While browsing through NGLA's nice library I came across a book by Clifford Roberts on the history of ANGC. There's not a tremendous amount about the early architecture in it but there is a few pages on Alister MacKenzie and Roberts interesting thoughts and feelings about him--Roberts appeared to have real respect for MacKenzie's opinions on architecture and thought Alister a man who was very humorous (with his heavy Scottish brogue and ready story for any situation) without really meaning to be!
But Roberts made specific mention of the total fairway acreage of ANGC and alluded to the reasons why it was planned so extensive.
The total acreage of ANGC's originally planned fairways? A full 80 ACREAS!! That's more than I've ever heard of on a golf course! That's really huge. I'd doubt the fairway acreage at ANGC today is half that---if that.
Clearly that would seem to mean that any trees used on ANGC in those days must have been far removed from the fairways of today's course although it didn't mean that existing planting and trees were not considered in the early course as ANGC's site was the Fruitland nursery of the Breckermans family, one of whom became an early member of ANGC.