A few well placed trees bestow depth and perspective to a golf hole. The sixth hole at CypressPoint, California.

Trees, Trees Everywhereby JAMES T. SNOWDirector, Northeastern Region, USGA Green Section

WE ALWAYS HAVE FADS .In the 1950s it was hula hoops,ducktail haircuts, and souped-

up cars. The 60s saw long hair, theBeatles, miniskirts, and fast food. The70s produced small cars, health food,punk rock, and ecology movements .Now we are in the 80s and it's computers,aerobics, video games, and plantingtrees on golf courses.

Golf course superintendents andofficials alike have developed a treeconsciousness in recent years, it seems,and thousands oftrees are being planted.The reasons are clear enough; treesprovide a great deal of beauty andstrategic interest to a golf course, andthey can serve a variety of otherimportant functions as well.

For example, well placed trees servearchitecturally by:

• Increasing the challenge of golfholes. They guard doglegs and entrancesto greens. They form chutes throughwhich shots must be played, and forceplayers to choose between routes ofplay or shot types .

• Indicating and controlling the lineof play.

• Providing targets, especially wherelanding areas or greens are out of sight.

• Better defining targets, such asgreens, that, without trees, would haveonly sky as a backdrop.

• Preventing errant shots from leavingthe course property.

• Improving visibility of balls inflight, setting them off against a tallgreen backdrop.

• Providing reference points to helplocate balls that have strayed from theideal line of flight.

• Assisting golfers injudging distanceby providing depth perception andproportion cues.

Trees also help to achieve aestheticobjectives, such as:

• Breaking up the monotony ofgreen turf and preventing a barren look.

• Screening out disruptive sights .• Connecting different course features

by drawing lines of sight.• Tying the course to the surrounding

space by shaping that space, framing it,providing emphasis for pleasing focalpoints, and giving a sense of properproportion .

• Decorating the landscape withplantings that provide variety, contrastand seasonal interest.

In addition, trees have several impor-tant engineering uses. They include:

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• Influencing the normal flow oftraffic and, where necessary, positivelycontrolling it.

• Providing other golfers and adjacentproperties a greater measure of safetyfrom errant shots.

• Modifying environmental forceswith windbreaks and shady places.

• Providing erosion control andpreserving wildlife habitat.

Despite their many benefits, treescan turn out to be a real liability ifthey'reused incorrectly and without muchforethought. Poor species selection,improper placement on the course, andneglectful maintenance are threecommon errors seen on golf coursesthroughout the country.

Regretfully, there are no exacting,easy-to-follow specifications for selectingtrees and placing them on the course.Because of the artistic nature of land-scape design, good taste and goodjudgement are prerequisites for positiveresults. A thorough knowledae of treecharacteristics and the proper applicationof design principles are also essential.

In the planning stages, however,knowing what not to do can provide a

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solid basis for beginning a tree plantingprogram. Thus, the following paragraphsreveal some of the most common "do's"and "don'ts" of using trees on golfcourses, based on past efforts.

Species Selection• Avoid using too many "trash

trees." Such trees might be characterizedby weak wood, excessive litter, shallowrooting habit, susceptibility to insectsand disease, susceptibility to stormdamage, producing heavy shade, andhaving a short life span. Trees withseveral of these characteristics shouldbe particularly avoided. Such trees aswillows, poplars, silver maples, Norwaymaples, Siberian elm, horse chestnut,most birches and certain eucalyptusspecies should be used sparingly, unlessgood alternatives are not available ina particular region. Check with yourstate university, county cooperativeextension office, or a reputable localnursery for further information.

• Use a variety of species in theplanting program. If only one or two treespecies are used, the equivalent of aDutch elm disease could destroy yourefforts in short order.

• At the same time, avoid plantingtoo many species in a single viewingarea (e.g., on a single hole). Too manyshapes, colors and textures distract theeye and detract from the continuity ofthe course.

• Avoidusing naturally lowbranchingspecies, such as spruce and beech in playareas. They are difficult to mow aroundand their low branches are unpopularwith golfers. Pruning up their lowerbranches ruins their appearance.

• Don't use shrubs in play areas,especially as 150-yard markers locatedclose to the fairway. Shrubs are out ofscale in an area as large as a golf course.They are difficult to maintain andawkward to mow around, and theyproduce an unfair penalty to a golferwho happens to miss the fairway by onlya few feet (when used as 150-yardmarkers). If shrubs must be used asI50-yard markers, place them as faraway from the edge of the fairway aspossible. A better marker choice wouldbe the use of stakes, markers on trees,irrigation heads, flat markers placed infairways, and markings on the score cardas yardage indicators.

(Opposite page) Sometimesfewer is better! Planting treeson this hole would do nothingbut diminish the panorama ofgolf. Shinnecock Hills, ~wYork.(Left) This I50-yard morkershrub looks out of plac~ andcomes into play frequently onthe corner of the dogleg hole.If a I50-yard shrub MUSTbe used, be sure to pltmt it inan inconspicuous place andaway from play a.f much aspossible.(Below) Sooner or later, dead,dying and decaying tree.Jmustbe removed. Sooner is .fafer.

Placing Trees OD the Course• Rather than overplanting trees

for temporary effect, it often pays toplant only the number of trees ultimatelyrequired in an area. At most courses,it takes an act of Congress to move anestablished tree, so avoid overplantingunless the club will be willing to moveor remove some of them when theybecome larger.

• When planting trees, use largernursery stock that can be staked andprotected and that will provide a fastereffect. Small or seedling trees are hardto maintain around and usually end upbeing trampled by maintenance equip-ment or golf carts. There is also atendency to plant small trees too closetogether.• If hundreds or thousands of trees

will be needed, as on a new course, itmay be worthwhile establishing a treenursery on site. If only small numbersof trees are needed, it is often more costeffective to simply purchase good qualitystock from a reputable nursery. Personnelat mOlt lolt courses have neither thetime nor the expertise to establish andproperly maintain a tree nursery .

• Allow enough distance betweentrees in a planting. Maintenanceequipment, particularly tractors pullingfive- or seven-gang mowers, should haveroom enough to operate, and the treesshould have enough space to fill out anddevelop some individual form .

• Avoid planting trees in straightlines or rows. It only takes three treesto do it. People enjoy golf courses fortheir natural appeal, and straight linesare not natural. Instead, plant trees ingroupings and clumps, placing theindividual trees and the clumps atunequal spacings to avoid an artificiallook.

• Don't ring the back of a green witha semi..circle of trees. This appearsartificiafahd contrived. Rather, offsetthe trees and place them in groupingswith unequal spacings .

• Keep':newly; planted trees awayfrom Jfeens', "tees and fairways. Whenplanted too close, shade problems, poorair circulation and tree root competitionoften result. ;The edge of the crown of amature tree should be no closer than 35

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Seedlings and small trees are most susceptible to mower and cart blight .

feet from the edge of a green, so plantaccordingly.

• Remember what the ultimate sizeof a selected tree will be, both in heightand width. Most people have a hardtime picturing just what a tree willeventually do to the landscape. Manytrees are planted that ultimately blockthe use of a tee, or block off a reasonableapproach shot from a fairway.

• Don't plant trees that 0 bstructviews and scenes across the course. Manycourses lend themselves to beautifulvistas. A reasonable number of treescan add depth to a scene, while too manytrees can block it completely.

• Avoid planting trees that willblock the view of sand bunkers fromthe tee or fairway, or that will blockthe shot out of a bunker toward thegreen. Most golfers have enough troubleclimbing from a fairway sand bunkerwithout having to negotiate a large tree,too. If a tree hazard is preferred to asand hazard, then remove the bunkerwhen the trees become larger.

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• Some of the most beautiful sceneson a golf course are the views from teeto green. Avoid planting trees that willsomeday obstruct the view of the playof a hole unless it is absolutely necessary.This occurs most commonly on doglegholes, where trees are planted as hazards.If a hole presents a picturesque scene,try instead to use sand bunkers or pondsas hazards.

• Keep trees far enough away fromirrigation heads to avoid disfiguringthe tree and creating gaps in irrigationcoverage .• It is not necessary to try to fill every

void and open space on a golf coursewith trees. A mixture of trees and openspace bestows depth to the landscapeand provides the framework for beautifulvistas. Planting trees in every open spaceis initially expensive, is expensive tomaintain, and robs the course of depthand perspective. Also, too many treescan be very frustrating for the averagegolfer, who knows that there's more tothe crown of a tree than 90 percent air!

It should be remembered, too, that manytrees produce many leaves, which can bea significant maintenance headache anda real nuisance to the golfer. A key wordfor tree planting on golf courses shouldbe "moderation."

Dealing With Existing Trees

• Don't allow weed trees to continuegrowing in critical areas just becausethey become established there naturally.Prune out choke cherries, mulberriesand other weed species as soon as theyappear. They usually contribute nothingto the course and can become a realnuisance if allowed to become wellestablished.

• Consider removing establishedtrees if they obstruct beautiful viewsof the course, of sand bunkers or theplay of a hole. There is nothing sacredabout a tree that does a disservice tothe beauty of a course or the play of ahole.

• Remember to maintain trees prop-erly. Trees are considered valuable assets

on most golf courses, and they will livea long time if they're given someattention. Money should be set asidein the budget each year for pruning,pest control, fertilization, lightningprotection, irrigation, and other treemaintenance.

• Perhaps most importantly, removedead, dying, and decayed trees imme-diately. Allowed to remain, they are areal threat to people and property. Sodon't wait until after the lawsuit toremove these trees.

A recent statement by Frank Hannigan,Senior Executive Director of the USGA,sums up the feelings of many with respectto trees and golf courses:

"We've become victims of the arbo-retum syndrome. There are too many

trees on golf courses and too many treesin the wrong places.

"By wrong places, I mean approximateto targets. There's something very wrongin suffering an unplayable lie under ablue spruce when you miss the green ona 440-yard par-4 by 30 feet.

"Besides, too many trees tend toobscure the beauty of the game. Theyblock out the sky, they rob us of theperspective of the roll and pitch of theland itself, they interfere with what wereintended to be uninterupted vistas fromway out on the course back up to a statelyclubhouse - they diminish the panoramaof golf.

"The contemporary and mindlessappeal of trees is remarkable. Any golfcourse superintendent could walk intothe men's grill at one of your courses

flees, flees, Everywheredrop

Leaves, Leaves Everywhere

on Wednesday at lunch time andannounce that he was taking up acollection for one of his men whoseleft leg had been nearly severed at theknee that morning by a chainsaw. Thereaction, at best, is going to be mildannoyance. One member, probably adoctor, since it's Wednesday, is likelyto suggest that your guy should walk itoff.

"But he could go into the same grill andsay that he can get a terrific deal on 100moraine locusts and people will throwmoney at him.

"Green committees over the yearshave treated courses like organiccrossword puzzles by filling in all theblank spaces with trees. So I hope we'llbe a little more careful about trees inthe future. "

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