Cuscowilla Tree Trouble

[Gary Daughters]

Cuscowilla is a fine course with a lot of followers here.  Does it bother anyone else that a) strategy on quite a few holes is dictated by trees?  b) trees not terribly far removed from lines of play can turn a poorly played shot into a multi-stroke drama?

I think it's ok (not great but ok) that the aggressive drive at #12 is to try to carry a medium to tallish pine.  Less ok is you can carry the pine and still wind up in tree hell to the left... plus.. trees right, as well.  From the tee it's a little like looking at prison bars.  Then it's a similar deal on the very next hole (vault a cluster of trees on the left or have an enormous approach into a long par 4).  The aggressive play on #18?  Carry trees on the left.  #7?  Tree left (in the fairway), trees right, tree guarding the green.

As to the second criticism, my point is that the penalty for a stray shot can on too many holes be too severe.  Again, jail.

Has anyone else felt this way?  Am I being too critical?  I don't think I am, but...

[Bill_McBride]

Cuscowilla is a fine course with a lot of followers here.  Does it bother anyone else that a) strategy on quite a few holes is dictated by trees?  b) trees not terribly far removed from lines of play can turn a poorly played shot into a multi-stroke drama?

I think it's ok (not great but ok) that the aggressive drive at #12 is to try to carry a medium to tallish pine.  Less ok is you can carry the pine and still wind up in tree hell to the left... plus.. trees right, as well.  From the tee it's a little like looking at prison bars.  Then it's a similar deal on the very next hole (vault a cluster of trees on the left or have an enormous approach into a long par 4).  The aggressive play on #18?  Carry trees on the left.  #7?  Tree left (in the fairway), trees right, tree guarding the green.

As to the second criticism, my point is that the penalty for a stray shot can on too many holes be too severe.  Again, jail.

Has anyone else felt this way?  Am I being too critical?  I don't think I am, but...

Gary, the corridors on holes such as #2, #7, #12 and #18 are plenty wide if you don't get too aggressive at Cuscowilla.  It's all a series of risk/reward scenarios.  Love that place.

[Mike_Young]

Gary,
The tree on 7 bothers me.....but whether or not the trees are a design issue is directly related to the architect    oops.....

[john_stiles]

Love the Cusco.  The trees are part of the southern Georgia landscape and lake country.  Having said that, the one spot where I think the trees are somewhat bothersome is hole #7.   And hole #12 as well.  The trees will get a little wider and taller.

#12 could become single file.   I only mention #7 and #12 because those greens are very interesting, and have nice contours.  It would be fun to risk a shot from the rough, versus punching up near the green.

There is little, to no undergrowth in the Cusco pines, so a recovery shot punched to front of greens is usually possible.

Has there been any tree work in last few years ?  

golf caveat :  have not played Cusco in about 5 years but played quite a few times and in their invitational, probably 20 plays. Being a poor golfer, I usually played safe on #12.  No. 7 is a bit different as you do need to advance as far as possible up near the trees as it is a shorter birdie hole.  

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

I also love the place and feel generally speaking the fairways allow for plenty of shot options. Any course can and does need to monitor tree growth and that even applies here. Of course as we know that takes an act of congress to get a tree cut down on an existing course. Cuscowilla is just fine. I have a few places that I would drop one or two but flows from my own failings as a shot maker.

[Ryan Farrow]

"Does it bother anyone else that a) strategy on quite a few holes is dictated by trees?  b) trees not terribly far removed from lines of play can turn a poorly played shot into a multi-stroke drama?"


No. Trees do provide for excellent strategy and an architect should take advantage of a property with with mature trees, not just keep them out of play. I feel its one of the few ways to "force" players to shape a shot. I'm not a great golfer so I won't shape a shot unless I have to, but if I am stuck behind a tree, I look forward to attempting this kind of shot.

:...Poorly played shot into multi-stroke drama?" Sounds like golf to me!  If you hit the shot its your own fault and you need to use your brain to get out of the situation. Whats wrong with that?

[jeffwarne]

Cuscowilla is a fine course with a lot of followers here.  Does it bother anyone else that a) strategy on quite a few holes is dictated by trees?  b) trees not terribly far removed from lines of play can turn a poorly played shot into a multi-stroke drama?

I think it's ok (not great but ok) that the aggressive drive at #12 is to try to carry a medium to tallish pine.  Less ok is you can carry the pine and still wind up in tree hell to the left... plus.. trees right, as well.  From the tee it's a little like looking at prison bars.  Then it's a similar deal on the very next hole (vault a cluster of trees on the left or have an enormous approach into a long par 4).  The aggressive play on #18?  Carry trees on the left.  #7?  Tree left (in the fairway), trees right, tree guarding the green.

As to the second criticism, my point is that the penalty for a stray shot can on too many holes be too severe.  Again, jail.

Has anyone else felt this way?  Am I being too critical?  I don't think I am, but...

Remove all those artificial trees (who ever heard of a pine tree in georgia? ) and replace them with some of those(minimalistic) scruffy blowout pure sand pits so common in that part of georgia . That way you'll never have to curve your ball to gain an advantageous angle

[Mike Hendren]

Generally, the 7th has historically received a pass from this website, much to my surprise.  I think it's a poor golf hole, made even more so by the maintenance practice of adding pine straw mulch around the trees short and right of the green.  A ball catching those trees tends to settle down into the mulch, making recovery impossible as an attempted punch-out might well burrow down in the mulch a few feet from its point of origin, becoming findable only after an excavation that moves the ball, resulting in an additional penalty stroke.   It's an example of poor design exacerbated by poor maintenace in my book.

[BCrosby]

Jeff Warne nails it. (BTW, how are things on sunny LI?)

Cusco is enormously wide. Wonderfully so. Trees play a limited role. Where they are involved it is usually to present strategic choices to the player. Plenty of room on 7 to bail right. 12 is a very short, drivable par 4 where shorter, straighter clubs off the tee are an option, leaving a green that is still reachable with a good approach.

They might cut back some of the pines on the right on the 15th. But that's a minor quibble.

I've always thought that Cusco is so wide on so many holes that the use of strategic trees here and there adds some nice variety.

Bob     

[Mike Hendren]

Plenty of room on 7 to bail right.

Bob, I thought I recalled my second being blocked out despite being 20 yards left of the right hand edge of the fairway.  Bad memory or lack of talent?

Mike

[BCrosby]

Your memory is on the money. The trees on the right are the price you paid for taking the safe route off the tee. It's a much harder shot from that side, requiring a well hit cut to get to the geen.

Bob

[Mike_Young]

Plenty of room on 7 to bail right.

Bob, I thought I recalled my second being blocked out despite being 20 yards left of the right hand edge of the fairway.  Bad memory or lack of talent?

Mike

Michael,
For most of us you are correct...but when Bob C nuts the driver it is about 225 off the tee....so his view is slightly different.....

[Mike Hendren]

Your memory is on the money. The trees on the right are the price you paid for taking the safe route off the tee. It's a much harder shot from that side, requiring a well hit cut to get to the geen.

Bob

Bob, is there ANYBODY out there who cuts a 9-iron with today's ball and equipment?

Mike

[BCrosby]

MikeY -

Unfair to skinny, infrequent players.  

Bob

[BCrosby]

Mike Young can, though in his case it would be a hooked 9 iron.

Bob

[Brent Hutto]

I hit about a 20-yard slice with an 8-iron yesterday. Unfortunately, I was trying to hook it 20 yards around a tree at the time. Almost beaned the poor guy who had just waved me up to play through, he was standing 30 yards left of the green but that wasn't near enough...I hate it when that happens.

[Brad Swanson]

Generally, the 7th has historically received a pass from this website, much to my surprise.  I think it's a poor golf hole, made even more so by the maintenance practice of adding pine straw mulch around the trees short and right of the green.  A ball catching those trees tends to settle down into the mulch, making recovery impossible as an attempted punch-out might well burrow down in the mulch a few feet from its point of origin, becoming findable only after an excavation that moves the ball, resulting in an additional penalty stroke.   It's an example of poor design exacerbated by poor maintenace in my book.

I agree 100% with this assessment of #7.  One of my rounds there I layed back off of the tee to try and avoid the trees right of the green.  I still wound up blocked to the green despite being well within the bounds of the fairway.  I hit a perfect high mid-iron cut that still caught the tree and awarded me with a smooth double.  I'm not Dalyesque, but I'm not exactly a short knock either.

[Gary Daughters]

Ryan,

I agree with you to the extent that.. I hit the poor shot(s), so duh.. penalty.  Don't hit it there.  My point, again, was that to my mind the penalty often is disportionate.  And generally I'm not hung up on what's "fair" or "unfair."  As far as thinking through a problem, I'm all for that.  I enjoy it.  But I don't enjoy taking my medicine (my bad, again), and I can discern little thought, skill or creativity in punching out backward when it's the only real option, and I've had a bit of that at Cuscowilla.  

Have you played the course?  

Bob,

You're correct.  The trees on the right at #7 are pretty well back.  But the one by the green negates a good chunk of that wide fairway, wouldn't you say?  


Mike H,

Cuscowilla is where I learned to nip a Doug Sanders sand wedge out of pine straw.  Sort of.