Dismal River Red -- A Photo Tour (All 18 Now Posted)

[Ron Csigo]

Eric,

I agree with you as well on the cedars.  They accentuate the look of those specific holes.  Reminds me a bit of Michael Strantz's work.

Great pictures Cliff.  Thanks for sharing.

[Cliff Walston]

You boys may like the look, but they are a real detriment to the environment and will continue to spread and take over if left unchecked.  The whole point is that they are not one with the environment. They aren't supposed to be there, especially in an arid environment.  I would be willing to bet if CJ has any old pictures from 15-20 years ago, those things weren't there.

http://forestry.about.com/od/forestinvasives/p/tamarisk.htm

They have destroyed large parts of the Hill Country where I am from.  As a nonnative, they should be eradicated.  They out compete the other native shrubs and forbs that are beneficial to the wildlife by sucking up the available soil moisture. The ones that get irrigation water will only explode even more so.

[Eric Smith]

Cliff,

Thanks for the link. Very interesting. Consulting the Google I found a few references to eastern red cedar in the Dismal River valley. Both are, as you point out, invasive to the region and efforts to eradicate them are being undertaken.

[Don_Mahaffey]

They make a great fence post

[Jaeger Kovich]

Don - I have a good 500+ pics of the place, if you ever need/want any... PS: your texans let me down last week

[Don_Mahaffey]

Jaeger, between you, Zack, Ryan, and a host of others, I'm guessing there are thousands of photos from our time at DR.

Here is one I stumbled across which I forgot about. Some of the wildlife at DR...fits with the fact that Schneider was the man on the job for RGD...ps I think some folks in Houston were looking for a bridge to jump off....makes me wonder how they are feeling in NY?
 

[Adam Clayman]

Dr. Trimble mentioned the need to control the cedars to Chris a few years back. It isn't until one stands on 18 tee do you see how many there really are.

We played there today in a super gale. Complete with blowing bits of white stuff on the home hole.

The visuals were outstanding and several sequences were positively delicious. I was especially enamored with 14, 15 & 16. 17 was into it, and a bit much for my weak short hitting exhausted self. I emptied my bag of extraneous balls, prior to teeing off, to lighten the load, but we found so many, it's full again.

Whoever played all the bridgestones, thanx.

[Howard Riefs]

For those who haven't read John Paul Newport's amazing love letter to the Dismal Doak course:

"This Land is Made for Golf: Tom Doak's New Nebraska Course"
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303342104579101211691661186.html

[William_G]

They make a great fence post

Sorry, Don, does that mean you agree they should go? (I'm not the brightest, straight answers only for me!)

Brian, you should start a poll, 4COL. This is a discussion group not a "papers please" check, LOL.

Personally, the trees are only one of a myriad of things an architect could work with CJ on if they so wished, otherwise the cake tastes good at Dismal Doak!

 

[Jim Nugent]

For those who haven't read John Paul Newport's amazing love letter to the Dismal Doak course:

"This Land is Made for Golf: Tom Doak's New Nebraska Course"
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303342104579101211691661186.html

I read the comments to Paul's article as well.  5 of 8 were negative, mostly on environmental grounds. 

[Ross Tuddenham]

Does anyone else think that Dismal hole 9 looks a bit like the 8th at Church Stretton?




From SeanA's tour.

Where he describes it as driveable, but a risky strategy to use.

[Sven Nilsen]

Apologize if its been addressed elsewhere, but are there any similarities between the 5th at DRR and the 4th at Barnbougle Dunes?  From the photos, they look fairly similar with the par 3 stretching to close to the yardage of the drivable par 4.

[Don_Mahaffey]

Brian, sorry for being a wise ass, although cedars do in fact make great fence posts.
The subject of invasive species is complicated, at least for me. Is it bad if a non native moves in and upsets the eco system? Yes it certainly can be. Unless your a cow in the Sand Hills and there isn't another tree that can live thru the harsh winters, and you wouldn't either without the benefit of a wind break. I'm sure the ranchers who use cedars for wind breaks for their homesteads and livestock will tell you they are happy they've found something that can survive and help fight the nasty north wind. At the same time, it's a bad thing that the cedars can take over the river eco system if left unchecked. So, I guess my feelings is they should be managed, but I'm not about to say that all non native species should be eliminated because then we'd have no golf courses in the sand hills, or at least golf courses as we know them.  

[William_G]

They make a great fence post

Sorry, Don, does that mean you agree they should go? (I'm not the brightest, straight answers only for me!)

Brian, you should start a poll, 4COL. This is a discussion group not a "papers please" check, LOL.

?? I was just asking Don to explain as I didn't really understand his last post. Is there something wrong with that? I'm not trying to interrogate anyone just curious to know Don's feelings on the subject as I have a lot of respect for his views. (The straight answers only was a humorous reference to the fact that I might be a little slow on the uptake in not getting his meaning but if you want to interpret that as being aggressive go right ahead.) Man I am sick of all the aggro on this site.

lol

[William_G]

well said Don.

The architect can utilize the non-native card when beneficial yet the course itself is non-native, LOL.

FWIW, I think the cedars add another unique element to Dismal's beauty.

thanks