Tree trimming at Pasatiempo

[Joel_Stewart]

Kudos to the superintendent at Pasatiempo for their recent work.  Instead of taking out the trees, they trimmed the trees from the ground up 50 feet.  Makes a big difference.

Before.




After.

[Ronald Montesano]

I feel dirty...

[Sean Leary]

Plays better, looks worse...

[Alex Miller]

I wonder how Pasa would look if the trees between 6 and 7 were eliminated? Would it still be safe (assuming it is now)?

[Tim Nugent]

And the main reason was???

[Tim Passalacqua]

I have seen an old aerial photo of pasatiempo, there are no trees except for some scattered oak trees.  It looks pretty awesome, there were also no houses.  Nice picture including Mackenzie's old house in the background.  I think the trees will look better if they thin the top, so they aren't so bushy.

[RDecker]

Members seem to be having a harder time pulling the trigger on major tree removals these days.  Even when they are in favor they seem hesitant to go ahead partly/mostly because of concerns over safety and the possibility of errant shots particularly around greens complexes.
In the absence of a complete removal the type of trimming here seen is becoming more common at clubs.  As an architecture fan I don't really love it but as a super I accept that it does prove beneficial and improve turf quality.  You gotta know which battles can be won and when to compromise when it comes to the tree issues at a club. In a world run by insurance companies and lawyers the club members don't want to be the ones blamed when someone gets injured.

[Joel_Stewart]

Plays better, looks worse...

After playing it yesterday, it's not bad and doesn't look bad.  The 7th is now completely playable and not a problem.

Pasa is in the best condition I have seen.  Not only did they trim some trees but they installed a new irrigation system and I'm told they are using 30% less water.  There are huge areas in which they are not watering and the contrast between the brown grass and green grass is quite attractive.  They have also cut back the rough on a number of holes, getting back to Macs preferred fairways.   

[ed_getka]

Plays better, looks worse...

After playing it yesterday, it's not bad and doesn't look bad.  The 7th is now completely playable and not a problem.

Pasa is in the best condition I have seen.  Not only did they trim some trees but they installed a new irrigation system and I'm told they are using 30% less water.  There are huge areas in which they are not watering and the contrast between the brown grass and green grass is quite attractive.  They have also cut back the rough on a number of holes, getting back to Macs preferred fairways.   

Joel,
    Sounds great. How much do you think the safety between #6 and #7  has been changed by the trimming? Your photos appear to be looking back down #7 before and after the trimming. Was there any trimming up the tree between #7 and #8? I can't see any.

[Bill_McBride]

Plays better, looks worse...

After playing it yesterday, it's not bad and doesn't look bad.  The 7th is now completely playable and not a problem.

Pasa is in the best condition I have seen.  Not only did they trim some trees but they installed a new irrigation system and I'm told they are using 30% less water.  There are huge areas in which they are not watering and the contrast between the brown grass and green grass is quite attractive.  They have also cut back the rough on a number of holes, getting back to Macs preferred fairways.   

Joel, what would you estimate the stimp reading was?

[Patrick Kiser]

Plays better, looks worse...

After playing it yesterday, it's not bad and doesn't look bad.  The 7th is now completely playable and not a problem.

Pasa is in the best condition I have seen.  Not only did they trim some trees but they installed a new irrigation system and I'm told they are using 30% less water.  There are huge areas in which they are not watering and the contrast between the brown grass and green grass is quite attractive.  They have also cut back the rough on a number of holes, getting back to Macs preferred fairways.   

Joel,
    Sounds great. How much do you think the safety between #6 and #7  has been changed by the trimming? Your photos appear to be looking back down #7 before and after the trimming. Was there any trimming up the tree between #7 and #8? I can't see any.

Ed,

Good to see you active and posting.

Actually, Joel posted a pic on another thread showing from the 8th tee and how things now open up to even show the 9th in the distance, but it's tough to tell from that pic how the left side to the 8th looks like.  Here's a photo taken in May 2011 when I played with Kyle H. and Mark P.

To put it mildly, the tree management work has made a HUGE difference in my mind throughout the course.  For instance, you can now see the 16th green from the tee and that plays into the strategy in my book.

Bottom line is you need to see it again to believe it.

Not that they weren't believers before (because I'm sure they were), but both Joel and Gib were shaking their heads a lot yesterday.  As in, how can Pasatiempo NOT get more attention.

[PCCraig]

Is it just me, or does that still look over-treed (and unnatural)? Those that have seen the course, would it really be a safety issue if the entire tree(s) were removed?

[Ben Jarvis]

Is it just me, or does that still look over-treed (and unnatural)? Those that have seen the course, would it really be a safety issue if the entire tree(s) were removed?
[/quote]

I played Pasa in July last year.

The 6th plays quite narrow so I think the trees that separate it to the 7th, down the right side, need to remain. However, the trees down the left, perhaps three of four tree stumps up, could be removed, opening up the driving zone a little. Combine this with trimmed limbs on both sides, the width would be perfectly acceptable.

Others that have played it, thoughts on this?

[Patrick Kiser]

If anything, it looks to me as if additional tree management was been performed on that area of the 6th - 8th between 5-11 and now.

As Matthew Mollica pointed out on Joel's other thread, errant shots can kill...

It's tough to say if any tree removal down that area could be done without creating any potential problems.  Also ... there could be some restrictions for tree removal.  As in if a tree is removed, another has to be planted somewhere else on the property.  That would not surprise me.