Bryan Jackson will never forget the scene of utter devastation, nor what went through his mind when he first saw Belle Oaks Golf Club two days after Hurricane Ike roared through Southeast Texas last September.

“It looked like somebody set off a bomb and leveled it,” said Jackson, the Belle Oaks head pro and course superintendent. “Water and downed trees were everywhere. My first thought was we’d never play golf out there again. It just looked completely hopeless.”

Jackson had returned two days after Ike hit, fearing the worst but still not expecting anything on the level of what he encountered. The cart barn was under more than three feet of mud and water. The clubhouse was basically destroyed. Thousands of dead fish littered the fairways in all directions.

Amazingly, a year later, the golf course has been restored to near pristine condition. Yes, there are still some rough places around the edges and trees that need to be removed. But a first time visitor would have no clue of what a wasteland Jackson encountered on Sept. 15, 2008.

For sure, the course looks different to long-time members. A few holes, especically No. 11 and No. 13, are considerably easier because of missing trees. Off-line shots are less difficult to recover from, because of the massive thinning out of trees, not only by Ike but by Rita, Humberto and Bonnie.

Bottom line, however, Belle Oaks remains one of the most beautiful layouts and best tests of golf in Southeast Texas.

“We have come all the way back,” says course owner Jerry Braxton, beaming with pride. “It’s fantastic. There was simply no way to visualize it ever looking like this again. I really thought we were down for the count. I can’t say enough about what Bryan and his people accomplished.”

Jackson is rightfully proud of the transformation he and a five-man work crew accomplished in what was a slow, tedious and frustrating process. As he makes the daily drive along the winding road leading to the golf course, there’s a tremendous sense of satisfaction at seeing the elegance of Belle Oaks in the summer sunlight.

“I wouldn’t ever want to take on something like this again,” he said. “I’ve been through some really trying challenges in 20 years in the golf business. But nothing was as tough as bringing Belle Oaks back. Dealing with Rita’s aftermath was a piece of cake compared to this because of the water damage.

“It’s a great feeling to hear the comments of folks who come out here and are surprised and impressed with what we’ve been able to do.”

So what have they been able to do? Well, golfers familiar with Belle Oaks, dating back to its days as Port Arthur Country Club, will tell you that tee to green the course is about as lush as its ever been. New tee markers and ball washers, which were long overdue, add to recent improvements.

The Bermuda greens remain slow and grainy, but it’s always been that way once temperatures rise. Jackson continues to lobby Braxton and co-owner Brian Phelps for the $180,000 that would enable him to completely redo the greens, but that probably depends on Braxton’s adjoining subdivision taking off.

While the greens remain on the slow side, the fact they are back to pre-Ike condition, and in some cases even better, is among the miracles of the restoration. Jackson’s greatest concern initially was whether he’d be able to salvage five greens that sat under salt water and rotten mud for over a week.

Compounding the challenge of saving the greens on No. 8, No. 9, No. 14, No. 15 and No. 18 was the fact Belle Oaks’ irrigation system had been wiped out and wouldn’t be restored for nearly eight months. Without a watering system, even the greens that weren’t submerged were in danger.

The solution turned out to be daily hand watering from a huge water truck. But, before that process could even begin, the heavy coating of mud had to be scraped off. Once that was done, 1,000 gallons of water was poured across the putting surfaces every day.