Uncharted Waters – How flash floods nearly closed iconic Colorado course

How Redlands Mesa staff saved the course from mudslides after freak September storm

By Chris Wheeler, Photos by Kass Severson and Chris Wheeler

Friday, September 5, 2025.

As Golf Shop Manager Tony Guadnola was checking in the last golfers of the day at Redlands Mesa Golf Course in Grand Junction, meteorologist Matthew Aleska was concerned about a storm building a few miles west

“As it looked the storm was beginning to dissipate, outflow boundaries from nearby storms allowed it to strengthen,” said Matthew.

Around 4:30p, light rain turned into a downpour at the Redlands, an upscale community between downtown Grand Junction and Colorado National Monument. “At first, I was happy to see it,” said Tony. “Then, we started seeing water rushing down the cart path. People were calling in, saying there was a river of water going down the fairway and pooling up on the greens.”

When course Superintendent Kass Severson left for the day two hours earlier, the skies were partly cloudy. “I knew rain chances were in the mix,” said Kass. “So, I was watching radar.”

Like many late summer days on the high desert of western Colorado, the forecast had been for scattered afternoon thunderstorms. On this day, a stubborn cell above Redlands Mesa refused to budge. “What was unusual was the duration, how long it remained in that spot for so long,” said meteorologist Aleska. “These storms typically last thirty minutes to one hour. Not two to three hours.”

Superintendent Severson was at his home just three minutes away from Redlands Mesa when the downpour began. “The streets started flooding, and the rain was not stopping,” said Kass. “So, I came up to make sure everyone was off the course. I just wanted to get eyes on it.”

What Kass witnessed was an active flash flood in the high desert. An avalanche of bentonite clay from the canyons surrounding the course was sliding down onto the holes below. Kass had seen floods during his 14 years at Redlands Mesa, but nothing like this.

Three hours after it began, the deluge finally subsided. At sunset, the rain gauge on the course measured 2.5 inches. Just beyond the back 9, a homeowner measured 5 inches of rain. Surprisingly, most in Grand Junction were not even aware of the storm. Downtown received some rain. At the airport, the National Weather Service recorded just a trace. Assistant General Manager Nico Weckerly went to sleep that evening “praying that the course was going to be OK tomorrow.”

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In 2019, Sandra and David Weckerly purchased Redlands Mesa, a stunning Jim Engh design that is consistently ranked as one of the top courses in Colorado. In 2025, their son Nico began managing the day-to-day operations. At first light on the morning after the storm, Nico jumped in a cart to survey the damage. “I saw lots of mud. Displaced rocks. Ponds and bunkers completely filled with mud and sediment.”

No hole was spared. On the front 9, three greens were covered with mud, while the others were littered with standing water, silt and debris. “When the greens have mud on it, it’s a race against time to get them breathing again,” said Kass. “You only have two days at the most. And by the third day, it’s cooked.’ If lost, the greens would take a month to regrow. It would be a major blow that could have serious financial consequences for the family business.

The flood was unchartered waters for 27-year-old Nico Weckerly. The course his parents purchased six years earlier was now closed. Upcoming tournaments and the club championship scheduled September 20^th were in jeopardy. “The low point was just seeing the course and not knowing how we are going to get through it,” remembered Nico. “I just really care about the course.”

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Early on the morning of September 6^th, Kass split his maintenance crew of eighteen into two. Half began working on the front nine greens that were accessible. The others began to clear the cart paths, some of which had areas covered by four feet of mud. An X2 Mini Excavator and a Skid Steer loaned by a neighbor carved through the muck, enabling maintenance workers to get to damaged holes. The only way to remove the mud without damaging the T1 Bentgrass turf was to shovel by hand. Each green took about six hours of intense labor. “It’s backbreaking work, shoveling heavy mud,” recalled Kass. After the debris was removed, the greens were power-washed and squeegeed clean.

Near the end of the day, Nico received the first good news since rain began falling 24 hours earlier. The front nine was ready to open. The next morning, September 7^th, golfers began to check in to play the front 9 at Redlands Mesa. No one complained. “It was one of those moments that brings people together,” said Nico. “They can all have sympathy for the situation and help make the most of it.”

But the iconic back nine, where canyon walls form a natural amphitheater, remained closed. Five greens (13,15,16,17, and 18) were suffocating under a layer cake of red dirt, and time was running out. The 16^th green, which sits below a 150-foot canyon wall, bore the brunt of the flash flood. For two days, maintenance workers tirelessly shoveled a foot of mud off the green. “You could see it in their faces, but I didn’t hear any complaining,” said Kass of his exhausted crew. Thanks to the fast action of Kass’s team, 16 and the four other greens on the back nine were saved.

Against all odds, the back nine opened on Monday, September 8^th. “It did not look pretty, but somehow we made it work,” said Kass. Twelve days later, on September 20^th, the first swing of the Redlands Mesa Club Championship was taken. “Kass and his crew saved the course,” said Nico Weckerly. “Truly an amazing job.”

Though the course was open, the cleanup at Redlands Mesa would continue for months. Mild winter temperatures helped. In February, Kass was able to turn on the irrigation system. By March, the fairways and greens started coming back to life.

Eight months after the devastating storm, a few scars remain. But for the most part, Redlands Mesa once again looks like one of the top courses in Colorado. The flash flood taught Nico Weckerly a valuable lesson. “You can’t predict disasters. But you can choose how to react.”

September 5, 2025 is a date no one at Redlands Mesa Golf Course will ever forget. Superintendent Kass Severson said the ordeal brought out the best in everyone. “When you have good people around you, and times are tough – anything is possible.”

Colorado AvidGolfer Magazine is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it, publishing eight issues annually and proudly delivering daily content via coloradoavidgolfer.com.

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