Survey results in respect to tree care and rough maintenance

You can see the decaying Maple on the left and how it has effected the growth of the large Oak, the Maple was removed to allow the Oak to grow naturally.

This is one of the trees that we removed by #17 green in the fall. From the outside they looked healthy, but as you can see there was not much left of them. With a close inspection of suspect trees, signs of decay and damage are easier to assess. Therefore trees in this condition are removed.

Our tree management program here at HCC is one that will systematically prune, remove (the dead, dying and diseased) and provide care for the trees on our property. Our goal is to highlight the specimen trees and reduce the tree clutter of unwanted species that impede both play and growing conditions (for other trees and turfgrass). As most of our members have noticed over the winter we removed a number of small coniferous trees that were growing under other deciduous trees and negatively effecting their growth. In removing these trees we have not only reduced the cluttered look and given the native deciduous trees more room to grow, we have also opened up some nice views and vistas of the property. Member comments on tree care were mostly positive and focused on continuing the pruning and care of our trees. We are looking at planting some trees to replace some of the larger, older trees that are starting to decay, etc (an example of this would be the two large poplars between 3 & 4 fairway). The idea is that when we do remove the poplars there are already some trees ready to take over, although smaller we will plant some native deciduous trees that will flourish and become specimens in the future.

Our rough maintenance program is also one that accentuates the design and character of the golf course. Our goal is to have thick, healthy and consistent rough throughout the property. We fertilize our rough to help it grow and compete with weeds, traffic and compaction. In the two seasons that I have been here the rough has been very thick, due to wet and cool weather. Consistency is something that is very hard to accomplish in the rough. Trees, cart path endings and high traffic areas do create thin and unsightly areas at times. We do our best to limit these areas and help keep them healthy by aerating, extra fertilizer and utilizing ropes and stakes.

In the 2009 golf season we started mowing an intermediate rough cut around our fairways. This is a 1" height that is 7' wide. This cut frames the fairways nicely and provides a transition to the primary rough.