Page 15 - GBC winter 2015

Hole # 3, St. Thomas Golf & Country Club, ON, after (left) and before (right) tree removal.
‘The creation of a
thousand forests is in
one acorn.’
- Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, poet
During Canada’s golf course construction booms in the 1930’s, 1950’s and 1970’s stands of matur- ing trees were left during the clear- ing process or seedlings planted – in abundance – on barren land parcels being turned into the game. Well intentioned, at the time, was their purpose.
Trees would provide the means to frame and/or separate fairway corridors; add contrast; provide wind protection and, depending on the situation and architect, sometimes be integrated into the functional aspects of a design as an occasional to frequent defence mechanism for playability.
Only one problem: trees grow, not only up but out. Canopies soon join together, trees turn to forests; underbrush takes a foothold; stronger trees bully and eventually overtake weaker ones.
What this has created the past 20 years is an epidemic. Through no fault of their own trees have become a virtual cancer to turf and playing conditions at many cours- es coast-to-coast. How? By infrin- ging on a layout’s ability to breathe, take in sufficient moisture and nutrients as well as gather sun. Residual effects of this natural cycle include disease issues and weakened turf.
Today, the incurred and incre- mental cost from trees is enormous. It is why, increasingly, course owners and superintendents are investing in tree consultations and, through that sage advice, are implementing agronomy-based programs aimed specificallyattreemanagement.
Summoned most often to courses in Canada is the USGA. The governing body provides an accurate, unbiased report on how a particular facility’s trees are affect- ing turf management, traffic patterns, playability and golfer safety. They have been doing this worksince1953.
“Our role is to provide detailed analysis,” says Dave Oatis, Direc- tor, Northeast Region USGA Green Section. “Tree management is a huge part of that. It can positively impact every aspect of an oper- ation. If courses today concentrat- ed on quality of trees and fewer of them they’d be better off.”
To get this kind of expertise is clearly money well spent. It’s not uncommon for Oatis or USGA greens section colleague Adam Moeller to have courses share costs for their site visits be it a half day, full day or longer.
“Of all the components on a golf course nothing is as dynamic as trees,” Oatis says. “It’s simple: your tree population is going to manage itself or you need to manage it.”
Consultations are not only about trees. Clubs more and more are retaining course designers for both short and long term strategic planning and capital expenditure improvements. Gone are the ‘guess- work’ days of relying on greens committees or placing the burden on a course superintendent to re-design a hole, renovate bunkers or place new tees.
“Our role as architects is to provide detached, honest, thor- ough perspective,” explains Ian Andrew, one of Canada’s leading renovation specialists. “What a course is paying for is objective expertise and a day is well worth it. It can set a golf course up for 10 years in a long range planning sense. That’s why course consulta- tions can be so beneficial.”
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