I'm not a golfer, tennis is my game. But I was wondering. I see the US Open will be played on one of those courses that don't have many trees. Similar to some of the European courses on the coast. Do you prefer trees or no trees? I suppose it is a personal choice. Just wondering.
Question for you golfers...
- Thread starter Alphalion75
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I like trees. They provide shade for me as I search for my golf ball.
I am not a huge golfer...but since you asked....I like the diversity of the "tracks". Some of the nicest courses I've played are tree free (Phoenix, the Ocean Course). Others are littered with trees (I like Arnie's course at Shanty Creek in MI). There are lots of ways to reward a good shot, and penalize a bad shot. One of the hardest courses I've played is a courses on Kiawah that had a 3 to 4 inch drop off of the fairway into the first cut. Seemed that darn ball got caught in the dropoff every time so the ball was inches below your feet which made for an awkward stance. It was a little design thing, but made the course very hard to play.
As my ball seems to have a magnetic attraction to trees, I prefer playing on courses without them. Really though one nice thing about golf is that courses reflect the natural terrain of the area in which they are located, so courses in the Arizona desert are different from the courses in Pennsylvania, or the links courses in the UK. Each offers a different experience to be appreciated on its own terms.
One of the things that makes golf unique to every other sport is variety. It's nice to have courses cut through dense forest as well as open, treeless layouts with mounds, closely mowed runoffs, etc. A lack of trees typically brings more wind into play, another form of variety. Treelined courses can bring interesting recovery shots, especially if the terrain is sandy or pine straw laden (so its easy to find the ball amongst the trees). It's all good.
Courses I'm not particularly fond of are those that are wide open with large greens that are relatively flat. Then there are the courses completely lined with homes. These are typical of real estate developments and modern resorts designed to produce revenue from average golfers. I don't care for overly penal courses either if that penalty comes from lost balls in excessive water, marsh, high grass, or weed-infested forest. Golf is too expensive as it is.
Architects could address these issues but they usually cater to money, hence the resort/real estate development tendencies for new courses and the death of older courses with beautiful mature trees. [Treeless designs like Shinnecock and a deforested Oakmont are exceptions. These are "trophy" courses whose members want that trophy recognition.] Overall, with a dwindling middle class the sport is trending towards what it once was -- a game for the wealthy within exclusive developments and clubs. The difference is that it is now and forever an athletic sport at the elite level.
Courses I'm not particularly fond of are those that are wide open with large greens that are relatively flat. Then there are the courses completely lined with homes. These are typical of real estate developments and modern resorts designed to produce revenue from average golfers. I don't care for overly penal courses either if that penalty comes from lost balls in excessive water, marsh, high grass, or weed-infested forest. Golf is too expensive as it is.
Architects could address these issues but they usually cater to money, hence the resort/real estate development tendencies for new courses and the death of older courses with beautiful mature trees. [Treeless designs like Shinnecock and a deforested Oakmont are exceptions. These are "trophy" courses whose members want that trophy recognition.] Overall, with a dwindling middle class the sport is trending towards what it once was -- a game for the wealthy within exclusive developments and clubs. The difference is that it is now and forever an athletic sport at the elite level.
I always had preferred trees when I played. (Last played in July, 2016 before being struck down with disequilibrium). I was a 10 or better handicap and would find myself with greater focus on a tree lined fairway. One of my favorites was Champion lakes in Ligonier. Always tried to get on there when we came back to visit. Many of the newer wide open tracks are what I call "clown" courses with too many gimicky features such as requiring lay up drives, "environmentally sensitive" off limits areas, and the like Maybe it's just nostalgia for Pa. Who knows. God , I hope to play again.
I don't care if there are trees or not. I like a course to -- as Nitwit says -- reflect the natural terrain of the area in which they are located. A course next to the ocean might have a lot fewer, or shorter trees than a course in the mountains of Virginia. As it probably should be.
Agree with others...the course does / should be a reflection of the surrounding area. Love playing "links"style courses (Shinnecock Hills qualifies); desert courses out West; and tree-lined, rolling hills that we have throughout our region. Variety of styles and conditions tests all aspects of the game. And I suck no matter which one you throw my way! 
Since I hit a “Tree Wood” really well, then I prefer trees. Gives me good target practice to hit the thinnest limbs possible on a shot and also to tick off any tree dwelling squirrel families.
I find that trees or no trees doesnt' really matter to me. what really matters is how well manicured the course is. My top 4 courses in no particular order are Badlands Golf Club (has since closed) and Paiute Golf Club in Las Vegas which are both wide open desert style courses, Keith Hills Golf Club in Lillington NC and the Moose Run Creek Course in Anchorage AK which are both FULL of trees. I just like to hit the ball and not have to worry about whether it'll end up in a divot on the fairway and read a putt true.
A
anon_1eeb2b426hv3y
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mine has an attraction to its then-current location. Hit it hard. Ht it soft. Whisper sweet nothings. Yell to go to its home.
I haven't played any high presige courses as some have in this thread but had the opportunity to play at some nice country clubs and imo trees are better than no trees. When I played a new course with no established trees they left the rough 10-12 inches high to create difficulty so if you were off the fairway by a couple feet your ball was gone. That was no fun. Trees provide shade, beauty and some protection from people's poor shots on other holes. They also offer some challenge for dogleg holes. Do you play it safe and go around - or grip it and rip it and hope to clear the trees.
Not so much actually. Sometimes it’s mental - when you know the trees or water is out there, it messes with your mind, and that in turn causes you to make a bad swing. You wind up more tense than you should be if the hazard intimidates you. How often do we see a fellow player take 3 relaxed practice swings only to screw himself into the ground on the shot which follows? Where I normally play it’s full of fairway bunkers, and I do have a tendancy to find them. The most important part of golf in terms of scoring though is the short game. If you can chip well enough to not leave yourself with long first putts, and putt well enough to average no more than 36 putts per round, you can score well.
Ever watch the show "18 Holes with Jimmy Hanlin"? It might just be a local thing that they play on Fox Sports Ohio (CLE Indians home):I just want hot bar cart girls.
Trees don't do anything but add to your score. The extremely high grass takes the place of the trees, it will add to the score. When it's hot, I like a little shade.
Agree with others...the course does / should be a reflection of the surrounding area. Love playing "links"style courses (Shinnecock Hills qualifies); desert courses out West; and tree-lined, rolling hills that we have throughout our region. Variety of styles and conditions tests all aspects of the game. And I suck no matter which one you throw my way!
Yes...it takes a true talent to SUCK on all types of courses. I am in that group. And my God, if you throw a coupla ponds and creeks on the course I can take SUCK to a whole new level!
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