Overcoming the effects of a single major weather event might be enough of an experience to last a lifetime for many superintendents. But in just three years at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Chris Ortmeier has experienced not one, but two 500-year flood events. The second hardship came in the way of Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall in southeastern Texas on Aug. 25, 2017, then stalled over land and dumped rain on Houston for several days.
By the time the rain had stopped, Harvey had dumped 34 inches in five days at the golf course, where 95 of 150 acres were submerged under as much as 15 feet of water. Near the pump house, water was up to the eaves of the roof, and boat was the best way to navigate the course.It was a similar scene a year earlier when 15 inches of rain fell in a single day in Houston in April 2016, causing businesses and schools to close. By the time Ortmeier and his crew dealt with the effects of Harvey, they had the course back open for play 12 days after the rain had stopped.
"The good thing about Harvey was that by then we had refined the process of dealing with a flood," said the 33-year-old Ortmeier.
"As a superintendent, I am always looking forward. But looking back at what we've overcome, we did overcome some rather difficult things. So much of what we've accomplished is due to the hard work of the entire team here."
For the way he and his crew were able to spring into action and have things back to normal at Champions, Ortmeier was named a finalist for the 2017 Superintendent of the Year Award, presented by Syngenta.
Other finalists include Jorge Croda of Southern Oaks Golf Club in Burleson, Texas, Mark Hoban of Rivermont Golf Club in Johns Creek, Georgia, Josh Pope of The Old White Course at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia and Rick Tegtmeier of Des Moines Golf and Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa.
The winner of the 18th annual award will be named at 2 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Syngenta booth during this year's Golf Industry Show in San Antonio and will receive a trip for two and a week of free golf on the TurfNet members trip to Ireland in October, courtesy of Syngenta.
"He has been forced to deal with the unthinkable flooding as a result of Hurricane Harvey. Chris guided his crews to bring all 36 holes back to member play quicker than anyone in the area," said Champions Club member Kyle Krahenbuhl in nominating Ortmeier for superintendent of the year. "Someone visiting the club for a round would not believe there had even been a storm event if not for the mountains of flooring and drywall removed from the devastated homes bordering the outside of the course which still remain piled for removal on the city streets. Chris's leadership in the days and weeks following Hurricane Harvey cannot be overstated."
Founded in the late 1950s by professional golfers Jack Burke Jr. and Jimmy Demaret, the Champions Club has a long history of excellence and major championship golf. The 36-hole facility was the site of the 1967 Ryder Cup Matches and the 1969 U.S. Open, the LPGA's Nabisco Championship in 1990 and on five occasions was the home to the Tour Championship (1990, '97, '99, '01, '03).
The club had the chance to take center stage again when, within days after Ortmeier and his team had the Cypress Creek Course opened and ready for play, club officials approached him about hosting the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur in Oct. 7-12 - just 44 days after reopening in the wake of a 500-year flood. The tournament originally was to be played at Quail Creek Club in Naples, Florida, but was moved after that area was affected by Hurricane Irma.
The request came straight from Jack Burke's wife, Robin, who was runner-up in the 1997 U.S. Women's Amateur, played on the 1998 U.S. Curtis Cup team and captained the squad in 2016.
"My first thought was why not move it to a place that didn't have a hurricane. The course in Florida had one and we had just had one of our own," Ortmeier said. "It was important to her to help out the USGA, so I told her 'let's figure out a way to get it done.' It seemed insurmountable at the time, but it turned out better than I ever could have projected to be honest. I'm glad we were able to pull it off."