Why kill trees for golf?

Trees are the lungs of our planet. They provide us with the gas that we breathe and as such are a requirement for our continued existence. Yet we have many instances where trees have been brutally murdered by golfers in order to provide a brief amount of entertainment.

This practice is not even limited to the days of the past with such evil tree murderers as Peter Alliss being responsible for thousands of deaths in the creation of the Marquess course at Woburn.

There is often the case that the trees taken down are replanted elsewhere... but what really happens is a tree a few hundred years old is replaced with one a few days old. Which is hardly going to be good for the planet.

So. Forest courses... whilst good in design with their treelined nature.... are evil and responsible for the poor air quality in places. And Peter Alliss is at the root of the problem clearly.

This will probably get me deleted from your Xmas card list, but I think fatty Alliss is brilliant, and I'm sure he'd be shocked to hear about your dislike for him. Fatty has created more wildlife sanctuaries in this country than Maggie did when she closed the mines and steel plants.

Tell that to the memebers at my course! New trees keep appearing every year.... often in the area where my ball usually ends up. I swear the greens commitee follow my rounds closely.

But these will be very small trees compared to the old men of the forest that Alliss has killed off in the construction of courses across the UK. Robbing us of oxygen creating trees and replacing them with tiny little things which are barely able to stand without a stake.

Alliss is clearly the devil

LJ

You do know that currently northern Europe has a surplus of trees. It is the major destruction of rainforests that is a danger to planets eco system. Secondly I am sick of the over planting of pines in place of some of the more interesting native tree's such as oak, birch and beech.

This may surprise you but isolated trees dotted around do not bother me it is when clubs plant rows and rows of pines, which are not even the native species such as scots pine.

Think the 17th at cypress point. Although not ideal strategy the odd single tree maybe at the inside of dog leg will add some variety and interest as long as there are as few trees in play as possible.

STOP PRESS!!

Fear no more, scientists have discovered ample supplies of oxygen in beer and curry!

So, we can have lovely tree lined courses and still live happily ever after.

What's all the fuss about?

I have played a course in North Yorkshire (Sawdon) and its an absolute joke. fairways criss-cross each other and are seperated by tightly planted pines. Its like playing golf down your street and just as narrow. No chance of playing if you have a draw or fade as you clip the trees and lose your ball because it sticks up there.

Fatty Alliss should be sent in as part of the 'groundforce team' with dynamite and dozers and sort it out.

Too many trees on my course in my opinion... i think some are planted for the sake of it, a good ankle/calf high rough would be better, punish everyone the same, rather some still having a shot out and some chipping out sideways after playing basically the same offline tee shot....

The are some brilliant strategically places trees only my course though (or the hole was probably placed around the tree), a proper hazard to be avoided... ie stay on the corect side of the fairway or you're going over under or around...

Too many trees and not enough rough on my course. Anything with any turn on it has nothing to stop it from reaching the trees, and they're all 15-20 years old so big enough to be an obstacle but not tall enough to get a swing under. A lot of the time that means taking an unplayable drop and then hoping for a route back to the fairway.

SmithersJones wrote:Too many trees and not enough rough on my course. Anything with any turn on it has nothing to stop it from reaching the trees, and they're all 15-20 years old so big enough to be an obstacle but not tall enough to get a swing under. A lot of the time that means taking an unplayable drop and then hoping for a route back to the fairway.

But weren't those trees planted there rather than the holes being carved from magnificent old men of the forest by evil men such as Alliss.

LJ

What are you talking about, your other WUM threads almost made sense, but this????

Is your point that no trees should ever be removed when constructing a course? What if cutting down some trees more likely to attract a disease protects surrounding species?

There are also many trees near courses planted as part of industrial logging. These boring pines will be cut and planted as needed, I for one would be happy to see less pines in Scotland.

I once saw a photo shop of what some highland views used to look like and then with the new pines. 100's of years ago the forests were a lot more varied.

I played Ross-on-Wye a while back and there were sodding trees all over the damn place - left, right in front, behind, might as well have been in 'Lord of the Rings' or (with my putting stroke) 'Gorillas in the Mist' I'd rather they just left it as a forest and be-done with it. It was as much use as t1ts on a tomcat as far as I was concerned

LJ
{with my serious hat on} Look at the biodiversity reports after the Dukes and Duchess were built, huge improvememt on the area.

I posted this a long time ago on 606 but I still laugh at the Effingham {I think} member who went out in the middle of the night with a chainsaw and cut down a strategically placed tree. Said tree was in the middle of the Effingham fairway.

Most golf clubs do not manage trees well, they plant the wrong species in the wrong places.
Wentworth was a good example of getting it wrong and then the hurricane came along and showed them how to do it.

At my course, Buckingham, we have been removing these horrible lylandii (however you spell it) trees and replacing with indigenous trees. So much better, and it will be a great legacy in about 20 years time.

Young tress are also required to be planted as trees do die eventually

I remember driving [in a car] over a hill in mid Wales and seeing this valley course in front of me with Leylandis planted 20 yards apart in lines between every fairway.
Cue a different kind of road rage.

Golf courses aren't that major a player in the current biodviersity decline, agricultural intensifcation, urbanisation as a result of an ever growing human population is the primary driver. properly managed golf courses are more than capable of retaining a high degree of biodiversity.

I'm in the middle of working on a conservation biology thesis and would really like to go on to do a PhD investigating how golf courses can be utilised in conservation. I just doubt if the sports governing bodies would be interested in such a thing, especially in the current economic climate.

Redrage
There is massive interest in what you wish to do, from Governing bodies down to club golfers.

Many clubs realise they have made big mistakes over the years and wish to put it right.

A good example would be that clubs do not cut down thier dead trees, members like to see a tidy course but once the benifits of having dead trees on your course is explained members accept this.

I was on Mull last week and the members of Craignure GC are very proud of thier USP, a pair of nesting white tailed eagles.

Go for it Redrage but I fear it may be a common subject.

Doon the Water wrote:Redrage
There is massive interest in what you wish to do, from Governing bodies down to club golfers.

Many clubs realise they have made big mistakes over the years and wish to put it right.

A good example would be that clubs do not cut down thier dead trees, members like to see a tidy course but once the benifits of having dead trees on your course is explained members accept this.

I was on Mull last week and the members of Craignure GC are very proud of thier USP, a pair of nesting white tailed eagles.

Go for it Redrage but I fear it may be a common subject.

There is certainly a public interest in eco-friendly golf which will include individuals in governing bodies, but it is not without expense and that is what I see as the stumbling block. If I get a distinction for my MSc, then I will pursue this further.