Winter Tree Work

MANAGING OUR TREE INVENTORY
Winter is a perfect time of year to carry out annual tree maintenance.  Solid ground during winter allows large equipment to navigate the golf course without creating damage.  Although, with the recent snow our tree work has come to a halt.  Once we finish all snow removal around the clubhouse we will begin to plow access paths through the course; to continue our work.
Annual tree maintenance involves a few items; pruning and removing.  Both of these are necessary to maintain our tree population to the healthiest standards and to meet our standards of course conditions.  Since the fall of 2009 we've been developing a strategic plan for tree maintenance.  With this plan, a list of criteria or standards have been developed regarding; pruning, removals, and replacements.  Currently, the Grounds Committee is in the process of adopting these guidelines to help maintain consistency from year to year.
To put together such plan we had to first know where we were.  In summer of 2010, the club conducted a full tree inventory.  Kris Bachtel, an Arborist for the Morton Arboretum completed the inventory over 2 days.  Kris looked at each tree and gave it a classification based on it's health, age, habit.  Once he was able to classify each tree a recommendation was given as far as care; whether it be pruning, cabling, removal, etc...  Based on the inventory, we've pruned all inventoried trees over the last 5 winters.  Other corrective measures like; cabling, topping, and removals have been carried out too.  This program, has helped bring the health of our inventory to a higher standard, but also helping address substandard turf conditions, as well as other tree inventory related issues.  A startling stat from the inventory is that over 100 trees were classified as hazardous and removal was recommended.  Trees are a sensitive subject, but not only at Briarwood.  Every golf course at some point is forced to make hard decisions.  Trees become part of the course as people watch them grow to maturity.  Problem being is not much thought was put into the planting location in relation to maturity of the tree, or people seem to forget that trees are living things.  Removals are controversial but necessary to protect people, the conditions, and integrity of a golf course.

2014/2015 WINTER TREE PRUNING
So with all this being said I'd like to address the tree work that has been carried out this winter.

 Again, like previous winters, pruning and removals have been done.  This winter we've focused our pruning on a few locations:

• The 17th hole was the last hole needing pruned to complete the course.  So, with that being said all trees along the 17th hole have been pruned this winter.  Some trees lower limbs were pruned up, allowing for more sunlight underneath allowing for better turf health.
• Native area between 2 and 7 was addressed.  These trees were pruned in 2010 but needed to be cleaned up, especially with our upcoming reseeding of the area this spring to a newer fescue blend.
• Select Willows have also been addressed throughout the course.  With Willows being brittle wooded trees they need to be cleaned up at least every 3 years.  This season we were targeting the Willows between 3 and the golf center, along with Willows to the left of 6 Blue tee.  While getting ready to prune the Willows at 6 tee we had to make a difficult decision.  Due to the amount of dead and rotted wood the crew could not safely prune, thus the decision of removal was made.  Rather than spending $2000 to prune those trees and have them look terrible we used that money to remove and eliminate severely hazardous trees right along a cart path and tee box.

2014/2015 WINTER TREE REMOVALS
Lastly, each winter we carry out necessary removals on the golf course.  During each season we see trees that are struggling, whether it be from disease or age and need to be removed.  Along with these trees we continue to work on the above stated trees from the inventory.  This winter we removed 37 trees throughout the golf course.  78% of these removals were due to the tree being hazardous or in poor health.  Hear is a break down of the trees removed:

• Ash Trees:
• 5 total removed due to Emerald Ash borer

• 3 between 1 and 9
• 1 to the left of 2 fairway in native grass by left fairway bunker
• 1 to the left of 3 ladies tee in the native grass behind 5 green
• Maple Trees
• 5 total removed due to Stem Girdling Roots, these are roots that girdle the trunk and basically choke the tree to death
• 2 between 1 and 9 fairway
• 1 right of 2 fairway between 2 and 3
• 1 right of 5 fairway by maintenance building
• 1 right of 14 fairway down by pond edge
• Elm Trees
• 3 total removed due to Dutch Elm disease
• 1 to the right of 5 fairway by maintenance shed
• 2 to the left of 14 fairway in native by 16 tee
• Hazardous Trees
• 15 total trees were removed due to being hazardous
  
• 7 Willows were removed
• 1 between 2 and 7 fairway in native area
• 3 along the right of 4
• 3 by 6 blue tee
• 4 Maples were removed
• 1 to the left of 2 fairway in native
• 1 to the right of 5 fairway by maintenance shed
• 2 to the right of 9 fairway
• 2 Oaks were removed
• 2 to the right of 12 green that were dead, next to buckthorn in native area
• 2 Locust were removed
• 2 to the left of 2 fairway in native between 2 and 7
• Turf Health
• 9 total trees were removed as turf health was being sacrificed
• 2 maples along the left side of 2 fairway, 220 yards from green
• 3 maples along the left side of 5 at beginning of fairway
• 1 maple on the right side of 5 fairway by 2nd right hand fairway bunker
• 1 linden on the right side of 10 by 1st fairway bunker
• 2 Lindens to the right of 17 approach right along the cart path

Managing our tree inventory for the health of the trees, health of the golf course, and the enjoyment of the game is our priority.  We will continue to do that, with consulting the arborist, architect, and the Golf Course Superintendent.  Together in conjunction with the Grounds and Greens Committee a logical and strategic plan must be put in place regarding guidelines for how the tree inventory is managed on a continual basis.  By doing so, we will maintain consistency with decisions, but also protect our tree inventory by following specific guidelines like; species of trees to plant and location parameters.  Following guidelines will allow trees to mature in a position where they will not harm the turf or the architectural integrity of the golf course.  

The biggest issue we face is that prior plantings at maturity was not taken into account when planted.  

• They have reached maturity and are now past their life expectancy and have become a liability to the club
• They have reach maturity and the canopy along with root zone are too close to a green, tee, fairway or bunker

• Taking away the architectural integrity of the hole
• Affecting the playing surface in a negative way
• Shade
• Moisture competition
• Nutrient Competition
• Too many trees have been planted too close together and now at maturity they are only harming one another and turf.
• Canopies of the trees are competing with one another creating deformed imbalanced trees, only reducing the health and structural integrity of the tree
• Canopies have created dense shade which will not allow turf to grow underneath, creating bare soil conditions in rough areas

BUCKTHORN ERADICATION
Over the last few years we've slowly worked on eradication of some buckthorn.  Most areas on on the golf course, and areas where good mature trees are being harmed by buckthorn.  Buckthorn is such and invasive plant that can over time choke out good mature trees.  An area where we have slowly worked on the last few years is the thicket to the right of 7 fairway and right of 12 green.  Our initial removals were done to clear around a few Oak trees in the area, unfortunately those Oaks had already

been damaged.  This winter we did more work in the area as we are prepping to replace a large main drainage line that passes through.  Material needs to be removed to give us the ability to remove the pipe and replace either this spring or next fall.  A good amount of material is being left in the area so there won't be a wide open vacancy, in spring the area will be overseeded as well with a prairie grass mix to blend with the area thats already there to the right of 13 fairway.  This is another task in managing the health of our tree inventory, especially prominent and native trees.

As you see a lot of work is being put towards taking care of our trees.  We understand the importance and want to manage them for continual success at Briarwood.  We look forward to continuing to address our health of the trees as well as add plants properly to our inventory in the future years.