A Wednesday windstorm had littered the fairways with debris from about 50 damaged trees, less than two days before its two-man best-ball, scheduled for today through Sunday.

On Wednesday evening, Sinking Valley Country Club pro Troy Monahan emailed a plea to members for help in cleaning up the course.

The appeal worked: about 50 members, along with 10 non-members scheduled to play in the tournament, showed up Thursday and roved in carts to the most hard-hit places, especially the fourth and 15th holes. They wielded chainsaws, dragged limbs and raked and piled fallen branches into pickup trucks and a dump trailer and unloaded those branches in piles out of the way.

“Everybody did a great job,” Monahan said Thursday evening. “It was way more than we hoped.”

Sinking Valley Golf Club pro Troy Monahan (center) along with groundskeepers and some of the dozens of volunteers clean up downed trees from across the course on Thursday afternoon. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

When he had arrived at the course Thursday morning, Monahan had figured on two days of cleanup, which would have left just two days for the tournament.

But after the workfest, the course was “very close to what it was pre-storm,” and the tournament could proceed on schedule, he said.

Member Tim Noye was one of those who helped on Thursday.

That followed a “you’ve got to be kidding me” moment the previous evening, when he got Monahan’s email, he said.

Thursday wasn’t fun, Noye said.

It would’ve been preferable to have teed off for his scheduled practice round at 2 p.m., he said.

Still, when one considers the aftermath of storms like tornadoes and hurricanes that make the national news, with victims sifting through their splintered homes, their lives in ruin, cleaning up a golf course isn’t so bad, Noye said.

Because the course is not totally free of debris, “winter rules” will be in effect for the weekend, Monahan said on Thursday evening.

That means “lift, clean and place,” he said.

Thus, if a struck ball ends up in a disadvantageous position because of debris, a golfer can move it, Monahan said.

Normal rules don’t allow players to move a ball, except when on greens, they can pick it up, mark where it was and replace it when it’s time for them to hit.

“In an ideal world,” it’s better not to have winter rules, Noye said.

Actually, Tom Rubine, who was working beside Noye, was hoping to have those relaxed rules for the weekend.

“It’s basically cheating,” Noye said, with a grin.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.