Rae's Creek overflowed banks and wreaked havoc 25 years ago

Several inches of rain fell in less than 12 hours, and the devastation caused millions of dollars in damages and wreaked havoc on cherished landmarks.

Those words could describe the flooding in Columbia, but they actually apply to Augusta.

Twenty-five years ago – Oct. 11-12, 1990 – a flood of epic proportions hit Augusta. A pair of tropical storms, Marco and Klaus, converged over the Augusta area and dumped nearly 15 inches of rain. Four people were killed, and the region was declared a national disaster area after the floods caused an estimated $150 million in damages to property and crops.

Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters Tournament, was not spared. Water from Rae’s Creek hit the famous stretch of holes known as Amen Corner particularly hard, destroying the entire 11th green and the members’ tee at the 13th hole. The green and the front bunker at the 12th hole also were damaged.

The Hogan and Nelson bridges spanning Rae’s Creek weren’t damaged, but the Byron Nelson plaque at the 13th tee was torn from its footings.

According to records, about 8½ inches of rain fell on Augusta in a 12-hour period from 7 p.m. Oct. 11 to 7 a.m. the next morning. The Augusta-area Corps of Engineers compared it to a 200-year record rainfall.

Augusta National was quick to repair the damage. A service road was cut through the woods left of the 11th fairway in order for heavy equipment to make its way to the area. Golf course superintendent Marsh Benson relied on original drawings from course architect Alister MacKenzie as well as detailed contour and topography maps.

“We cleared eight inches of silt off the 12th fairway,” Benson told the Masters Journal in 1991. “Then we made the contours of the 11th green exactly as they used to be.”

Benson and his crew faced an enormous challenge to get the course ready.

“A lot of people wondered if it might affect the Masters, but we were thinking about the members,” Benson said. “It was critical for us to get it all back into membership play.”

The course was ready for play by Thanksgiving Day, about six weeks after the heavy rains tore through Amen Corner.

“Everybody is amazed – the members as well as the guests,” Augusta National and Masters chairman Hord Hardin said in 1991. “I’m sure they can’t believe it because many of them saw it right after the storm.”

Augusta National took measures to do its best to mitigate future flooding. In 1999, the 11th green was raised two feet and the pond guarding the green was raised a foot. Rae’s Creek was widened that year behind the green, and a dam now controls the water and is covered by a wooden structure.