Swansea: Clydach golf club's £30,000 flood damage

The golf club has been flooded for the second time in three years

A golf club has been left with "severe damage" after it was flooded for the second time in three years.

Several feet of water engulfed the Mond Valley Golf Club in Clydach, Swansea, and damaged its golf course and a number of buildings.

Storm Lee hit parts of Wales on Wednesday, and club chairman Adrian Jones said he expects the clean-up to cost £30,000.

"It is total devastation here," he said.

"We've worked so hard to rebuild the club after it was flooded in 2020.

• Remnants of hurricane leave hundreds without power

• Floods show climate change impact, say forecasters

• 'Golf came to me at exactly the right time'

"We could see the water coming over the gully and onto the golf course, and we were hoping it wouldn't come into the club.

"But coming here this morning and seeing the damage to the club itself was totally devastating," he said.

Alongside the course, the flood also damaged storage rooms, changing rooms, clothing shop, and the basement.

"We'll have to replace and repair the flooring, the lockers, loss of barrelage and alcohol, the clothing stock," Mr Jones said.

The flood water damaged storage rooms, changing rooms, clothing shop, and the basement

"There's hundreds of pounds worth of equipment that's been damaged that will need to be replaced, like golf clubs and trolleys.

"The electric ones cost hundreds of pounds each and they'll all need to be replaced."

"It cost us £25,000 in 2020, and I think it'll cost us around £30,000 this time with the cost of inflation," he said.

Mr Jones said it was "too early to tell" when the club will reopen, and it will remain closed until they know the full extent of the damage.

"We had a function on tomorrow. It's frustrating for them as they can't come here, and it's frustrating for us as it's a loss of income.

"It's a big loss of earnings for this time of year where we normally make a lot of money before the winter," the chairman said. "We're just devastated."

The rain caused significant flooding in Clydach in the Swansea valley on Wednesday

In 2020, the golf club was flooded after Storm Brendan hit Wales, but before that it had not been affected by flooding since 2000.

Mr Jones said the club had "worked hard to get it back up and running," only to be "hit again".

He said that because the golf club is on a flood plain, it cannot get contents insurance to cover flooding.

"People have been offering their services already which is a big help for us, but we're just devastated coming in this morning to see the true extent of the damage. It'll cost a small fortune to repair."

Meanwhile, Vardre RFC, also in Clydach, have been forced to cancel their weekend matches after their pitches were submerged.

The River Usk burst its banks near Brecon

David Waghorn, the club's president said: "It just came suddenly and out of nowhere. At around 10.30 in the morning everything was fine, but by lunch time the pitches, beer garden, the gym and changing rooms were all flooded.

"The playing fields were submerged under 6-7ft (1.8-2m) of water. We had a steel storage container which was floating.

"I don't remember anything like this. It was like a tsunami coming in," he said.

Mr Waghorn said it was "too early to tell the extent of the damage" and he did not know when play will be able to resume.

"It was devastating. When you see the hard work that's put into it, all done by volunteers, it's heartbreaking," he said.

• BEING LOUIS REES-ZAMMIT: Unfiltered access to rugby's new superstar

• LEGENDS OF WELSH SPORT: Some of the greatest and most inspiring stories in Welsh sport