Tree Management At Northland

Dr. Tim Smith, Green Committee Chair has prepared the following for members of Northland Country Club, explaining the tree management plan for the golf course. Comments are welcome by clicking "Comments" under the post.

The management of trees on the golf course is a continual process which requires skill, care, and judgment to be done correctly. The issue of trees is one that each person has his own ideas about how they should be managed, and those reasons are all valid. The challenging part of that equation is the development of practices that all would agree with. Like politics, the discussion of trees on the golf course would not come to a 100% consensus if more than four to five people were discussing it. For this reason the Green Committee and Turf Staff are using definite criteria when addressing trees, especially concerning the removal of trees. Everyone who has played the golf course recently has noticed that a number of trees have been removed. Most members can see immediately that views and ground features that were obscured are now visible, and with the unveiling of them, the beauty and character of Northland are more apparent. The question for some is what are the criteria and why are we doing it?

This summer, the golf course was visited by four significant people to give us their expert advice concerning the golf course. The first to visit was Brad Klein,who is nationally known for his expertise on classic Donald Ross courses. Mr. Klein walked the golf course for two days to completely evaluate how Northland has evolved since 1927 when it opened. The many members who attended his presentation were educated about how great this golf course truly is. The next expert to visit us was Mr. Bob Vavrick who an agronomist expert for the USGA. He visits NCC every two years to advise us on the health and maintenance of the golf course. We then had two prominent architects tour Northland to give us an opinion about how a master plan would benefit the integrity and history of Northland. Ron Pritchard and John Fought were here in late September on separate dates to evaluate where we stand and how we should proceed in the future. In short, they said that NCC would benefit to develop a long-term master plan to restore it to the status which it deserves. The Green committee agrees with this, which is the reason we asked them to evaluate the property.

There was consensus among all four of the experts who visited our club during the season of 2008 concerning tree management. The primary attribute and asset of Northland is its location with the view of Lake Superior. Above all things it is the view, which cannot be duplicated anywhere in the world. With this in mind, they all recommended that any tree that blocks a view of the lake be considered for removal. This is a very bold statement to be made to a membership who values the outdoors as much as we do. But, I would have you consider a fortunate couple who builds a house on the Skyline of Duluth to enjoy the panoramic view of Lake Superior, who would then plant trees that block the view. It does not seem rational to destroy the very asset that attracted them to the location. I think Donald Ross would feel the same way about blocking the view of the lake with trees on most any area of the course.

The next important issue that the experts gave their opinion was the ground features built in to the course as it was constructed in the 1920’s. A typical ground feature would be the mounds between holes # 2-16 and #3-15. These where spots that where form by the piling of rocks that where lying where in the fairway . The piles were then covered with soil, and fescue grass was planted atop it. Fescue was planted because of the poor, dry conditions that those mounds provided for growing grass. The long and tall fescue thrives in those poor growing conditions, which is why you see that those areas are now allowed to grow long and whispy. You can see many areas on the golf course which have the mounds, and it is the intention to un-cover those areas and expose the classic features which makes NCC unique.

There are many things that make Northland a gem. The Green Committee and Turf staff are carefully considering these criteria when evaluating tree management. We have sought out the opinion of experts in field of golf course design and history. The decisions we make are based on their recommendations and not on the whim of a few. The end result will be a rediscovery of the beauty and challenge of Northland Country Club as designed by the master architect Donald Ross.