By PETE MOLLICA

By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
N SEPTEMBER, A TORRENTAL rainstorm swept through this Lawrence County area, dumping more than 7 inches of rain in a 36-hour period and causing the Connequessna River to pour over its banks.
Unfortunately, one of the country's finest public golf courses was caught in the middle of all this devastation and suffered nearly half a million dollars in damage.
Olde Stonewall Golf Club in Ellwood City, Pa., barely six years old, was hit hard. Costing over $10 million to build, Olde Stonewall is ranked among the top 100 public courses in the country.
Jesse Horner, head PGA professional at Olde Stonewall, remembers he wasn't sure the course could ever be brought back to its championship form.
"I left the club on Sept. 16 and it was raining very hard," Horner said. "We were closed the 17th and when I came back on the 18th I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
Five holes under water
"Five holes on the front nine -- 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 -- were nothing but a huge lake. I could see the top of the flag on our No. 4 signature hole, but that was all. It was a nightmare," Horner said.
Horner, who has been with the club since it opened in 1998, said the real nightmare came two days later when the water receded and the real damage was revealed.
"We completely lost No. 5 green," he said. "The [water] current just came across it and peeled the turf right off the green. There was nothing but drainage pipes sticking out of the dirt. We lost cart paths, trees and I don't know how many bunkers were destroyed.
"The water was so high that the state had to close off State Route 65 which goes right over the river because the water had already reached the bridge. The coast guard had to be called in to rescue some of the home owners on the other side of the river who couldn't get out."
In spite of all those problems Olde Stonewall has been brought back to be perhaps better than before.
The man behind the renovation was Rick Huizvak, the owner of Olde Stonewall.
Edinburg, Pa. native
Huizvak, who was born and raised in Edinburg, Pa., built the club from scratch six years ago.
"We just recently jumped from 15th to 10th among all golf courses in the state of Pennsylvania and that list includes Oakmont, Merion and Laurel Valley," Horner said.
Having an owner with financial resources is one thing, but having an owner who is committed to making and keeping the course among the best in the country is another as Horner has found out.
Olde Stonewall closed down early last fall so that it could begin the restoration.
"We had to completely rebuild the No. 5 green and replace walls [the entire golf course and all of the holes with water have huge stone walls surrounding them] that were washed away along with the cart paths," said Horner.
Additional improvements made
Huizvak decided to also make some improvements to the course.
"We had to fix and replace some bunkers, but we've never been satisfied with our bunkers [there are over 90 on the course]," said Horner. "The synthetic fabric on the bunker walls just didn't hold up and were tough to maintain."
Every bunker on the course was redone and new tee areas were added at 5, 6 and 7.
"We put in three times the drainage that we had originally on the course," said Horner.
Remarkably, all of the work has been completed and the course looks as beautiful as ever.
It's still not inexpensive to play Olde Stonewall, located less than 45 minutes from Youngstown. There is a special twilight rate on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Starting at 2 p.m. the rate is $100 per golfer for 18 holes with cart and use of all the facilities.
New fleet of carts
The club also features a new fleet of carts that have the newest in global positioning system.
"These systems are so great that we can not only monitor where you are on the course, but we can even slow you down coming down a steep incline or shut off the power to your cart if you wander into the wrong places," Horner said.
Tee times are required to play at Olde Stonewall and they can be made by calling Horner or his first assistant professional, Sean Swidzinski, at (724) 752-4653, ext. 104 and 103.
mollica@vindy.com