Tree Removal in Practice

[Michael Hayes]

Over the last two winters I have, with the blessing of my green committee, undertaken some significant tree removal of our wonderful little golf course.  Kitsap Golf & Country Club is located in Bremerton, WA; just an hour ferry ride west of Seattle.  The club was the childhood home of George Bayer, the original long driver.  I used historical photos of the grounds to try and restore some of the sightlines and provide some connectiveness from hole to hole and from the clubhouse to the rest of the course.  I am currently working on a 'my home course' feature, but I felt compelled to share these images.  I take a lot of pride in telling you that we were able to accomplish most of these tree projects inhouse and actually made money for the club.

Here is the first of a series of before and after pictures...

Overlooking #1 green towards #2 and #3 fairways...
BEFORE...


and AFTER...

[Michael Hayes]

Here is a before and after of the second hole looking back to the tee from the fairway...

Before...



and AFTER...

[redanman]

Your turfgrass will thank you. Very judicious.

It also looks like the views from the clubhouse will be better now as well.

Congratulations, well done.

[Michael Hayes]

Speaking of clubhouse views... here is a view from the deck overlooking the 18th.  The deck sits just left of the 1st tee...

Before...



and AFTER...

[Andy Hughes]

Michael, congrats.
Your members must be ectstatic.  Has there been much feedback?
What was the catalyst for the tree removal?

[Evan Fleisher]

Definitely bring in more of a "vista" view on that last photo where you can see out across the course...nice work!!!

Some of the pines left up look kind of "sparse".  I don't know enough about these specimens to know if that wiill change or not and if they will grow in any "fuller".  Does it matter?  Do you guys care?  Just curious...

[Michael Hayes]

Tree removal is the most painful thing for a membership.  I have been at KG&CC since late 1997 and it took 4 years of small tree projects and improvements before the membership trusted me enough to grant me permission to go large-scale.  My 1st biggie was the removal of 17 trees around the #1 tee and a transformation of a 1200sf tee to a 2500sf surface.  I have to bring in a crane to get the trees out.  The key to tree work is planning,planning, and more planning.  In total I have removed about 450 trees and have my eyes on about 400 more.

The benefits of sunlight and airflow are significant.  Our 18th hole (360 par4, up a canyon) was played as a 100 yd par 3 in the winter when I arrived.  You could lose a shoe in the fairway.  After 40+ inches of rain since Dec. 1 we havent taken that fairway out of the regular maintenance schedule.

The effects on the membership have been significant as well.  Our deck is a popular place for members to sit and watch play.  The view corridors created have helped raise the collective level of pride in the membership... They realize that thier course IS beautiful...

[Michael Hayes]

Evan...

 The trees in question are Douglas Firs (worst golf course tree ever!) and Western Red Cedar.  Hours of time were spent in the removal process to try and keep groups of trees that maintained thier fullness.  The density that we started with resulted in trees that only had branches on one side.  We left trees side by side to create a full look.  Some of the Doug Firs had so much under story that they grew to be 'pecker poles'.  The nice thing about that is that it helps to draw the players eyes up, so they can appreciate the natural setting that they are golfing in...

[rocket]

Nice work.  

I have done similiar work.     I also cleaned up the bottoms of those areas.  And sometimes add georgian pine straw or I would hydromulch it with roughbluegrass or fescue. Which the membership was pleased with.

[James Bennett]

Thank-you Michael for the photo's, and the comments on planning, planning, planning.  Noted.

How did you make money for the club?  We are undertaking a similar project but perhaps with less desirable timber, and should be able to defray costs, but make money?  Very good.

How does the crane work, and does it reduce the amount of disturbed ground that needs repair?

James B

[Michael Hayes]

James B...

The crane really works well for tight spots where damage would be a very bad thing.  Here is a picture of the crane and tree guy taking some big firs down at my shop.  In this case we stripped the trees first and just took down 30 ft sticks.  When I did my 1st tee area we picked the entire tree up and laid it down on the pavement and in about 30 minutes had the limbs off and chipped up and the logs stacked. we did 17 trees in 6 hours and opened the first tee at 1 pm after the log truck left...

[Michael Hayes]

James B...

In terms of making money, watch the timber prices.  I found that in my neck of the woods  , the forests are too wet or snowy to log in the winter so the prices at the mill go up because of supply issues.  It also makes it easier to schedule log trucks and experienced cutters if needed.  I initally worked with a forestry consultant to aid in the planning but now I have the hang of it myself...

MH

[James Bennett]

Thanks Michael - I really liked the photo of the Crane, and the accompanying text.  17 trees in six hours, and then reopened the first tee straight away.  Impressive.

James B

[Troy Alderson]

Michael,

Great job is convincing the members to remove the trees.  Before you and they know it, the whole golf course could be opened up to sunlight.

Here at Kah-Nee-Ta Resort (Oregon) I removed 10 willows and populars that had died or were a few short years from dying.  I tried getting my boss's permission last fall but he would never make the time to check out which trees.  A few days ago he criticized me for removing a dead willow next to the third tee.  I had to explain to him what a widow maker was and the danger behind it.  I do not regret removing these trees since all of them were planted, not native to the area, and in bad locations.

Troy Alderson

[Dunlop_White]

Congratulations!

Be careful about limbing-up and raising the canopy of evergreens. Too often the shape created will look unnatural or deformed.....compromising the many benefits of tree management. Sometimes its best to get rid of the entire tree.