TPC Louisiana reopens after two-month closure caused by Hurricane Ida

TPC Louisiana, host of the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, reopened after damage from Hurricane Ida forced the club to close on Aug. 31, 2021.

The eye of the hurricane was approximately 15 miles from the club, which forced maximum winds of 120 miles per hour. Shortly after the storm passed, TPC Louisiana staff immediately went onsite to assess damage to the property and begin the recovery process.

“The facility experienced significant tree damage in the wake of Hurricane Ida. We are thankful for the swift actions of our staff to remove all the debris and to get the course back into peak condition for our November 1st reopening,” TPC Louisiana general manager Luke Farabaugh said. “Plenty of work remains as we plan to replant hundreds of trees over the next year to restore many of the damaged wooded areas.”

Notable Hurricane Ida damage to TPC Louisiana included:

• Approximately 150 large Bald Cypress trees and hundreds of oak, magnolia and other trees were toppled or snapped in half.
• Four buildings onsite had roof and interior damage from wind and wind-driven rain.
• The 105-foot Bald Cypress tree in the 11th fairway that was 90 yards in front of the green was uprooted and fell across the fairway.

Approximately 12-plus inches of rain fell during the storm as Ida made landfall as a strong Category 4 hurricane at 1 p.m. on Aug. 29.  The date was the 16-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. TPC Louisiana staff and several contractors cleared course debris and removed the tree damage prior to reopening. The club will be replanting trees over the next 16 months to replace much of the tree damage.

The 2022 Zurich Classic of New Orleans is April 21-24.