As many members are aware, the club embarked on a vigorous tree removal program over the past several years at both courses. The plan was set in motion in 2015 when the club began to consider making significant changes to each of the two courses. In 2015 the club retained an Architect, Keith Foster, to complete a Master Plan on the Irving Park course, which laid out a road map for future possible design changes to the course. Identified in that plan were trees that should be considered for removal. Trees included in this plan fell into four categories: 1) Tree Management, 2) Turf Enhancement, 3) Design Considerations, and 4) Unsafe trees
Under the category of tree management trees were identified that were too closely spaced and needed to be thinned in order for the surrounding trees to take on a fuller, stronger and more mature look. The thinning of Pines between holes 2 and 11, the Pines between holes 9 and 10 and select hardwoods on 14 and 15 are good examples of where trees were removed in an effort to improve the health and look of the existing surrounding trees.
Several trees were also identified as not being crucially significant to the overall strategic design elements of the course but did create burdensome conditions towards the goal of growing healthy grass that would create better playing conditions with their removal. The clearest examples of these particular trees where the large Oaks on hole 16 and 1. Both these trees created management problems for the two tee boxes that resulted poor tee box conditions over the past many years and annual repair expenses to replace thin and damaged turf. The one large remaining tree on this list is the Oak behind 5 green that creates very difficult growing conditions for that green. The removal of this tree has been taken off the list for removal and the club will seek alternate ways to modify the growing environment in this area most likely in the form of a fan to improve air flow in an effort to reduce disease pressure on the Bentgrass turf that is thin due to shady conditions.
Trees that would affect changes to the existing course due to slight routing changes have not been removed as the final design considerations are still in the early stages and may change over time.
The last categories of trees were trees that were deemed unsafe and could cause harm to people or property. The Irving Park course had a large number of Virginia Pines that had very strong leans and posed the risk of coming down at any given time. The majority of these trees have been removed and there are still a few that we are closely monitoring.
In 2016 the Farm course began considering the prospect of converting the greens from Bentgrass to a new Ultra dwarf hybrid. As part of that planning process numerous trees were identified as needing to be removed to grow the new warm season turf, which mandates a minimum of 6 hours of direct sunlight in order to thrive. Unlike Bentgrass, fans will not make a difference without the proper amount of sunlight. The vast majority of these trees were removed during the conversion process but over the last few years several trees that were considered borderline quickly showed us they were not and have been removed post conversion over the past two years.
While the majority of the membership has been very patient and understanding throughout this process the last few large Oaks on our list have caused some concern that has resulted in a moderate amount of negative feedback. The good news is the tree removals on both courses that were identified as part of the project will be coming to an end at the conclusion of this current winter season. Going forward our tree removal program will primarily consist of trees that are deemed unsafe, that are damaged during storms, that have died for natural causes or have been deemed necessary for small scale enhancement projects. Throughout this entire process the golf course management team has communicated and sought approval from the Green Committee, GM and Board, which has supported our efforts to balance the overall playability and aesthetics of the two courses versus those in the membership that have a strong devotion towards trees. We are grateful for everyone’s support and are confident that our hard work and all the resources put into this project will result in a great number of positive effects on both courses for many years to come.
