Has anyone seen Oakmont recently?

[Ran Morrissett]

I was there in 1996, and I think they were perhaps in their first year of a long range tree program whose end goal was to restore the course to the links vision that Fownes had.

When my brother was there maybe 3/4 years ago, 1,500 trees had been felled.

Last week, I was told - rightly or wrongly - there were 73 oak trees left  

I can only imagine how AWE INSPIRING the course must now look - has anyone seen it this spring?

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Ran, I too would like to hear about Oakmont and their progressive work--all for the good of the course. (No matter who the architect is)

Clearly the people at Oakmont get it, and I think it would be great to hear of their progress.

[brad_miller]

Ran, Tommy, might be time for some sort of feature on Oakmont and Winged Foot with their glorious tree programs! Brad Klein what do you think??

[TEPaul]

I've seen Oakmont and a lot of trees were removed because they'd become overtreed! They've attempted to restore the course to William Fownes and remove most of what came after him.

Go see Oakmont for yourself if you want to see the tree removal, but do yourself, this website and particularly Oakmont a really big favor, if you don't mind! Don't ask how many trees were removed! They don't want to talk about how many and they aren't going to talk about it and either should this website if they'd prefer us not to!

Just go see the golf course and see what you think! That's all they ask!

[brad_miller]

Thanks, Tom

[Paul Richards]

Can't wait to see this!  How awesome it must be to see
a course as it's original architect envisioned it.

If someone does get there soon, please post some pictures!

[Tim Weiman]

Tommy N:

I did visit Oakmont recently with the understanding that I hold off commenting on the work underway for the time being.  So, I won’t go into any specifics.

But, I’ll give you an analogy from my days in the West Coast oil industry.  You’ll recall that when the Exxon Valdez incident occurred Exxon faced both a multi billion dollar cleanup and a public relations disaster.  Pretty much everyone remembers that.

What people don’t remember is the American Trader incident not long after.  This ship ran a ground in Huntington Beach spilling BP crude oil.  Incredibly, about a month later BP received kudos from the press and environmentalists on how quickly and successfully they dealt with the incident.

In truth, BP had the advantage of studying Exxon’s experience with the Valdez incident and they learned quite a bit, I’m proud to say.

My perception after visiting Oakmont is that the people leading the project have thought carefully about what they are doing and observed other recent projects that have received negative press.  Anyone looking for an opportunity to engage in Fazio or Marzolf bashing won’t find it at Oakmont.  Oakmont has its own history and I saw the club staying faithful to it.

I left Oakmont telling John Zimmers (Superintendent) and Mark Studer (Green Chairman) that I respected their desire to avoid publicity for the time being, but also felt they didn’t have anything to worry about.  The spirit of Bobby Jones and Alister Mackenzie may be eroding at Augusta National but the Fownes vision is alive and well at Oakmont.

[Dan Kelly]

TEPaul --

How many trees were removed?

What became of the wood?

[Mike_Cirba]

Dan,

Perhaps you missed what Tom Paul said,

"Go see Oakmont for yourself if you want to see the tree removal, but do yourself, this website and particularly Oakmont a really big favor, if you don't mind! Don't ask how many trees were removed! They don't want to talk about how many and they aren't going to talk about it and either should this website if they'd prefer us not to!"

[John_D._Bernhardt]

I got the distinct impression Art Hills did the tree removal.

[Dan Kelly]

Mike --

I didn't miss what Tom said.

I'm not strictly required by law or custom, am I, not to ask questions I've been advised not to ask -- even questions I've been advised not to ask by our esteemed doyen of prolificity?

I just wanted to know the facts (just so you know: I haven't turned down any invitations to see Oakmont for myself, and don't expect to turn down any), before I launch my defense of oak trees. Because, you see, I think thoughtfully planted, reasonably spaced oak trees can be a beautiful, beautiful thing on a golf course -- not just in and of themselves, as trees, but as golf features: penalizing wayward shots, while at the same time offering the chance for interesting, low-flying (or very high-flying) recoveries.

I have one more question -- and it's possibly a silly (petty, stupid, etc.) one that I might be advised not to ask, but ask it I shall: If the place was supposed to be devoid of trees, why'd they call it Oakmont?
 

[Patrick_Mucci]

Tim Weiman,

Are you saying that the "Will of the Membership" prevailed and resulted in the completion of a successful project ?

What a great concept  

[Mike_Cirba]

Patrick,

My understanding is that the tree clearing project is finished, and I've heard good things from those who have seen it.

Tim is talking about the next project, which is just underway, I believe.

[guest]

Two articles appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review today which detail the changes and include some very positive comments as well as some limited photos...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/sports/golf/s_69019.html

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/sports/golf/s_69002.html

[George Pazin]

DK -

You're free to ask the question, just don't expect an answer, at least not in a public forum.

It's called Oakmont because that's the name of the little municipality where the country club & the course are located. Oakmont East is a majorly quirky public course right next door, but nobody will ever confuse the two. It's actually owned by big brother, they use it for a sod farm & parking during big events.

Patrick -

Maybe they did just follow orders in all instances, but that doesn't absolve the contractors when things don't work out well. If someone bought the Mona Lisa, I wouldn't paint a picture of Cindy Crawford over top of it if someone wanted to pay me to. 'Course, I can't really paint, so they probably wouldn't hire me anyway.

[Dan Kelly]

George --

Thanks.

I really don't -- and didn't -- expect an answer ... publicly, privately, or otherwise. I was trying to be a bit of a provocateur, I suppose. Because -- and quite seriously now -- I don't think it serves anyone's interests to say that certain subjects may not be addressed, or that certain questions may not be asked. It's that sort of mindset that gave us Political Correctness.

The people at Oakmont have nothing to be ashamed of, do they?

(I do wonder what became of the wood.)

(And as for the name Oakmont: Must have been some oak trees around there at some point, eh? Or maybe not!)

[Scott_Burroughs]

As guest's publicly available links show, almost 3500 trees have been removed, along with 20 of the over 200 bunkers.  Also, more than 200 yards have been added to the course.

[Rick Shefchik]

I don't get it.

Why is there a need to tiptoe around the number of trees removed at Oakmont, when a U.S.G.A. official freely blabs it to a Pittsburgh newspaper? Did the membership truly think the number would not become public, given that there will be TV and print reporters crawling over the dramatically altered grounds during the 2003 Amateur?

And more to the point, why on earth would they care? They took out 3,500 trees for a reason. Is the final result of this project any more or less dramatic or appealing if the number is 500, or 1500, or 5500 -- or never becomes known?

[Tim Weiman]

Pat Mucci:

I didn't mean to refer to "the will of the membership".  Rather, I meant to origin vision of the course creator.  When Oakmont is unveiled next year I believe everyone will conclude the club stayed faithful to the founder's vision better than some other prominent clubs.

Dan Kelly:

You can always ask anything you want about any golf project or any topic for that matter!  

As for the guys at Oakmont, I think they are focused on working rather than talking.  When the Amateur arrives, I'm sure the golf world will be happy they've taken that approach.

[Pete L.]

Just read the Pitt. newspaper articles. It's a shame they didn't have a picture of renowned golf course architect Tom Fazio "poring over the historical photos".