Brad Klein and Mike Young
Thanks for your input.
I understand the burdens that superintendents face when clubs expect "wall to wall" maintenance and grooming. Additionally, no one is a bigger fan of unkempt, natural areas, especially in the form of native fescues, than I am. Having said that, clearing out the understory of select wooded areas comprises sound tree management in my opinion and falls outside the realm of wall to wall grooming.
As we have always agreed, clearing out the understory has benefits.
1. Recovery Play: Dense wooded areas with low reaching limbs restrict recovery play. Clean out the brush, raise the canopy to a reasonable height, and remove undesirable evergreens within the hardwoods. Under these conditions, the golfer may at least assess the risks for his next angle of attack, and depending upon his skills, may shape the ball through alternative openings to safety.
2. Specimen Hard Wood Tree Exposure: Here, grand specimen trees may be exposed. Bring to view prominent trees which have always been hidden among impinging neighbors.
3. Air Circulation: Agronomically, clearing out walls of underbrush can also creat enough air movement to dry moist turf areas on a case by case basis.
4. Visual Depth: Aestheticaly, the added dimension of visual depth created is very nice, particularly with loose -moving, instead of straight, tree-lines.
While the publicists applauded Dr. John R. Williams for "enhancing" Oak Hill by planting 75,000 saplings........... when major tournament venues, such as Oak Hill, expose their 20 yard tree-lined fairways to the world, and ANGC continues to plant 40 footers alongside landing zones........... when the PGA demands that Q School sites plant oaks in preparation for tournaments...........During a time that tree huggers are already abundant and sensitivities are naturally high............I simply think it is crucial that the USGA make the distinction between the benefits of sound tree management and the burdens of wall to wall maintenance, especially when people rely on their advice.