Severe thunderstorms flood Oakleaf Golf Course

REINBECK - Severe thunderstorms and heavy rain caused flash flooding across Northeast Iowa this weekend and early into this week, leaving many basements and fields underwater.
 
In Reinbeck, the Oakleaf Golf Course has been temporarily closed after Monday night’s rain flooded Black Hawk Creek, leaving almost all of the course underwater.
 
Oakleaf Manager Christie Lichty says all but one of the nine holes have water.
 
“When I stopped by [Monday] morning, the water was still in the bank [of the creek], all of this just showed up yesterday afternoon and evening,” she said. “Right now, the only hole without water is hole six.”
 
She estimated that at the deepest point, the water was probably about 10 feet deep.
 
“The water’s been high before, but this is bad,” Lichty said.
 
Lichty expects the golf course to open again before the end of the season, but she’s not sure how soon.
 
“It all depends on how much more rain we get, and how fast it goes down,” she said. “There’s nothing we can do but sit and wait for it to go down.”
 
Lichty added that the two tournaments, which are scheduled for Sunday and Tuesday, are almost certainly going to be cancelled.
 
Grundy Center residents Shelby and Shirley Luwe were a few of many people who came out to the golf course on Tuesday afternoon to inspect the damage.
 
Shelby says he and his wife Shirley have been members of Oakleaf Golf Course for four years, and he’s never seen it quite this bad before.
 
“It’s flooded pretty bad before, but this is the worst I’ve ever seen it,” he said. “We thought we’d come down here and check it out, but we might need our kayaks to do any golfing right now.”
 
Lichty says she plans to keep the Clubhouse open during the evenings, but for now, the course is closed until the water recedes.