The Worst Tree In Golf

[Mike Hendren]

The little shrub short left of the 10th green at Rustic Canyon wins "Worst Charlie Brown Christmas Tree" award.  

Mike

[Thomas_Brown]

Tom Huckaby - It certainly doesn't make you shape the 2nd shot.  Course maintenance-wise - How much upkeep/pruning does this tree need to not dominate the entire fairway?

Kevin is a Cal fan who will probably criticize anything in Palo Alto.  I'm sure his thoughts are on target here.

[Thomas_Brown]

Sorry - Tom Huckaby - I meant it *does* make you shape the 2nd shot.

[THuckaby2]

Tom B:

One's blue and yellow leanings do have to be taken into account in any discussion of things cardinal.  

I just can't get over how blah that hole would be sans tree, and how freakin' tough and terrifying and fun to play it is with it.  As for pruning/upkeep, I don't think it's that tough... just a trim every few years, it would seem to me.  It's not nearly as wide as the hole diagram makes it seem.

And being a Santa Clara grad, both of these rivals can bite me, so I have no axe to grind here... pun intended...

[Kevin_Reilly]

Kevin is a Cal fan who will probably criticize anything in Palo Alto.  I'm sure his thoughts are on target here.

All I did was post a picture of the hole!  No comments added!

If you want me to post other tree pictures from "The Farm" I'll do so!

[THuckaby2]

 

Now that is a tree that qualifies as both Best and Worst.

TH

[DPL11]

This was not the worst tree in golf but it's position was positively bizarre---and quite a tree it was too---extremely large. It's gone now but it was on the 13th hole of Manufacturers G.C., a good Flynn course in Philadelphia. The odd thing about it is it was on the longish par 3 13th hole, a bit of a Flynn redan and it basically turned that par 3 hole into the only dogleg left par 3 I've ever seen!

Tom,

I couldn't agree more about #13 at Manies.

Some members still don't like me, because I'm the one who finally took it down.

The final straw for the BOD's was when I talked the USGA agronomist into placing it on the front cover of the Greens Section magazine under the topic of "STUPID TREES"


Doug

[Odd_Job]

Any tree with a memorial plate next to or attached to it.

[Mike_Golden]

There's a tree just short and left of the 18th green at Lake Merced that certainly makes this list-it overhangs the left front of the green and can either knock down a shot headed for the back bunker and put it on the green or eat golf balls about to land on the green and unfairly penalize the player.  

[Andy Hodson]

In Texas the worst tree is the one guarding the front left of
#8 at Whispering Pines, a wonderful, otherwise, par 3 of about 195 yards with a wickedly difficult green. There is no reason to have an air hazard on this hole. The left side of the putting surface is near impossible to get it close to the hole anyway, without the tree.

When I worked there I pleaded with every underhanded person I knew to put copper nails in that sucker, bring it down. Everyone else I talked to loved that tree. Thought it brought "character" to the hole.

It still stands. The worst part is the hole could be immensely improved by simply moving the tee box about 10 yards or so to the right. Alas, on a course with nearly no cart paths, they put a cart path hard by the right hand side of the tee box. On a wonderful golf course with no weak holes, eight is the exception.

[DMoriarty]

Sort of a tough question, because it is hard to get worked up about a bad tree on a mediocre course, yet it seems odd to characterize any part of a great course "the worst" anything (As I did above with the CPC 18 answer above.)   Especially if one believes that great courses inevitably have flaws and quirks which are integral to their character.  

Plus, it is rarely a single tree which is a problem at a course with 'tree problems.'   So I'll offer a more macro-perspective . . .

I'll nominate one randomly selected token tree from the 36 pines planted on the right side of ANGC 11.   You know, where they turned a dogleg left into a dogleg right. These trees are the worst in golf because they encapsule some of the worst trends in golf . . .

--  Narrow landing areas which force all to hit on the same line, where the only qualatative derivation between between well struck balls is distance.

--  Renovation of terrific holes and courses with outright disregard fr the architects intentions and the nature of the hole.  

--  Arrogant renovation of great holes which work perfectly well the way they are.

--  Elimination of multiple approach angles (choices.)

--  Misunderstanding what makes a a great hole effective.  (They tried to make this hole harder and actually may have made it easier!)

--  Replacement of subtle considerations (such as slope and roll) with blatant ones (duh, dont hit the trees.)

[Rick Shefchik]

Shivas -- What do you think of the new green on #2 at Pebble? They were building it when I was there last May.

[Wayne Wiggins, Jr.]

In Northern California, at San Geronimo GC on number 18.  Not only is it a large tree, it's in the middle of the fairway, and it seems the ground all around it collapsed, and created a sinkhole about 6' below ground level.  Other than that, it's a pretty descent hole with water on the left, and a nicely bunkered green.

[chris_neblett]

In Omaha Nebraska, a course named Fontenelle Hills has a par 3 with a huge tree in the middle of the green.  The hole is only around 100 yards from the back, but has this probably 50 foot tall tree almost dead center of the green.  If anyone in Omaha has a picture of the green, please post it.

[peter_p]

Salmon Run (Brookings OR) 10th hole has a "L" shaped green with a fir tree guarding the corner. A ;ink to the picture: http://www.salmonruninfo.net/golf/hole10.html

One of my home courses, the North (Cupp) at the Reserve Vineyards has a juvenile swamp oak in the hazard fronting the drivable 7th green. The original tree died, probably from too much water.

[RJ_Daley]

Will's worst, 13 BWR

http://www.destinationkohler.com/bwr/rivercourse13.html

A few holes earlier, 9th at BWR has safe room to the left and a big high fade or direct route is a sucker play, IMHO.

http://www.destinationkohler.com/bwr/rivercourse9.html

Blackwolf Run is a course that incorporated several trees in the design.  Also see holes 16 River and 18 Meadows.

[A_Clay_Man]

As much as I prefer a treeless canvas, I fear many don't realize that many of these holes/courses being discussed actually used these trees as a Motiff, a theme. Therefore they are integral to their designs.

@ BWR The original River config used them sparingly, then the  Meadow nine started to use them more. (The goal posts on #5) Then the final nine holes added (5-13 on the current river) used them almost exclusively to all sorts of affect. The look on #9 sets-up the look for the 13th. The par 5 #11 uses them on both sides to frame and dictae both vertical and horizontial strategies.

In a way, looking at the old photos of Pebble Beach, the framing was there, and it was the trees that caused most of it.

Shiv said;

 I still can't get over those goalpost trees, though.  Just silly.

That may be true, but the old 18th had trees just on the coast, really framing the tee shot.

I liked the new green.  It played quite nastily from the left bunker, which is where I pulled my second shot into.  I had a surprisingly devilish time getting my 3rd close from there to a right/middle pin.  

I particularly liked the new green on 15, which had just opened up the day before.  It played very nicely.

Dave- The left bunker was always a nasty up and down, on #2. The difference I see from photos is the extention of  both side bunkers, to intrude, in the front, on the apron. Removing the option for a run-up, and making the approach decision less tempting. Before, the perfect shot hit right where that left isde bunker now wraps into the front. Especially with my fade, and the raised backside of the left side bunker, allowed the ball to feed to the right and onto the green.

Shiv-could you please describe both the second and fifteenth new greens, a little more vividly, please? The old second was peanut shaped, with the backside of the rightside bunker causing the dominant hump, that through your ball to the left, up the hill. While the elongated leftside bubker threw the ball right. The green was up hill to the rear, but only slightly.
The old 15th was more T shaped with the front narrower than the back and the front bunkers backsides, effected the ball counter intuiitively. The old green had a subtley severe slope to the ocean, and from back to front. The rear bunkers were real genius, did they remain?