get through. The first thing you do is check the bridges, check the cart path. Next thing you do is worry about putting greens.”

Although the course has a drainage system that flows into the river, the river will sometimes flood back through the drains, making flood recovery more difficult. To counteract the water damage, Brennan focuses on developing strong turfgrass.

“The only thing that works, in my opinion for the flowing problem, is a healthy fibrous root system of turfgrasses, perennial turfgrasses,” he says. “So anywhere that we have time to fully develop a stand of turf, that area generally will be OK.”

After 30 years of working with the river, Elyria Country Club superintendent Patrick Rodgers has mastered how it works. For him, patience is key.

Due to the location of multiple greens, when floods are minor, water avoids taking over the surfaces. Elyria Country Club has a formal drainage system, so Rodgers and his crew’s main goal is to let the system drain the water and then clean up the ensuing damage.

“Once the water goes up, there’s not much we can do,” he says. “You can just sit back and wait, wait for it to get ready, and then once the water goes away, you can get on it. You have at it and fix it.”

Although the courses are within 15 minutes of each other, the river impacts each in a different way.

Valley of the Eagles is impacted by shale — a rock formed from mud. The shale proves to be the heaviest substance to move, making it the most difficult remnant the river leaves behind. Brennan and his team have learned to use the shale for the benefit of the course. They treat the shale as potting mix to grow the property’s flowers.

Forest Hills’ biggest issue is silt — a fine sand and clay sediment mixture. “Get rid of the silt,” Yourkeiwicz says. “That’s the biggest problem. You have to be ready once it recedes, to get rid of the silt, wash it off. It’s a big problem for us.”

Forest Hills had a drainage system before Yourkeiwicz joined the team. The system allows the water to be removed from the course quicker. The course’s cart paths sit six feet below their original height due to silt buildup, Yourkeiwicz says.

Designed by Golden Age architecture great William Flynn, Elyria Country Club, located just two minutes north of Forest Hills, also deals with silt issues. Elyria Country Club and Forest Hills are on the east branch of the river. The silt Rodgers encounters is minor compared to other courses.

“I don’t feel like we have a huge silt problem with the river,” Rodgers says. “I've seen other courses like Kirtland Country Club (on Cleveland’s East Side), when they were flooded with inches of mud. We typically don’t get that. It’s amazing looking back at the architecture from over 100 years ago when they built this place. Most of the time when we flood, the greens aren’t underwater. Everything else is. But somehow, some way, the greens are in the right spot and don’t end up underwater.”

While the river presents maintenance challenges, it also offers benefits, none bigger than its role as a water source.

“We do not pay for water, which is obviously a big expense for some golf courses,” Rodgers says.

“Right now, it’s my friend,” Yourkeiwicz adds. “There is a drought period, I pumped 4 million gallons of water out of it to fill my pond up. I got plenty of water to do what I need to do.”

The Black River also enhances aesthetics and golfer strategy at all three courses. The river hugs the east side of Elyria Country Club’s property. It affects strategy — and offers serenity — along the 13th, 15th and 16th holes. “Beauty has its price,” Rodgers says.

The river has a similar impact at Valley of the Eagles. When a golfer steps on the 13th and 14th tee boxes and looks left, the river dominates sight lines. Ducks may be floating nearby, and if lucky, a golfer might spot an eagle or an osprey. The river also affects strategy on the first and 18th holes, while the elevated second and 11th tees present terrific views of the waterway.

“The river is a big draw for sure,” Brennan says. “And when it’s just right, when the river is flowing by 14 and is making an island out of 14 green, that’s the best day. We all stand there and we’re like, ‘Man, why can’t it just be like this all the time? Instead, it’s got to be feast or famine, no water or way too much.”

The river has allowed maintenance workers and superintendents who work along the river to learn to work together and form friendships. “We’re going to start an organization: The Black River Superintendent Organization” Brennan says.

The superintendents often message each other about the river height, incoming weather and more. “It’s moral support more than anything. ‘Hey, how you doing? What do you need? How’s it going? How’d you manage this problem?’” Yourkeiwicz says. “Some guys do things differently, ‘Did you vent the green? Did you vent the fairways?’”

Keeping a team motivated after consistent damage from flooding can be tough, but superintendents have found ways to cope with the challenge. At Forest Hills, where the river abuts the fourth tee and can be spotted on multiple holes, the beauty of the course, when it’s clear, motivates the crew, Yourkeiwicz says.

For Rodgers, helping his crew understand the river’s activities are out of their control helps keep them alert and ready to work.

“It’s not your fault,” he says. “There’s nothing you can do about it. Your only job now is to clean it up. And we start dumping 15 tons of sand into a fairway because the river washes it out of a bunker. Yeah, that’s a lot of shoveling, and it definitely is challenging to keep seasonal guys, and guys who this really isn’t their life motivation to clean it up, because it's a process.”

Kelsie Horner is Golf Course Industry’s assistant editor.