Tree Bases

Tree bases are challenging areas to maintain, especially those under the fir trees.  These trees have very shallow root systems which compete for every bit of soil moisture near the surface.  In addition, the needles that fall from these trees makes the soil beneath them very acidic.  Basically, the conditions at the base of fir trees is extremely unfavorable for the culture of turfgrass.  When you can't grow grass in a certain area, inevitably you find soil, rocks, tree roots.....etc. or in essence a playing surface adverse to the playing of golf.  Check out the typical turf quality under a canopy of fir trees.

Areas like this are not attractive and not good for golf.  Now check out the typical conditions under the canopy of an oak grove.   

Notice there is grass covering virtually every square inch of the surface.  The oak trees are deeply rooted and compete very little for surface moisture.  For a good part of the growing season there is considerable sunlight under oak trees which is essential for turfgrass persistence.  It's not hard to imagine why oak prairie land such as that here at Tacoma is so perfect for golf.  Oak prairies are grasslands with gently rolling terrain and well draining soils.  Can you think of a better short description of desirable golf land?  Anyway, we do have some fir trees and they pose some serious challenges when you're trying to grow good turfgrass.  Sure they are messy and cause shade problems, but as I said earlier they are thirsty buggers and growing grass around the base of them takes a lot of work.

We try very hard to grow decent turfgrass around the base of some of the key fir trees which are near the greens and tees.  We've limbed up these trees to allow for sufficient sunlight and added sandy soil to cover the rocks and roots near the surface.  We hand water around these trees during the summer and use wetting agent products to relieve the drought condition caused by the thirsty shallow root systems.  To eliminate trimming the grass right around the trunk of these key trees we've worked at keeping those areas free of grass and dressed with mulch.  This practice adds another set of problems.  Keeping the mulch in place is difficult when we're constantly cleaning up after these trees using big debris blowers.  Keeping these mulched areas weed free requires hand pulling and hand applications of herbicide.  On top of that we have to consider playability and hitting golf shots from the course mulch is absolutely no fun.  Yes we could use some finer mulch around the base of these trees and you might think that's what we've done around the trees near the first green. 

The fact is we are not switching to a fine dark mulch to dress up around these trees.  Actually this dark fine mulch is just plain compost which we are using to aid germination of grass seed around the base of these trees.  We are trying a new solution around these key trees.  Actually I guess you could say we're trying an old solution which is to grow grass around them, but now we have a new tactic which is a little different.  The key to this new strategy is we're seeding these areas to straight chewings fescue.  Here's what it looks like when the new fescue grass emerges through the compost.  

So why do we think this is going to work?  Well, we've been experimenting.  Here's a look at a tree where we employed this strategy a couple of years ago.  

Obviously this is a very attractive and natural look.  With grass around thee trees we don't have to worry about using the big blowers near them.  You can definitely play a golf shot off this grass and best of all the maintenance of this tree base has been very simple.  The chewings fescue is very drought tolerant so it persists throughout the year without supplemental hand watering.  Also, the poor soil condition means the fescue grows extremely slow and that means very little mowing is required.  In fact over the past year I think we've mowed the fescue around this tree maybe 2 or 3 times.  We're hopeful this is going to be a long term solution for maintaining these challenging areas at the base of the fir trees.  

Tree Management Plan 2017

It's that time of year again when we try and finalize plans for winter projects. Currently there are 30 trees on the golf course that are marked with orange ribbon which will be removed per the Tree Management Plan (TMP).  With the following pictures I will provide some details as to why these trees are marked for removal, but you can at any time review the TMP and see all future projects including an explanation of the Club's practices and philosophies with respect to the management of its trees.  Click HERE to see the TMP.

Near the 4th tee there is a small fir tree overtopping one of the native oak trees.  As clearly stated in the TMP, any tree competing with one of the native oak trees should be removed as long as removing that tree doesn't also remove a safety barrier to members and guests. Funny thing about this tree, 6 years ago we removed 20 large firs in this area in order to improve turf conditions on the 3rd green.  The project was a huge success and was also one of our first attempts to release some of our threatened oak trees.  Some skeptics thought we couldn't save these oak trees because they were too far gone.  I decided to leave the little fir tree because at that time it was not overtopping the oak tree. In just 6 years that little fir tree has doubled in size and is now overtopping the oak tree which is clearly thriving following that initial release project.  This is a great example of just how invasive the Douglas fir tree is, and also a great example of the continued success we've seen from the Club's current tree management strategies.  The oak trees can be rescued and removing the competing fir trees or "oak release" does work.

This little fir tree is right next to the forward tee on number 4 and it's one that was planted as part of the restoration project which followed the installation of the sewer pipeline in 2010.  Along with this tree there are several others that were planted as part of that project which are marked for removal.   Why are we removing trees that were planted just 7 years ago?  Simply put these trees were planted in an attempt to screen certain areas that were exposed by the sewer project so they were planted very close together.  Now many of these trees have grown to the point where they are crowding each other so they need to be thinned out.  Also, the growth rate of these fir trees is very predictable and therefore it is quite simple to know which trees cannot be allowed to reach maturity when they will inevitably cause shade issues for fine turf or native oak trees.  It is much simpler to remove these trees when they are small than to wait for them to get so large that removing them would be a costly ordeal.  

Near the restroom on #6 there is a large fir marked for removal.  This cart path will be removed this winter and we're going to need all the sunlight we can get to grow grass in here, but also you can see that this fir is in the middle of an oak grove.  This is a classic example of overtopping.  All of the oak trees in this area are being shaded by this fir tree and those trees are clearly under a lot of stress. This next picture shows just how much stress the oak trees are under.  You can see all the trees are growing away from the fir tree looking for sunlight and in the forefront you can see that one tree has given up and died.  

If you go to look at this tree up close you'll see that it has a metal tag on it.  This metal tag is part of the sunlight study we conducted in 2007 when we first embarked on removing trees in order to improve putting green conditions.  

The 6th green was one of our worst greens and for the study every tree that cast a shadow on that green was marked with a tag and entered into a computer model.  So in other words this tree is not only killing oak trees, it is also shading the 6th green.  

Here we're looking at the tee shot from the 11th tee.  The fir trees just off the tee and in the middle of this picture will be replaced with maple trees taken from the right side of the 8th hole.  The fir trees are growing into the hole's line of desire limiting players options not to mention they're overtopping several oak trees.  The new planting will help prevent errant shots from entering the roadway while removing the firs will allow players to start their tee shots right of center if they want to play a draw.  Giving players the ability to start their shots right of center will also reduce the number of errant shots landing near the 16th green which has always been a safety concern.  I'm not the best at photoshop but this next picture kind of shows what it will look like.

Behind #14 green there are 5 fir trees and one ash tree marked for removal.  The ash tree has simply outgrown its space and will be replaced with something more appropriate.  The fir trees have grown to where they now shade the green for too many hours in the day and since they aren't getting any smaller, it's time they go.  Here's a picture of the 14th green taken just the other day at 1 o'clock in the afternoon.

When the sun is at the highest point of the day and the putting green is covered in shade, it's pretty obvious there's a problem.  Those of you who play golf during the cooler part of the season know all too well that the 14th green suffers from shade.  It is always the last green to thaw out after a cold spell.

Lastly, lets talk about the 3 trees left of the 17th which are marked for removal.  Here's how the tee shot looks from the championship tee.  It's getting narrower and narrower each year and it's getting to the point where the holes "shot value" is greatly diminished.  What is "shot value"?  It's a measure used to quantify the quality of a golf hole or in this case the quality of one golf shot.  Golf shots that have high "shot value" are those that make the player think.  When a hole becomes narrow as in this case on #17, the players options become limited to the choice of just hitting a straight shot.  There is no room to hit any other type of shot.  When your choices are limited and very little thought is required, you end up with a shot that has poor "shot value".   On top of all that these trees on 17 are strangling some of our largest native oak trees.

Here's a look at these trees from a different angle.  It's pretty obvious that the fir trees are forcing the oak trees to grow away from them.  The oak trees are trying to survive but they will eventually loose the battle since these fir trees are young and growing much faster than the oak trees.  That concludes my review of this years TMP projects.  Please don't hesitate to contact me if you still have questions or concerns.  

Playground on the Prairie

 If you haven't already heard, the Lakewood Historical Society created a marker for the Club which commemorates it's historical significance.  We recently placed it near the north end of the clubhouse.  This seems like a good spot for the marker, but the final resting place is still being discussed at the committee level.  In the mean time, take a minute to go check it out. 

Lakewood has been a city for only 20 years, yet the town and community of Lakewood, once known simply as "the prairie", has a long, interesting history.  The Lakewood Historical Society was formed in 1998 and this marker is proof that they are fulfilling their mission to identify, preserve, and perpetuate Lakewood's history. Should the Club be recognized as historically significant?  I certainly think so.  In 1894, the Club was just a golf club.  When the Club moved the shore of American Lake in 1904, it became much more.  In addition to golf, there was boating, fox hunting, polo, tennis, and shooting.  When cars came along one of the favorite pastimes was driving and the vast open space around the Club was ideal for driving.  The Club became known as the playground on the prairie, and of course not everyone could afford this leisure.  It became the destination for Tacoma's upper crust of society.  All the movers and shakers joined the Club.  These were the people that started industry which provided the jobs.  These were the people that shaped and built Tacoma and the surrounding communities like Lakewood.  Yes, the Club is certainly significant to Lakewood's history.  As one of the first golf clubs in America, it is in fact historically significant at a national level.  Let's never forget that.  This historical marker certainly belongs here.  If you would like to see the other Lakewood historical markers, click HERE to see a list of them.  If you want to know more about Lakewood's history, check out the Lakewood Historical Society's website HERE.

The Tree Management Plan

If you've been on the golf course lately, you most likely noticed some trees marked with orange ribbon like this dying hemlock tree on the right side of #1 fairway.  Yes, these trees are marked because they are scheduled for removal.  Currently  there are over 100 trees on the golf course that are marked with ribbon and are scheduled for removal.  The Club's Board of Directors recently approved the revised Tree Management Plan (TMP) presented by the Green Committee and endorsed by the City of Lakewood.  The TMP has a 5 year schedule of projects aimed at managing the golf course trees.  The trees marked with ribbon today are those that are involved with the first year of the plan.  If you would like a copy of the TMP so that you can see the entire 5 year plan, click HERE and you can download it. 

A large majority of the trees scheduled for removal during year one reside in the area east of the driving range which looks like this and is obviously densely wooded.  This project will be a dramatic improvement as it will eliminate the under-story of blackberries and other undesirable shrubs. That means we will reduce the habitat that is desired by critters like rats, coyotes and other vermin.  In addition, by removing the under-story and many of  the fir trees, the area will be maintainable while releasing over 30 threatened oak trees.  Once this area is opened up and maintainable, we will no longer loose hundreds of golf balls coming off the range tee.  Releasing oak trees is the act of removing trees that are competing against the oak trees for light, water, nutrients, etc.  Why are we releasing oak trees??  Oak savannas like the land the Club sits on are now one of the most rare ecosystems on the planet.  All the plants and animals associated with oak savannas are now on the threatened or endangered list.  So really the basic answer to the question of "why?" is simply that it is the right thing to do.  Another reason to take care of the oak trees is pretty evident by looking at the above picture.  An area overgrown with Douglas fir doesn't look like a very fun place to golf.  When you favor the oak trees, you have to provide sunlight and air which is exactly what grass needs also.  The better the grass the better the golf.  Click HERE to read more on the process of oak release. 

Here is another picture of the area east of the range and here you can see some of the huge oak trees that will be released.   This really is an exciting project.  It's refreshing to be doing something that not only benefits the golf course but it actually benefits everyone.  The entire community benefits when you try and preserve a threatened ecosystem because it helps maintain species diversity.  Look up the term Biodiversity and you'll see just how important this concept is.  Nowadays you hear a lot about the public's perception that golf courses are bad and that they are polluting our environment.  Many of those people will never be convinced to the contrary, but they would have to admit that Tacoma C&GC is different.  They would have to say "Wow, those folks are actually choosing to make a positive impact on the environment".  What they also should know is that the Club has been doing this for quite a while.

Do any of you remember the project east of the 3rd green.  In 2009 several oaks were released between the 3rd green and the 4th tee.

This picture shows some of those oaks as we were restoring the area.  Now today go check out these oaks as your walking to the 4th tee.  They have really turned the corner and are putting on a lot of new growth.

Remember also in 2009 the project east of the first green.  Those two little oaks in the center of the picture above used to be surrounded by firs.  Of course the turf on the green is much happier also.

Maybe you remember the project near the 2nd tee.  It wasn't too long ago but the oaks released there have to be some of the nicest specimens on the property.

This is what they look liked right after being released.  It's going to be fun watching these trees flourish in the future.

 On 13 we were very proactive by releasing the oaks near 15 tee which had yet to be overtopped by the firs.  Because the Douglas fir grows so rapidly, it wouldn't have been long before these trees overtopped the nearby oaks.  Removing the firs now while they are small is much more financially responsible.

Here's an after picture and you can see on the left side of the photo those oaks near 15 tee are now in the open and loving life.  By far one of the most successful "release" projects was when the new 11th tee was constructed.  Check out these pictures.  The 11th tee is surrounded by oak trees which now have a chance to live for our future generations to enjoy.

I seriously feel blessed to have been involved with these projects and so excited to do more with the new TMP.  You can imagine most Golf Course Superintendents don't have a chance to do something that is not only good for the golf course, but also good for everyone.  The new Tree Management Plan is just that.....A Win Win all around.

The Oak

You might remember one of my recent blog posts where I reported that the golf course at Tacoma C&GC was built on what was once a prairie.  If you didn't read that post, you can do it right now by clicking HERE.  Many of you approached me after I posted that history lesson and praised the effort I was making to protect this important legacy.  In the same way I know that many are not interested in protecting this threatened ecosystem.  As with most things we do as a Committee, there will always be those on both sides of the debate.  Personally, I'm very excited about the work we're doing at this very moment to preserve what's left of the prairie and if you happen to be a Garry Oak Tree, you will be happy that the Club is taking steps to preserve you and propagate you.

Before I get into specifics of what that means, let's just take a moment to define "prairie".  I think most people think of prairie as the large grasslands in central North America known as the great plains.  That is only one type of prairie.  The picture above was taken on arguably the most famous prairie golf course in the country.  That is Prairie Dunes Country Club in Kansas and it's currently ranked 25th on the list of 100 greatest golf courses in America.  As you can see, the prairie that Prairie Dunes was built on is very similar to that type of prairie that Tacoma was built on.  These are not grassland prairies.  They are sparsely wooded prairies which are specifically referred to as oak savannas.  As you may know, the oak savannas that once covered our region are all but lost and as a result, the Garry Oak which is Washington's only native oak tree, is becoming one of the most threatened tree species. Why are the oak savannas disappearing?  Much of the land has been taken for farming or development but mostly the savannas are shrinking due to the lack of fire or periodic burning.  Without fires to keep them in check, fast growing conifers eventually overtop and ultimately kill the sun-loving oak trees.  In the mid 1800's, European settlers arrived and put a stop to the regular burning of the woodlands.  Click HERE to read more about oak savannas which are now considered one of the rarest plant communities on earth.   So what are we doing to protect and preserve the oak savanna here at Tacoma C&GC?  First of all we are trying to address the oaks that are most at risk.

Specimens like this one on 16 approach which have suffered serious damage are being closely monitored.








Here you can see that particular tree being cabled to the adjacent fir so as to prevent total failure.  Right now we have over a dozen Garry oaks on the course which have cables in them in order to strengthen their branch structure.  To date we have lost only one oak tree that has been cabled.  It is definitely a strategy that works.  It is also a strategy that is expensive so we cannot put cables in every oak tree.  So what steps do we take to protect the oak woodlands?  Right now we are taking a pro active roll in simply making sure each and every oak tree gets a fair chance to live out it's entire life.  In order to do this, we need to give these trees the growing conditions that they are adapted to.  Oak trees need full sun exposure and good air flow which is what they would get if they still lived on a native oak savanna.  So are we restoring the savanna?  Only in our dreams.  Restoring the savanna can only be done by reintroducing fire and periodically burning the woodlands.  This isn't going to happen since we are also interested in protecting the playing field for golf.  Thus, we need to manually work at sustaining the nature of the savanna as a sparsely wooded green space in order to favor the growing conditions that encourage the survival of the oak trees.  Simply stated, we need ensure that only native species occupy the golf course green space and control their numbers to mimic the typical density which would be found on a true oak savanna.  As good environmental stewards, the Club is already actively doing some of this work.  Check this out.

The image above is a 1979 aerial of the south end of the property.  Notice I added the hole numbers on the image, but of course in 1979 the holes we know today as 13-15 haven't been built yet.  Look at the parcel of land where those holes eventually were built.  It looks pretty much the same as the rest of the course.  At that time, it was a nice oak savanna with the same density of trees as the existing golf course.  Now look at an aerial of that part of the golf course today.

Specifically, look at the 13th hole.  Notice that there is a continuous tree canopy from tee to green bordering both sides of the hole.  Over planting of the hole began about 14 years ago and yes, I myself planted many of these trees.  Since then I have come to realize just how serious the subject of tree planting is.  I now know that planting trees on a golf course should be done very carefully.  In this particular case, if all these trees were allowed to grow to full maturity, the 13th hole would soon be one of the shadiest holes on the course and likely have some of the worst turf conditions.  Not only that, the oak trees would certainly decline and eventually be lost to overtopping by the fast growing Douglas firs.   I've always known about the oaks being threatened, but just recently I've come to understand the importance of the oak savanna ecosystem with which they came to be.  I am thrilled that today we are admitting our mistakes in regard to overplanting some areas on the course and taking steps to correct them. In fact, the following project was approved back in February but it wasn't until this recent cold snap that we had the time and conditions to carry it out.  The frozen ground allowed us the opportunity to get equipment out to some areas on the 13th hole with minimal damage.  Before things thawed out we were able to remove many of the juvenile trees in that area.  Here's a couple of before and after pics.

 Above you see the area between 12 and 13 near the 12th green before thinning the trees.  The picture below is how it looks now that the trees were thinned out and the open space has been restored.

 Above is a picture from 13 tee before thinning the trees.   Below is a picture from 13 tee after thinning the trees.

Notice we left all of the more mature trees which are properly spaced out allowing good sunlight and air flow.  The oak trees surrounding the 15th tee now have a good chance at surviving for many more generations.  I also expect we will immediately see turf conditions improve in these areas.  That's one of the best parts of this effort.  Turf requires good sunlight and air flow just like the threatened oak trees.  When we implement practices to favor the oaks, we also favor the turf.  Protecting the savanna is truly a "win win" for the golf course and it's future legacy.

Big House on the Prairie

 Above you see a nice picture of the "Grand Old Lady" as she looked just after the official opening which was held October 8th, 1910.  This picture, with the caption, is from the book "Tacoma, the city with a snow-capped mountain in it's dooryard".  That book was published in 1912 and it is a very interesting record of Tacoma's rapid growth during the early years.  You can read it in entirety by clicking HERE.  If you follow that link and check out the book, you're bound to learn something interesting about Tacoma, "the city of destiny".  If you're a golf history nerd like me, you're going to learn something really interesting about Tacoma Country and Golf Club, which is what I want to share with you now.  We need to start by reading the caption under that picture of the "grand old Lady" which is found in the book on page 31.  I know it's really hard to read that tiny print so just keep reading as the following text is an exact copy of that which is in the caption, but much easier to read retyped here.  The caption reads...........


HOME OF THE TACOMA COUNTRY AND GOLF CLUB.- On page 27 will be found three views taken on the immense gravelly prairie and fresh water lake district beginning at the southerly limits of Tacoma and extending south the length of two ordinary counties.   These views were taken in the vicinity of the splendid clubhouse of the Tacoma Country and Golf Club above illustrated, and serve to indicate, as best pictures may indicate, the interest-impelling character of the clubhouse environments.  Nowhere in the East, even in the immediate vicinity of New York or Philadelphia or Boston, will be found a country club development superior to that of the Tacoma Country and Golf Club, and this development in contra-distinction to that near the eastern cities, is possible of almost limitless extension.  The Puget Sound climate is, of course, a large determining factor to this development, for it allows the pounding of gold balls or the chasing of the annis bag from January to December.  Indeed, when the gentle rains of late autumn begin, more knickerbocker-clad enthusiasts will be seen pursuing their seemingly endless course over the links than in the sunniest days to be conjured, for no rain falls during June, July and August, yet it is never more than comfortably warm.  Golf and riding to hounds are all-the-year-around institutions in Tacoma's country club life, and visitors are always loathe to leave after once tasting the pleasures abound.  The clubhouse above is the center of but one of the developments on this prairie and along the lakes that dot its surface.
________________________________________________________

So when I first read this, I immediately flipped to page 27 to see the views of the immense gravelly prairie.  Below are the images from page 27.  You see two images of towering firs and then the larger third image is of a nice prairie dotted with young firs.  That somewhat accurately depicts the property today although the firs that once dotted the prairie are now much larger and unfortunately many other firs have been planted over the years making it not much like a prairie at all.  Still the same, you can go to the edge of the property near American Lake and see huge, old towering firs as in the images below, while certainly the golf course interior is much more open like that third image since the trees are younger and smaller.   

Anyway, as you continue reading the caption, clearly the author felt very highly of the Club development at the time and that's not too surprising since in 1912, golf was still young in the states and Tacoma C&GC had already cemented itself as the first Club in the west and clearly one of the best with it's glorious, new, lavish clubhouse.  I love the next statement in the caption that touts the great weather in Puget Sound.  The text says "pounding of gold balls and chasing the annis bag from January to December" ,but obviously there is a couple of typos there.  It should read of course "pounding of golf balls and chasing the anise bag from January to December".  I'm not sure a lot of people would say we have the best weather here but again you have to look at what the game of golf looked like in 1912 when this was written.  Most of the great clubs at the time were in New York, Philly, or Chicago and those areas have a definite off-season during the winter months.  On top of that, people during that period didn't necessarily feel that sunny, warm weather was good for golfing.  In fact, during the hot summer months, people took time off from golfing since the turf wasn't very good and appropriate golf attire was a coat and tie for the gentlemen and a full length dress for ladies. The turf wasn't very good since irrigation systems really hadn't been invented yet and we know the first irrigation system at Tacoma didn't come until 1923.  But anyway, you get the point that the Puget Sound climate is so mild that golf can be played all year and of course if your a golf enthusiast, this makes it an ideal region to develop a golf club.  Combine good weather with good property and you get something very special like Tacoma Country and Golf Club.  As the last sentence of the caption reiterates, the property at that time was an endless, open prairie.   Links type land  was considered ideal for golf during this period and the prairies of south Puget Sound looked strikingly similar to links land.  But now here is the tragedy in our story of the Club's history.  The prairie is virtually gone.  Check out the following diagrams which show the distribution of prairie land in the 1850s versus the 1950s. The red arrow is pointing to where Tacoma C&GC is located, the white areas are prairie, and the shaded areas are forest.

Now look at the same area in the diagram below which shows the distribution of prairie in the 1950s.

Look at where the red arrow is pointing which again is the Club's location.  You can see that it is still very much prairie but the forest is creeping in from the lakes and from the east.  Now look below at an aerial of the course in 1941 and sure enough, the course is still on an open prairie.  So you see it really isn't until recently in the last 50 years that Tacoma's course became tree lined with big fir trees.  For most of the Club's history, the course has been an open site that allowed for good turf and favorable land for the Garry Oak.

Unfortunately, the invasive Douglas Fir has been allowed to encroach on the site, and even more disturbing, the Club has actually planted Douglas Fir which has increased the speed of prairie loss.  I myself have planted firs on the course so I am also to blame for this tragedy and believe me, it makes me sad.  The founders of this great club chose this site because it was appropriate golfing land with very few trees and rolling terrain inhabited by native grasses.  Somehow over time people, including myself, lost site of the importance of open space for good golf, and now the course has become overgrown with Fir trees that have shaded out the good grasses and the beautiful endangered oak trees.  Well I have committed my life to understanding good golf, good turf, and the history of this Club so now I see clearly that whats left of the prairie needs to be preserved.  It's not too late to save the oak trees and maintain good golfing land for the future members of Tacoma C&GC.  So when you see banded trees like in this picture of the area near the second tee, don't look at it as removing fir trees.  Look at it as a preservation effort since that's exactly what it is.  The oak trees are getting choked out and the forest is creeping in.

Look at this next photo and you can see what happens when a fir tree is allowed to over top an oak tree.  This big fir snapped in half in our most recent wind storm and landed on the oak next to it.

In this next picture you can see the oak that was crushed.  Unfortunately another endangered oak tree has been lost and this could have been so easily avoided by simply not allowing that fir tree to get that large.

Look at this next picture.  I took this picture near the second tee in a dense woody area where the invasive firs have been allowed to encroach.  You see there is a young fir growing there that has just sprung up from seed.  This is the kind of thing that we have to actively manage in order to maintain some resemblance of the prairie that used to be here.  Small firs like this need to be removed before they can grow up and shade out the desirable grass and oaks.

Below is another piece of evidence that proves my point.  In this picture you see a young oak tree near the fairway on #2  that died this past winter.  Last spring I know it was alive because I was making plans to relocate it to an open area where it would have a chance to survive.  I never found time to save that oak and as you can see, it finally died a very slow death caused by shade from towering firs.

Okay so now I'm sure I've lost some readers since many of you may have just gotten bored with the length of this post or your one of those that just thinks there's no reason to ever cut down a tree.  Yes it's true this has turned into another one of Joel's posts about removing trees, and I know that makes a lot of people uncomfortable.  Hopefully some of you see that this is about saving endangered trees and preserving whats left of what makes this land so good for golf.  Please follow this link by clicking HERE and check out the website which brings awareness to the tragedy of the diminishing prairies and to those people that have committed themselves to preserving whats left of it and even reclaiming it.  You'll see that there is a video on that web page.  It's worth watching as it explains how the prairies got here, how they were maintained by natives, and how now they are being lost. 

The acreage of prairie in our area has dwindled to 3% of what it was before settlers arrived and because of that, hundreds of unique species are going to soon be extinct.   We have a chance to assist in the conservation effort to save the prairies by making sure the forest is kept at bay and the oak trees are given a chance to survive.  The great thing about spending time and money saving what's left of the prairie at Tacoma C&GC is that it also is good for golf.  You can't grow grass in a Douglas fir forest but in an oak inhabited prairie, grasses are actually the normal coverage and so that is land perfectly suited for golf and at Tacoma C&GC, good golf should be the focus.  By the way, the reference at the beginning of this post to "chasing the anise bag" goes back to the days of fox hunting which apparently was done year around during those early years.  The hounds would chase the anise bag in the absence of the fox which I'm sure got increasingly more common as the fox was hunted to near extinction.