Tree Work...Grove 6

It required 5 full days and 200 man hours, but we finished the tree work on Grove 6 and the change is remarkable.  However, it turned out to be a larger project than we originally thought due to the poor condition of most of the trees.  Similar to all the other areas we've worked in, the trees we removed had external damage to the trunks and a significant amount of dead branches.  We suspect the damage to the trunks was originally caused by heavy equipment during course construction, but a falling limb can also cause similar damage.  A minor scrape or gouge that exposes the conductive tissue when a tree is young is sometimes overlooked, but can be devastating over a couple decades.  Some of the dead trees were so covered in vines it gave the appearance that the tree was alive.

Once the trees were on the ground we observed varying levels of wood decay and insect damage as you'll see in the pictures below.  Only three trees were deemed healthy and structurally sound to keep, but they still identify the location of the lateral hazard for golfers to reference.  The final steps for this area are to grind all the stumps, clean up the piles of aerification plugs and wood chips, and prep the area for seed.  Seeding will occur once soil temps are consistently above 55 degrees and the likelihood of a hard freeze has passed.

View from the tees...before

View from the tees...after

Beginning of the fairway...before

Beginning of the fairway...after

Looking back towards the tees...before

Looking back towards the tees...after

This dead locust tree was hollow and unexpectedly broke after cutting a notch 

Decaying wood is the preferred choice of a carpenter ant colony

Another example of wood decay