The restoration / renovation work completed at LCC included the bunkers, a few tees and the rebuilding of the 12th and 13th greens. There was a little fairway work completed with the bunker work. Fairways on 3, 10, 11, 14 and 16 did include expansion, however, there are many other expansions to be completed. There was no master plan, so it was kind of like we would do the work and say "hey, let's expand the fairway or approach". There was a budget to maintain and expanding bentgrass fairways can get expensive. Further expansion would likely remove some of the rough between the bunkers and fairways discussed above. In addition to budget concerns one must think of the membership as a whole. It would be nice to have fairway running right into the bunkers (we are doing this elsewhere), however, it would not be received well by a majority of the members.
In regards to the trees at LCC, there are still a number that need to be removed. They do have some beautiful specimen trees that should (and must) remain. However, LCC is a difficult members golf course without the trees. There are numerous (side) sloped fairways leaving golfers with up/downhill lies, long par 4's, large deep bunkers, severe greens, uphill approaches, challenging par 3's and one of the hardest finishing holes anywhere. The trees need to be reduced. Todd and his staff have done a great job managing the trees at LCC after years of neglect. There has not been wholesale removal, just good management. As for pre-Colonial forestation of the area, I am not sure that is a valid argument at LCC. Lancaster County has long been known as an agrarian populace for centuries now. Having grown up in the area, I rarely equated the area to wooded rolling hills. It is known for poultry, tobacco, dairy and an abundance of Amish farms. LCC has wonderful topography that has been disguised for years. The vistas that are being reclaimed are now broken with groupings of trees enhancing the view not blocking it.
As for restoring a year or a particular vision there was discussion but the desire was to recapture the scale and appearance seen in the photos. There were functional issues with the bunkers (drainage, turf and slopes) that had to be addressed. The aerial photos and routing plan acted as a guide. We had the ability to pick and choose from those items and also looking at how the course (including changes in equipment) plays today. Bunkers were repositioned creating greater challenge and interest. Bunkers were removed where not original and not adding value to the course. Many bunkers were reconstructed in-place with changes only the sand lines and shape of the floor. In some instances the Club trusted us to add bunkers and make changes that deviated from their photos and existing course, albeit they were minor changes.