Your behavior appears to be a little unusual. Please verify that you are not a bot.


ASGCA members talk Eisenhower Tree

By |  March 11, 2014 0 Comments

Just got my confirmation for the Golf Writers dinner during Masters week! Now I’ve got Augusta on my mind…

So I’m wondering: what will that tee shot look like on No. 17 this year? Will there be an empty space where the Eisenhower Tree once stood? Or will the club have replaced it with an Eisenhower Jr. Tree? Maybe even something else?

Screen shot 2014-03-11 at 10.40.33 PM

A view from the forward tee on No. 17 at Augusta National, taken in 2001. Photo courtesy Kirk Dolan.

I know how many Golfdom readers feel when it comes to “historical” trees on golf course. But c’mon! This is the Eisenhower Tree!

“It’s too historical (not to replace),” says David M. Dale, ASGCA, president of Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Golfplan. “Alister MacKenzie would say you don’t design a golf hole around a tree, but… that tree is just too historical.”

Dale’s right-hand man and Golfplan’s VP, Kevin M. Ramsey, gives his partner a, “right on, brother,” on that thought.

“I remember when Pebble Beach lost their big pine and replaced it… I don’t know why Augusta wouldn’t do something similar. (The Eisenhower Tree) was a symbol,” Dale says. “Plus, Augusta National changes so much from year to year… it’s a big-budget golf course, it changes a lot already.”

But what about doing something different with that spot? (And no, I’m not suggesting a concessions stand.)

“As far as I’m concerned, let her go. I think it’s a good opportunity to do a nice cool MacKenzie style bunker,” says Andy Staples, ASGCA, president of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Staples Golf. “Trust me though, I’d understand that if I had a (club) president telling me that we needed to replace the tree I’d probably cave and do what the president wanted.”

We’ve got a few more weeks to see what No. 17 looks like at Augusta National. Dale will be there in person, and he knows what he wants to see.

“There is a heritage with this being a private club. I think you have to find a tree of similar character,” Dale says. “I like history. And you’re talking about a golf course that has more opportunity to do more for their golf course than any other.”

This is posted in Uncategorized

About the Author: Seth Jones

Seth Jones, a 18-year veteran of the golf industry media, is Editor-in-Chief of Golfdom magazine and Athletic Turf. A graduate of the University of Kansas School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Jones began working for Golf Course Management in 1999 as an intern. In his professional career he has won numerous awards, including a Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) first place general feature writing award for his profile of World Golf Hall of Famer Greg Norman and a TOCA first place photography award for his work covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In his career, Jones has accumulated an impressive list of interviews, including such names as George H.W. Bush, Samuel L. Jackson, Lance Armstrong and Charles Barkley. Jones has also done in-depth interviews with such golfing luminaries as Norman, Gary Player, Nick Price and Lorena Ochoa, to name only a few. Jones is a member of both the Golf Writers Association of America and the Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association. Jones can be reached at sjones@northcoastmedia.net.


Post a Comment