Before I launch into the body of the topic, allow me to introduce myself. I am a senior at Princeton University and a co-captain of the men's golf team. I started playing at the age of 9 and spent my childhood playing at Rancho Santa Fe GC outside of San Diego, CA. Between junior tournaments and my time on the team at Princeton, I have been fortunate enough to play many of the best golf courses this nation has to offer, and a few overseas as well. As a native San Diegan, it has been great to see the tracks of the northeast, especially given their contrast in style to those in the southwest that I grew up playing.
I'd like to thank everybody on this board for their contributions to my education in the world of golf course architecture. Since my discovery of this site, I have started to look at the game in a whole new way. I hope that I will be able to contribute in some way to this board in the future.
So, without further ado, on to my desired topic of discussion - the 15th hole at Springdale GC. Springdale, the private club that sits on Princeton University property, is a short but enjoyable course crammed onto a very small site of around 100 acres. My understanding is that William Flynn was responsible for the routing, which at one point features eight parallel fairways according to an aerial view. As expected, the course features a host of charming short par fours that tempt the player to be aggressive (and consequently piss off our coach).
The most interesting hole on the course to me is the 15th hole, which was the 17th hole before the use of the new clubhouse changed the order. From the back tees, it is listed as 404 yards and the fairway sits at a 45 degree angle to the tee box. Large trees line the right side of the tee and the fairway as does a small creek, forcing the player interested in pulling driver to hit a huge cut to keep from going through the fairway. The other option is to lay up short and left, leaving the player a longer approach shot from a more pronounced side hill lie due to the extreme cant of this part of the fairway. (Note: I tried to include an aerial view but I had some trouble. If somebody could help me that'd be great)
However, I think that these trees that force the player to shape the ball make the hole easier for the better player. My hypothesis is that if the trees were not there (and if playing down the parallel fairway to the right were not an option), the more aggressive player would drop the left to right shot shop in favor of aiming further right and to try to cut off too much, bringing the creek more into play. As it is now, the trees force a safer shot - one that starts away from trouble and moves towards it.
What do you think about this assertion? How do you feel tree removal would affect the hole?