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MCC back to normal, expects large Korean group next week
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Posted on Oct 06 2015
Mariana Country Club operations manager Palik Thomson said that the Marpi golf course is ready to host a large group of Korean tourists after being closed for a month due to Typhoon Soudelor.
Two of the three flagpoles near the Mariana Country Club’s pro shop are still bent more than two months after Typhoon Soudelor hit Saipan. (Jon Perez)
“We’re back in business. Fully operational and we’re expecting a large group of Korean tourists that will play here at MCC next week,” said Thomson in an interview with Saipan Tribune.
“The people who we are expecting to play and made reservations in September are back. They rescheduled for October and we’re ready to host them. We’re going to be busy,” added Thomson.
Even individual golfers and local golf associations also returned to play at MCC.
MCC was one of the four golf courses—Coral Ocean Point Golf Resort, Kingfisher Golf Links, and Laolao Bay Golf & Resort—on Saipan that sustained heavy damage when Soudelor hit the island last August.
“MCC was closed for two weeks after the typhoon. We needed to clear the fallen trees and other debris that littered the golf course,” said Thomson.
“After two weeks, we only opened nine holes and the next nine a week after. The entire golf course was fully operational after one month,” he added.
Thomson said they found out that MCC suffered minimal damage when they made the assessment a few days after the typhoon.
“The pro shop’s building and some of the golf carts got damaged. Debris can be seen all over the golf course. Other than that, there’s not that much damage,” said Thomson.
“The big trees, which were planted as part of the golf design were uprooted. These are big, old trees and were there since MCC opened. Maybe the fallen trees can be part of the hazards on the course,” Thomson said with a laugh.
MCC, a Toshio Suzuki-designed layout located in Saipan’s northern side in Marpi, lost an estimated revenue of about $50,000 in the one month it was closed.
Construction of MCC began in the late 1970s and the first nine holes opened in 1980 and the entire 18-hole course, which has water hazards around the green at holes No. 5 and 6, was fully operational two years later.
