Axeman strikes at Chambers Bay

[Doug Siebert]

What if the 4500 sq ft home was insulated so well, used geothermal heat pumps etc. so that it consumed the same energy as an average 1500 sq ft home?  Would it still be evil in the eyes of environmentalists?

I don't know anything about that housing development, and given the crap that builders all over the country pass off as "green" I wouldn't be surprised if they simply used higher efficiency furnace and AC than the building code requires and upgraded windows on an otherwise standard 4500 sq ft house.  But I'll bet the ELF idiots who did that probably had no idea of their construction either and even if the houses really did use the same energy as a 1500 sq ft house they'd still try to burn 'em down because they assume all rich people want to rape the environment.

Sorry if I'm sounding like Lou Duran here

[Dan Herrmann]

Looks like the tree will survive!  Great news!

[Matt Varney]

I hate to hear about incidents like these when stupid people cause damage to a golf course or the natural landmarks that define the course design.  I do have a friend that is specializes in large tree planting he might be one of the best in the business. 

If you lose a 40' tree he replaces it with another 40'+ tree.  I have seen his work in person and it is amazing the difference a couple large trees make in a golf hole design.

[W.H. Cosgrove]

No evidence that the ELF had anything to do with this vandalism.  

I would suspect that a disgruntled ex employee or a drunken H.S student will eventually be tagged for the crime.  This is the Pac NW and you must remember that there is an axe in every garage.  

There is also a Chainsaw in every garage, had he been sober maybe he would have picked that up first.  If its destruction he wants, I could suggest some other courses that would benenfit from his work.

[Joel Zuckerman]

I was fortunate to play 36 at Chambers just last Friday--it is absolutely stunning--the most authentic links-type course I've ever played in this country--right down to the mixed-use trail full of joggers and baby strollers that bisects the property, remindful of Royal Dornoch or the Old Course.  I will also add the level of service is extraordinary.  From the shuttle drivers, starters (mellow, not manic) pro shop staff, etc.  There to help as needed, but none of the cloying, in-your-face obsequiosness one often encounters at high-end daily fee courses with bag attendants, outside service staff, etc.
It's a shame about the tree, but it's a slight marketing ploy by the PR department referring to it as the "lone tree."  There are other groves of trees on the course (I think on the shortish, uphill par-4 12th, for example)  Too bad the greens are total Velcro at the moment.  Only place I've played where the caddies use the phrase "ramming speed" for any putt over 30 or 40 feet!

[Marty Bonnar]

If the old fellow doesn't survive, havin' a dead tree in the middle of your golf course isn't necessarily all that bad.



Doesn't seem to affect this place's reputation any...

FBD.

PS and yes, that IS the Silver Fox striding purposefully ahead.