Maintaining the course?

[pokerjoke]

I play on a very tight parkland course and the trees have not been cut or trimmed since ive been playing the course over the last 14 months.They are now becoming unfair as some are so close to the tees its virtually making some players depending wether you fade or draw having no shot at all off the tee,do you think this is fair and we should addapt accordingly or should they be cut?

 

[doc17]

Which course is it PJ? just so i know never to go there!!!

 

[drawboy]

I think it makes sense to give your bush a good trim on a regular basis.

 

[CannyFifer]

what did they say when you asked at the clubhouse PJ?

 

[drawboy]

I play on a very tight parkland course and the trees have not been cut or trimmed since ive been playing the course over the last 14 months.They are now becoming unfair as some are so close to the tees its virtually making some players depending wether you fade or draw having no shot at all off the tee,do you think this is fair and we should addapt accordingly or should they be cut?

If players think the course is becoming unfair they will lose members and income. I think it's in the committee's interest to sort this out .

 

[pokerjoke]

Thats a very valid point,even though the course is a relatively short course 5500 yrds it is a tough course and a good test,however there are some really top courses in the area.We was only discussing this morning how quiet it has become,and not maintaining the course to a higher standard will be costly in the long run.You know what the council are like though they dont like to spend money.Vivary park taunton is the course give it a go if your in the area or PM me and i will take you around and kick your butt.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I hate those holes where you have to tee off down an avenue of trees or bushes. The 17th (I think from memory) at Leatherhead is like that and it had some overhangs which forced you to one side of the tee.

It might be worth raising as I'm guessing the greens committee and proably the greenstaff themselves aren't aware of the problem and it is a relative quick (in terms of labour) thing to get sorted

 

[ball_basher]

take a chain saw, that will soon sort it

 

[Farneyman]

No trees on our course......they wont stay up with all the wind..

 

[RGDave]

I play on a very tight parkland course and the trees have not been cut or trimmed since ive been playing the course over the last 14 months.They are now becoming unfair as some are so close to the tees its virtually making some players depending wether you fade or draw having no shot at all off the tee, do you think this is fair and we should addapt accordingly or should they be cut?

I'm in the same boat!

We have trees which were small 20 yrs ago and now encroach into the flight path of certain shots. Faders have less than 10 yards to play with on the 6th and no shot at all on the 16th. Drawers have no shot on the 15th and will struggle to play the 10th too.

They cut down the tree on one par 3 which was becoming a total joke for the draw players off the white tee.

I say leave the trees but cut the overhang...please...

 

[greensman]

take a chain saw, that will soon sort it

About 20 – 30 years ago we have a large influx of planting trees across on our UK golf courses. The problem is, since then little or no management to the tress have been done. This is partly because some members see them as some sort of sacred cow and have a lack of understanding on how trees should be managed. Tree maintenance is probably the most contentious issue we face.

Needless to say, we greenkeepers are now starting to realise the importance of good tree maintenance. We are removing / thinning trees all over the course and yes some members are unhappy but it’s the best thing to do.

I agree get the chainsaw out!

 

[HRC99]

take a chain saw, that will soon sort it

About 20 – 30 years ago we have a large influx of planting trees across on our UK golf courses. The problem is, since then little or no management to the tress have been done. This is partly because some members see them as some sort of sacred cow and have a lack of understanding on how trees should be managed. Tree maintenance is probably the most contentious issue we face.

Needless to say, we greenkeepers are now starting to realise the importance of good tree maintenance. We are removing / thinning trees all over the course and yes some members are unhappy but it’s the best thing to do.

I agree get the chainsaw out!

But be judicious in using it. I can think of two courses near here as contrasting examples.

One was quite a new course (relatively) and they'd planted a lot of trees to stop it looking like a series of fields (which it mostly had been). They've taken quite a few out as the years have gone on to allow the others to grow and have looked after it tremendously.

Another, much older course, has removed trees willy nilly because people complained about them and it isn't half the course it used to be by the time they'd finished.

So take the chainsaw out and use it...wisely!

 

[viscount17]

we have two greens which have trees guarding them at both sides.
on one (Par 3) branches are reaching across the gap and if they meet will form a nice arch. might make for an interesting club selection - run one in low under the arch or fly over.
on the other, par 4, an off centre tee-shot is really squeezed.
overall we've had a lot of recent planting but rather too much removal too.
the 18th now looks an eye-sore what with an overlarge bunker left after sorting a drainage issue and now all the trees down the right side OOB taken out (at some time in the past they interfered with power cables). we're now left with an unlovely drainage ditch and a view of the gravel works.