It really doesn't take that long for a forest to appear where a golf course used to be, does it?
Stillwater CC is now one of the tightest and most tree-lined courses in the Twin Cities, though many of the ash trees are coming down due to an infestation. Apparently, nature abhors an arboretum.
I should never comment on a course after only one playing, but ...
Stillwater doesn't seem all that tight to me, Rick -- except on a few holes where one needn't hit driver off the tee to find a good spot from which to approach the green.
Yes, it's tree-lined; possibly excessively, in a few spots -- but what I like about its tree-linedness is that the trees are widely enough spaced that they will produce
the possibility of many very interesting recovery shots, and not very many punch-outs or unplayable lies.
In regard to the dying trees: Let us hope the Tree Committee sees fit to kiss their ashes goodbye -- and cover their ash holes with grass.