Deleted drone footage shows extent of damage to Masters' Augusta National as iconic 16th ruined

Drone footage posted on social media has captured the extensive destruction suffered at Club following

The hurricane, tore through the iconic venue in late September, leaving the usually pristine-looking 18-hole track in tatters. Images on social media have since revealed the severe damage with the iconic Augusta National tree line ruined.

Aerial shots showed numerous trees had been flattened by the adverse weather, including at the renowned par-three 16th hole, where one tree was seen uprooted into the water hazard that runs from tee to green.

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Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley addressed the situation earlier this month, prioritising the local community over the golf course's condition. "Our Augusta community has suffered catastrophic and historic impact from Hurricane Helene," he commented.

"We currently are assessing the effects at Augusta National Golf Club. In the meantime, our focus and efforts are foremost with our staff, neighbors, and business owners in Augusta. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as well as everyone throughout Georgia and the Southeast who have been affected."

Ridley was in Japan at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, and shared details about the hurricane's impact on the revered links. Speaking of the herculean task of reviving the greens, he revealed: "As far as the golf course, it really was affected just as the rest of the community was."

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"There was a lot of damage and we have a lot of people working hard to get us back up and running We don't really know exactly what that's going to mean, but I can tell you ... if it's humanly possible, we will be back in business sooner rather than later."

Golf fans will have no doubt had concerns about the future of the Masters next April but Ridley affirmed that the 2025 Masters will be going ahead as palnned. "Back to one of the first questions," he added. "The Masters will be held, [and] it will be on the dates it's scheduled to be held."

It was not just the home of the Masters that was left damaged, with a number of their neighbour courses left damaged too. Augusta Golf Club has also been left needing huge renovation, while nearby West Lake Country Club saw around 1,100 trees uprooted across their course in the wake of the hurricane.

Nine holes of the West Lake course have just been reopened this week, with the rest still off-limits. West Lake's General Manager, Ryan Fahler, briefed : "Clearing access into and out of the property while addressing direct safety issues were our first priority," before detailing how they swiftly moved on to other recovery efforts like tree removal and tidying up the storm's aftermath, encompassing work on the clubhouse and surrounding grounds."