Unauthorized Course Intrusion Leads to Damage at Exclusive Golf Club, Says Source
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Hey there!
Got a gripe from Scottie Scheffler 'bout golf course design - strippin' trees is the bugaboo! Just last month, he spoke his piece, and now, guess what's up? The world's top dog in golf and fave to win the U.S. Open is slated to play a course that's been tree-stripped, none other than the renowned Oakmont Country Club. But here's the kicker, this gutting didn't make it one whit simpler like it oft does when the green goes bare. Back in the dark of the '90s, some heavy-hitters at Oakmont pulled off a covert operation to clear the woods, and hoo-boy, it wasn't a walk in the park!
Now, here's the lowdown on exactly how they did it. The groundskeepers began by scraping well over 10,000 trees (that's right, you read that right!) and subsequently yanked out a few hundred more, leading up to the 2016 U.S. Open. This extensive purge was part of a broader mission to reestablish the course to its roots, inspired by a bird's eye view from the '50s showing the area decked out in the minimal green.
Lookin' back, it turns out Henry C. Fownes was all about a links-style course, just like the ones he admired in Scotland. So, you betchya, the deforestation helped keep that beauty alive whilst enhancing playability and safety too. However, it's not all smooth sailing - some fans lament the loss of lush, green fairways.
As if that weren't enough, recent renovations to the course layout havefinally solidified it as a test for the big-league tournaments, liikke the ol' U.S. Open.
So yeah, Oakmont's tree removal was more of a thoughtful redesign than a case of lazy landscaping. While it's stirred up some controversy, there's no denyin' the outcome's been a certainly unique and controversial chapter in the storied history of this iconic golf club.
Scottie Scheffler, the world's top golfer and favorite to win the U.S. Open, is scheduled to play at the Oakmont Country Club, a course notorious for its tree-stripping, which was carried out in the late '90s. The extensive deforestation was part of a plan to restore the course to its original links-style design, inspired by Henry C. Fownes and his admiration for Scottish golf courses.
