More Tree Management: Tree Removal on Post WWII Courses

[Jason Thurman]

There's been an excellent trend over the last 20 years of tree removal on Golden Age courses to restore design intent and open up vistas. The list of courses that have undergone a tree clearing program is long and impressive. Oakmont is probably the most famous example. The Country Club looked great at the Amateur this year. Lawsonia, I'm told, used to be very different from the gem it is now. I've been lucky to play courses like Broadmoor in Indianapolis and Hyde Park in Cincinnati that have done excellent work on their trees as well.

Of course, all those places predate 1940 and share some fundamental principles of the Golden Age, such as an emphasis on playing angles and enough of a modicum of width to create real risk/reward and enough slope in greens to create a partnership with fairways and tees that opens numerous strategic options.

The era ushered in by RTJ departed from those principles somewhat. From the end of WWII until Pete Dye, I see less of an emphasis on variant strategies and more of an emphasis on heroic but perhaps dictated shots. There also seems to be less of an emphasis on shaping. When I think of Ross, I think of his deep bunkers and elegant green pads. When I think of MacRaynor, I think of beautifully flowing and sculpted features. Mackenzie=beautifully varied bunkers and bold slopes. When I think of RTJ, I think of stern corridors of play with treacherous and beautiful surroundings, but less emphasis on the visual presentation of the features of the course itself.

With that in mind, are there examples of courses built after WWII that have undergone significant tree removal to open up vistas, emphasize the elegance of the course's shaping and features, and restore playing angles? I'm having a hard time thinking of any, and Adam Warren's recent thread and some of the debate it has sparked has me wondering if the management of those courses needs to be very different from that of Golden Age designs. Frankly, I'm not sure RTJ's courses would present all that well without trees, as I can think of several cases where removing trees from these courses would be analogous to neutering the bunkering of a Ross or Mackenzie to remove a lot of the visual panache.

[Matthew Sander]

Jason,

That is really a good question. I'll be interested to hear some examples, as I don't have many.

Certainly, many of those post-WWII courses are over treed, and if nothing else some targeted tree removal would improve turf quality. However, your point about the interest in shaping in Golden Age courses as opposed to the mid-century variety makes some sense. The groundworks you see at MacRaynor, Langford, and Ross (only to name a few) courses really shine when long views are opened up and cleared of trees. Would some RTJ courses improve aesthetically if a large number of trees were felled? I would say probably, but maybe not to the extent of an Oakmont or Lawsonia.

I'm thinking of a course like Otter Creek in Columbus, IN, which is emblematic of the RTJ style. I do think there are parts of that course that would benefit significantly from some tree clearing, both aesthetically and in terms of playability.

[PCCraig]

Jason,

An interesting thread.

Bellerive CC (built in the 50's) in St. Louis has taken out hundreds of trees over the last ~18 months or so. I don't have any photos but the holes from #12-#16 which play along a high ridge have seen a lot of the removal, which has opened up some great views looking down onto the rest of the course. I believe there also has been a fair amount of removal around the greens, for turf health, I assume.

[John McCarthy]

I have only seen it on tv but Harbortown has many trees I think need to be on that course.