Why is all tree clearing basically the same?

[Ryan Farrow]

I was struck by this photo on Ian's blog and it just makes me wonder why this is the accepted norm. To me, there is nothing more unnatural than a cleared cut hole corridor in a densely forested area. Does anyone have some good examples of good tree clearing where there are perhaps pockets of trees or a gradient effect where trees get less and less dense?

[Tom_Doak]

Ryan:

That's two questions in one.

I think you are right that most courses are poorly landscaped with trees.  In many cases it has been done with trees that are PLANTED over the years filling up every available space, which is just stupid ... you've taken enough landscape architecture classes to understand this.

Actual CLEARING of trees is another story.  In many cases it's hard to get permission from planning authorities to take down any more trees than are necessary to play the 18 holes -- zoning codes value trees above vistas.  Even if that's not an issue, it's difficult to convince an owner to spend more money to take down trees that aren't in play.  You really have to have some vision to see the potential benefits of additional clearing, and most clients don't have that sort of vision.

The best examples of clearing are the drawings in Tom Simpson's book.

P.S.  Didn't we do a pretty decent job of clearing at Rock Creek?  I thought so, anyway.

[Mike Nuzzo]

We didn't do a lot of clearing at Wolf Point - 5 holes.
But when we did, Don sure did make sure we took down enough trees outside the golf corridors - inbetween the trees.  All the junk trees and brush.
So you can look through the trees to see other trees and sometimes other fairways.
He may say it was just for air circulation or practical reasons.
I think it made a huge impact on the overall holes.
As for the clearing lines themselves we were able create irregular ones because it was our intention (we had room to work with too), and when you clear all but the good ones it kind of works out that way anyway.

Maybe they didn't have that Tillinghast sketch on how to make a clearing line look good from the early days....

[Ryan Farrow]

Mike, would you happen to have any pictures which show off this part of the golf course?

Tom, what tree clearing?  

And are you referencing the architectural side of golf? Cause that damn book keeps avoiding me.



This was one of the things that I actually noticed when I was a kid. I didn't care much for the golf at that age and couldn't understand why people actually watched the game on TV. But you always see those aerial views from the blimp of just solid forest and these little slits cut out of them for people to play the game. It still looks as bad today as it did then. Perhaps that is why I am here today.

[Lester George]

Ryan,

If you will e-mail me I'll send you a couple of photos to post that may help your conversation.  

Like TD says, sometimes you are regulated by local, state and federal agencies on the amount and type of clearing you can do.  This is particularly true with wetlands, buffers and other sensitive areas.  We have actually taken part in defining clearing activities for some states as they relate to golf courses because agencies just did not understand why you just can't "play over" certain types of vegetation.

Lester

[Mark_Fine]

Ryan,
I'm not sure what you mean by the accepted norm?  Our tree management plans can vary dramatically from course to course.  But then again, I'm talking about on existing courses vs. new course design.  If there is one thing most good tree plans have in common is that they allow room to play golf but they do vary.  At one of the courses we are working on, most of the hardwoods and what one might call the "specimen" trees were all planted closest to the fairways.  The junk trees such as pines, etc. were the ones planted first and were planted further away.  This complicated the process as many of the best trees (some we would have liked to keep) were in the worse spots.  Further complicating matters was that many of them had plaques on them    Again, every course has its own issues tree-wise to deal with.  Sometimes it's views (internal and external) across the golf course, or screening, or depth perception, or framing, or separation, or over planting, or "back up trees", ... the list goes on and on.  I sure don't think all tree clearing is the same.

[Walt_Cutshall]

What about courses that were built in meadows, then had trees grow around the holes through the years? Wouldn't it then be unnatural to continually mow down the saplings that would grow in the land surrounding the golf holes?

[Jeff_Brauer]

Ryan,

Not sure exactly what you mean, but think I do.

A few things cause standardized clearing -

First, it usually matches the width of the irrigation system, whether 2,3, or 4 row.  

Second, the clearing is often marked by the contractor and not the gca, and they tend to straighten the lines.  When I did Avocet at Wild Wing, the Owner commented on how my clearing lines were the most artistic, free form and curving, rather than a straight line 125-150' either side of center.  Those gently curving lines takes some time and also drive irrigation guys nuts, since its sometimes harder to fit the sprinklers in irregular spaces.

I also try to leave "lone soldiers" or small clumps within the clearing to soften the edge and break it up. However, I find that I need to leave them to accentuate points of the clearing that are jutting into the fw. If I put them where the basic tree line juts out, it effectively just straightens the line right back out.

Lastly, I think some folks do too tight a curve - you can only have two or three curves per fw.  I know this sounds forumulaic, but I have found that the curved edges of clearing look best when the jut out at about a 7:1 ratio, i.e. over 210 feet of length along the fw, the "outie" goes back about 30' and then comes in in about another 210 feet.

Like everything else, it must be fitted to the land.  I have often flagged an entire fw, and got to the end to see a tree I think I can feature, and then reflag it accordingly.

Not sure that answers your question but hope its a start anyway.

[Michael Dugger]

The stories from Strawn's Driving the Green give a good feel for the mentality of some dozer operators....IMHO.

Has anyone here NOT read that book?