Tree Removal & Planting Update

The tree removals along the roadway on #10 and #18 are completed and the remaining wood will be available to members until Monday, April 18th.  There have been some concerns voiced about these removals with regards to protection from balls on both #10 and #18.  All of these trees were either greatly affecting drainage or declining rapidly over the last couple of years.  Once again, here are some photos that illustrate how aggressive the root systems of willows, poplars and silver maples are:

willow and silver maple roots clogging a drain tile at #3 tees

willow and silver maple roots compromising drainage at #3 tees

shallow poplar roots in #15 green

It appears as though most of our silver maples are of approximately the same age and are nearing the end of their lives.  Silver maples are a very undesirable and weak species of maple and as they age they become very hazardous.  It doesn't take heavy winds for them to lose major limbs which always have the potential of injuring golfers and/or workers.  More desirable and appropriate evergreen varieties will be planted in the coming weeks where there are voids created from the removals.

We hope to resume planting more trees in the next few days if conditions allow.  We will be planting 4-5 more along the left side of #1 and 3-4 more between #1 and #9, closer to #9 green.  As the ground firms up we will also be planting 5-6 evergreens between #10 and #18, close to where the majority of the removals were.  Please keep in mind that if your ball comes to rest in one of the mulched tree wells around any of the newly planted trees, it is to be treated as Ground Under Repair to avoid damaging the young tree.

Lastly, the large pile of tree debris behind #8 green (near our weather station) from the removals at #4 and #15 greens will very likely be chipped within the next couple of weeks.  Our intent was to burn this debris over the winter months, but unfortunately we have not been able to.  Obtaining the permit to burn was not a problem, it's just that we must follow Environment Canada's guidelines on whether or not we can burn.  The days we've been allowed to burn are far and few between.

Root invasion!!!

We've been experiencing some drainage issues lately at #3 tees and along the backside of the newer mounds on the left side of #1.  The culprit?  Yup, that darn willow directly behind #3 tees.  Willows are amongst the worst trees when it comes to their root systems invading drainage lines.

Here is a pic of the affected drainage:

Here is a pic of the willow roots invading the collector drain:

Here is the culprit:

We are now forced to attempt to remove all the willow roots from the affected lines.  This is not a simple task and will likely require replacing sections of the drainage collector pipe where we cannot do so. This willow MUST be removed in order for the surrounding drainage to function properly.  Root pruning is not an option as it will only result in even more aggressive rooting.