The Folly of Fir Trees and the Weirdness of Weeping Willows

[Matt_Ward]

I've played a few metro NYC area courses recently (won't name them fornow) that had a profusion of fir trees that were allowed to expand to nearly ground level. Ditto the inclusion of weeping willows which spread out like a huge canopy and extend their reach to ground level.

It amazes me how so many clubs -- those in the Northeast and Midwest are the more likely offenders in which these types of trees are placed so close to the line of play.

They simply invite the unplayable ball rule and often times serve as de facto water hazards because course management has not seen fit to either cut then high enough to avoid the situation I mentioned or better yet get rid of the entirely.

What's quite interesting is that when the PGA was played at OH/S the famous shot Player hit in '72 in the final round at the 16th hole came over a weeping willow tree which have since been replaced.

Hard to imagine how so many clubs still seem to prefer to keep them in close proximity to lines of play.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Aren't willow trees code for blah holes, loosely analogous to tennis shoes draped over a power line?

[Dan Herrmann]

Matt,
One of my favorite holes is on an otherwise nondescript public course in Washington County, Oregon called Forest Hills, which was designed by William Bell.

The hole is called "Lone Fir", and it truly has just one tall, skinny, and perfectly placed Douglas Fir.  The hole is a really cool par 5.  You can see it in this picture in the background.

[Jason Topp]

Matt:

I agree.  I would like to open a Christmas tree lot at our club this year.  We have a couple willows that were trimmed to be playable but even then you deal with roots.

[cary lichtenstein]

Matt:

I agree.  I would like to open a Christmas tree lot at our club this year.  We have a couple willows that were trimmed to be playable but even then you deal with roots.

Jason makes a great point. Dealing with the ROOTS is so dangerous.

In Chicago, we had lots of weeping willows, trimmed correctly by the way and a new member joined, his very 1st round of golf at the club and he fractured his wrist on the roots. In my game, we had a lift and place rule that got you away from the root, but did not give you a better shot, in other words, if you were stymied by the tree, u were still stymied after you placed your ball.

It did lead to a bit of controversy, but no broken hand bones.

[Doug Wright]

Matt,

I think any pine trees within 50 yards of a fairway are Stupid Trees.

[Jim Sweeney]

Certainly agree if the tree s are non-indiginous. Couldn't say that about firs in the pacific nw, although placement is obviously a concern. That said, weren't the fir trees a defining element at the PGA at Sahalee?

Willows, though leafy and rooty, are great for soaking up excess moisture near ponds and streams. Interlachen has lots of them, though as far as I know not many that come into play except after poorly played shots; unplayable lies are not unwarrented in that situation.

Trees in good locations good, in bad locations bad.

Maples also have shallow root systems but they are pretty in the autumn!

[Patrick_Mucci]

Matt,

Many Weeping Willows were planted to absorb water in wet areas.

They are dirty trees with roots that break ground, thus creating a number of safety issues.

They were planted indiscriminately, weren't properly maintain and became eyesores, yet, many clubs refused to remove them until recently.

Almost Universally, they should go

[JMorgan]

Winter is not high season for golf in the Northeast.  Therefore, evergreens are unnecessary golf course decorations.  Just my opinion.

Willows are estate specimen trees at best.  Messy, weak, untoward trees.  Save them for a pond and a picnic.

Instead, let me suggest a few trees that may remain on the course, if absolutely necessary:

Elms
Zelkovas
Mature oaks, limbed up
The occasional native tree of interest: catalpa, buckeye, sweetgum

[Tom_Doak]

Personally, I missed the willows on #16 at Oakland Hills this year.  Especially since they seem to have removed them so they could give the corporate tents on that side a view of the green.

My take is that trees give a course native character [my professors at Cornell would have called it "a local vernacular"] and that is an important thing if you want to create a course with a character of its own.  Going out and planting firs or willows or anything else is silly, but if the property has certain species of trees, I am going to save them and incorporate them somehow.

JMorgan:  Interestingly, I do remember that the one species of tree Mr. Dye never had a good word for was the sweet gum.  He hated them as much as I hate the "Crimson King" maple, but for better reasons -- sweet gums drop gumballs which are awful on turfgrass.

[JMorgan]

JMorgan:  Interestingly, I do remember that the one species of tree Mr. Dye never had a good word for was the sweet gum.  He hated them as much as I hate the "Crimson King" maple, but for better reasons -- sweet gums drop gumballs which are awful on turfgrass.

Yeah, sweetgums do do that, like sycamores ... "occasional" is the word because they still are very pretty in the autumn, but are less successful than maples in the NE.   

[Bruce Leland]

Jim S. mentioned Interlachen, Wayzata also has numerous Weeping Willows in the low lying areas of the course.  I always thought that they were the exception to the 90% air rule.