The devastating destruction left behind by Hurricane Helene on Augusta National has been laid bare by shocking new drone footage.
The home of the Masters was hit by the catastrophic hurricane that swept through the southeastern United States at the end of last month, leaving behind unfathomable damage to millions of Americans.
The infamous golf course fell victim to the 130mph gusts, leaving the usually-pristine grounds of the notoriously-private club in disarray.
Two weeks later – and six months until the biggest names in golf make their way down Magnolia Lane – fresh footage shows the iconic undulating fairways still in tatters.
As the drone flies over the fabled Amen Corner, as many as five felled trees can be seen strewn along the course with some even infringing on the usually immaculate fairways of golf’s most famous course.
Shocking new drone footage has laid bare the devastating destruction to Augusta National
As the drone flies over the fabled Amen Corner, many trees lay strewn across the fairways
In other shots, tee boxes look to have narrowly avoided demolition after the massive trunks of Augusta’s emblematic pines came crashing down around the spots where the sport’s biggest stars will begin their bids to slip into the Green Jacket in April.
Meanwhile, in other photos Augusta’s 16th hole – the legendary home of Tiger Woods’ celebrated chip-in in 2005 – lies in ruination.
The Par-3 is said to be ‘wrecked’ with two fallen trees seen sprawled across Redbud’s bunker-bordered sloping green and the hole’s frontside water trap a muddied-brown color.
After shocking imagery in the immediate aftermath of Helene previously showed Magnolia Lane completely disheveled with tree trunks blocking the famous entryway to the clubhouse, Augusta announced that it was ‘assessing the damage.’
Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley later provided a key update on the major tournament, insisting the battle for the Green Jacket will go ahead.
‘The Masters will be held, [and] it will be on the dates it’s scheduled to be held,’ he insisted during a press conference at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Japan earlier this month.
The Masters is slated to be held on April 10-13 when World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will defend his title.
Augusta National closed in May for its annual summer break and had been due to reopen in mid-October.
Tee boxes look to have narrowly avoided demolition after the iconic pines came crashing down
Augusta’s par-3 16th lies in ruination with two trees sprawled across its sloping green
Ridley confirmed that the iconic undulating fairways of the infamous Georgia course had sustained ‘a lot of damage.’
‘We have been without power and water and other essentials for a number of days,’ Ridley said. ‘So it really does impress upon you what can happen when there’s a natural disaster such as that.
‘As far as the golf course, it really was affected just as the rest of the community was … there was a lot of damage and we have a lot of people working hard to get us back up and running.’
Ridley shifted his attention to the wider community after Augusta National announced Thursday that it had donated $5million to the Hurricane Helene Community Crisis Fund.
‘We’ve had literally dozens of people working at the club, and what I really have been most proud of is while everyone certainly is focused on getting us up, back and running, our employees have been so focused on the community at large,’ Ridley said.
‘We’ve been able to take care of our employees, but we’ve also been focused on what the Red Cross and other organizations are doing in Augusta, and our employees really have been a big part of that, which I think really speaks for them and the culture at the club.’
After the devastating storm, the rebuild begins not only at Augusta National but also for millions of Americans impacted by the catastrophe.
Helene’s high winds and flooding killed more than 230 people, making it the deadliest hurricane to strike the US since Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico in 2017.
The grounds of Augusta are usually a picture of peace and tranquility (pictured in April 2023)
The Masters is still set to go ahead on April 10-13 when Scottie Scheffler will defend his title
PGA Tour cult icon John Daly was one of the many Americans hit by the catastrophic effects of the hurricane that swept through the USA.
The professional golfer revealed his home in the Sunshine State, along with the properties of other family members, was completely wiped out by the historic hurricane.
‘It’s devastating,’ Daly told PGATour.com while attending a PGA Tour Champions event in Timiquana Country Club in Jacksonville in early October.
‘It’s the worst I’ve ever seen. I hope everyone gets safe and gets their homes back. My heart just goes out to everybody.’
‘We’re going to have lost three, maybe four,’ he said of his and his family’s homes.
‘I just haven’t even gone back into mine,’ he added. ‘I restructured it, fixed it up. Hadn’t been in it for two years; got all the stuff in there and then its all gone.’
