Removing the big stump

You'll recall that for that past year + there has been a huge tree stump on #3 from the sentinal tree that we lost to storm damage in 2008.  Over the past few weeks we have cut it down as close to the ground as we could, and this week have had a continuous burn going on top of it to try and burn down the remaining stump as low as we can.



We know that this is not going to completely remove the stump.  Our plan is that once we have done what we can to remove as much as we can, the remaining area will be covered by soil and become a small (low) mound. 

It is amazing how large this tree was.  At the base it is over 6' across. 

One nice benefit of attacking the stump this way is that we are somewhat "killing two birds with one stone."  On one hand we are working to burn out the stump, but at the same time the material we are burning is the waste from other tree trimming projects we are performing around the golf course.

Let there be light

Over the past few weeks we have taken out a handful of trees on the left side of #12 fairway.  Specifically, trees in that area from the 150 marker to the bottom of the hill, and from there up to about the 100 yard marker.  There was a multi-faceted reason for this.  First and foremost, the trees on the downhill side from the 150 marker were removed to allow sunlight to the turf in an effort to establish some grass in the area.  As you know, that is an area that has historically been eroded and void of grass.  One of the principal requirements for growing grass is sunlight, and this area simple wasn't getting enough.  Removing a few trees will improve the light penetration and should enable us to greatly improve the turf quality in that area.

(click pictures to enlarge)

In the above photo you can see the approximate location of trees that have been removed.  If you will think back, in the past if you were standing in this position near the 150 marker your view to the green was largely blocked by the large trees that hung out from the left rough.  Additionally, this area was normally a mess of brush and undergrowth.  As part of the clean up we intend to establish cool season grass so that we will have rough on the left side, instead of just woods.  In the picture above the red marks indicate the approximate location of trees that have been removed.

In the above picture you can see the view from just left of the 150 marker.  This is standing near the top of the drainage ditch that cut through the wooded area. This ditch will now be the approximate edge of the rough.

A secondary benefit of this work is that a tee shot in the left edge or left rough will still have a chance to be in play. You may not have a clear shot to the green (notice that one tree has been left) but you will likely still be in play.

The view above is looking back toward the tee box.  The red line represents the area of the drainage ditch that was cut through the woods.