Can't See the Course for the Trees

Donald Ross, architect of over 400 notable golf courses, said once of trees, “As beautiful as trees are, and as fond as you and I are of them, we still must not lose sight of the fact that there is a limited place for them in golf.”

So why then is the notion of removing trees on courses today one that meets with such skepticism and resistance?  The thinning or removal of trees has become a standard need on virtually 100% of the courses I visit or consult.  Why?  The courses built in the 1920’s, for example, were generally wide, open layouts. Holes were arranged in such a way that there was space to play and corridors were spaced comfortably apart.  Fairways were much wider and holes were defined with strategic bunkering and angled fairways. Trees were merely an accent on most golf landscapes, either as sentinel specimens or backdrop groves.

As courses began popping up on more marginal sites, mainly in the ‘50’s and 60’s, the trend was to build the course and then plant trees to create separation between holes.  The intent was one part beautification, one part safety and another part screening and buffering.  As we have discovered in recent years, those efforts were somewhat misguided and certainly born from flawed perceptions.  While the planted trees did serve a purpose, they were rarely planted with the future in mind.  Today, we regularly encounter courses that are infested with mature, overgrown trees that suffocate hole corridors, overhang greens and tees and essentially blanket the strategic elements once intended and implemented by the architect.

The fallacy on tree removal is that golf course architects don’t like trees.  In fact, we love trees – most golf course architects are trained as landscape architects first.  We just like the sort of trees that are properly positioned, of the appropriate species, that don’t adversely impact strategy and playability and that do not cause unnecessary maintenance or safety concerns… trees that properly complement the design. Golf course superintendents have the unenviable task of taking much of the heat for the impact of trees… not being able to grow grass in the shade… unable to keep greens alive that don’t receive enough sunlight or air movement… cannot correct dry spots in fairways where roots persist.  The list goes on.  It’s not an accident when the conditions miraculously improve once the trees are eventually removed or thinned.

Amazingly, most tree management programs never get off the ground because of tree hugging members and misinformed committees.  Once they do, however, due to proper planning, communication and education… they unanimously produce favorable results.  Those who initially fight the notion end up being the ones that come forward later to inform us of a few that we missed!

As Ross continues, “We must not allow our sentiments to crowd out the real intent of a golf course, that of providing fair playing conditions.”