“Within 15 minutes, the lake that the course is built around rose by 3.6 metres,” said Christian Guzy Jr, owner-representative at Diamond Country Club, near Vienna, Austria.
Days of heavy rain had led to catastrophic flooding across a large swathe of central Europe in September 2024, and when the nearby River Perschling burst through a dam, the club was powerless to stop a torrent of water headed its way.
Much of Diamond’s 18-hole championship course and the Boathouse, the club’s popular lakeside restaurant, was submerged, leaving Christian and his family wondering how they would ever recover.
“I was sat with my mum and girlfriend on a table in the Boathouse watching the water rush in,” recalled Christian. “I didn’t want to leave, but the fire brigade gave us no choice as it wasn’t safe. At that point we had no idea how high the water would get.
“Thankfully in the clubhouse the water came no higher than the cellar, and at the hotel it ended up just 5cm from the front door. It was 70cm deep in the Boathouse though, and on the course we had some low points that were seven metres under water.”
Damage Assessment
When Christian returned four days after the initial flooding – and even more rain – he was cautiously optimistic.
“Although it was a shock to see, we knew the water had to go away eventually,” he explained. “We spoke to other clubs who had experienced flooding on parts of their courses to get some advice.
“They stressed the importance of sweeping away the mud, as the water had flooded over many fields before it reached Diamond Country Club, so it was very brown and dirty. However, as there was still so much ground water, it would be some time before we could even start doing that.”
Team spirit
The following weekend, around 100 volunteers turned up wanting to help – indicative of the close-knit community on which the club is based.
“The response of our members was unbelievable,” said Christian. “It made us very proud and was a highlight in an otherwise very difficult situation.
“One couple who came along to help had never been members but their child was in our youth programme about 10 years ago. They were so taken by the spirit that they both signed up for full membership despite not knowing when the course could be played on again. It was an incredible moment.
“However, in spite of a great team of volunteers, there was so little we could do until the water was gone – which came in the form of a huge pump we borrowed from a local company that took a lot of the water away and lowered the lake level.”
Planning the comeback
The Austrian government had pledged to provide compensation for the broken dam and the insurers were engaged to start discussing the club’s recovery.
So, the team at Diamond Country Club began to plan its comeback.
“Thanks to our members and their connections, we received great support from a wide range of companies,” continued Christian. “This enabled us to tackle a project of this scale – and complete it – in just one winter. Something unheard of!
“We were talking about redoing all the fairways and bunkers. These alone needed 3,000 tonnes of sand. Some of the tees were completely washed away and nine greens needed returfing.
“Our priority was always to reopen the course as quickly as possible for members.”
Laying the groundwork
New fairways, greens and tees were relaid in November, and having less rain than normal and no snow whatsoever over the winter helped give the fresh turf a strong start.
The club brought in extra greenkeepers too to help with the restoration.
“Then it was just a question of waiting for spring and the grass to grow,” said Christian. “We managed to reopen to members in late April and to guests a week later, which was an incredible achievement.
“We always had the mindset that we would do whatever it takes to reopen by the following spring. From a business perspective, failure to do so was not an option. ”
Even better than before
The rebuilding of the course gave Diamond Country Club the opportunity to make improvements to the championship course.
“We came up with a new set of first tees which are really impressive, improved the second hole and tweaked the design of the sixth so it now has a spectacular island green,” Christian continued.
“The greenkeeping team had compiled seasonal reports on the playing conditions, which they were able to use to inform the work.
“There were low points on the course that often struggled to cope with heavy rain, so we used the opportunity to extend the drainage system.
“We also improved our training facilities, installed target greens on the practice range and added new pitching and putting greens, giving our members year-round practice greens.
“Although the project was completed in less than seven months, we took our time to do things right, drawing on our experience of the last 15 years.”
Final thoughts
“Miguel Angel Jiménez, who redesigned the course in 2010, once came up with the slogan ‘better than great’, and that’s what we kept in mind throughout the restoration process.
“We were fortunate in that we were due to start work on course renovations in early 2024, but planning approval had been delayed. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise as otherwise all the work would’ve been washed away,” concluded Christian, seeing the silver lining in an unbelievable situation.
