Sanibel Island Golf Club takes a beating from Hurricane Ian

Using the word "trashed" has become something Drew Donnelly, the owner of the Sanibel Island Golf Club, finds himself saying a lot more since Sept. 28.

That is the day Hurricane Ian slammed into Southwest Florida and turned places like his popular golf club upside down.

Irrigation system?

"Trashed," Donnelly said.

Golf carts?

"Trashed," he said.

Clubhouse?

Yes. That is also trashed.

Golf courses and how they made out after Hurricane Ian's Category 4 storm force are not very high on the list of concerns in the communities that have suffered greatly in the almost two and a half weeks since the storm hit.

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But for people like Donnelly, who owns the business and for his employees, the impact has been devastating.

With no access to the island other than by boat — until this Friday when there will be re-entry for residents and business owners — Donnelly and his team have had to get rides on a boat in order to start the recovery process.

Fortunately, he has a friend he used to work with him at The Sanctuary Golf Club, also on Sanibel, who owns a fishing charter business. His name is Capt. Jason Miller. He owns Reel Therapy Charters.

"Jason has been like a God send for us," Donnelly said. "He picks us up every day and takes us over. We give him a little money but it's not what he could be making. He's donating his time."

Beyond the obvious of what the hurricane caused, there's the not so obvious and what's next for businesses on Sanibel.

Donnelly said his golf courses is one of the few places on Sanibel with "open spaces" and right now there is a certain amount of value to that during the recovery process. All of the debris has to go somewhere, and not just his debris.

He said he met with the Sanibel city manager and attorney Sunday. He has agreed to let the city use the golf course land for debris management, designating holes 1, 10 and 11 for that purpose. Donnelly admitted it will slow the process of re-opening the course. There is still a chance other pieces of the property will be used for other companies for staging purposes.

"I might have to rent out holes," Donnelly said, half jokingly.

Even with these short-term challenges, Donnelly said his goal is to have nine holes opens for play by Jan. 1, realizing there will be few tourists looking to play.

Donnelly came to Southwest Florida from Michigan. He lives in Cape Coral. He has owned the Sanibel Island Golf Club for a decade. Running the golf club is a family business. Donnelly's wife and two sons work with him.

Before its names was changed, the Sanibel Island Club was known as Beachview. What is now the back nine was built in 1975 and the front nine opened in 1983. The course is semi-private but Donnelly said "the only way I know how to roll is to treat everyone like they're a member at a private club."

When the storm was coming toward Southwest Florida, Donnelly had no idea he'd been pushing mud out of the pro shop been dealing with for almost three weeks would be the result.

"They talk about storm surge every time there is hurricane  and it has never happens, so yes, I was shocked when I got to Sanibel," Donnelly said. "It looked way different on the ground than it did from the aerial shots. There is so much random debris piled up from where the water stopped pushing it. An like everyone else I kick myself for not doing something simple like bringing my computer to the house."

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Sanibel Island Golf Club in recovery mode after Hurricane Ian