Tree removal is all the rage in golf these days. It opens up turf to air and sunlight, restores classic sightlines and gives courses a cleaner look. But there’s a right way to do it. And then there’s what happened at Cokato Town & Country Club.
Sometime in the wee hours of Thursday morning, a vandal (or was it vandals?) trespassed onto the modest nine-hole course in Cokato, Minn. — about an hour west of Minneapolis — and chopped down a 70-foot Douglas fir believed to be nearly 100 years old. The tree had stood in a strategic position at the bend of the par-4 7th hole, a dogleg right.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing a silver-and-white pickup truck near the course around 2 a.m., and someone making their way across the darkened grounds toward the 7th hole.
Cokato board member Adam Tabberson told GOLF.com on Thursday that the club was operating under the assumption that the culprit had played the course and had a score to settle with the conifer.
“Depending on your game, it could definitely be a problem,” Tabberson said. “You had a good chance of hitting it if you sliced.”
That wasn’t always the case. Cokato first opened for play in 1929, but was rejiggered in the late 1950s. As part of a rerouting, the fir went from factoring on the 5th hole (it was, of course, much smaller then) to its position on the 7th. That bit of history is now gone, and unlike a stolen flagstick or a damaged bunker, it can’t be replaced or repaired quickly.
“We’d have to plant something much smaller and wait for it to grow,” Tabberson said.
The cleanup is no gimme, either.
Tabberson said that chopping up and clearing the toppled tree will cost more than $5,000, a hefty bill for a facility that charges $15 for walkers and $25 to loop it twice. Still, the club is willing to spend to address the matter. It is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the responsible party.
On Thursday, play went on as usual at Cokato, as the tree fell away from the playing corridors and did not damage the course — the one silver lining in an otherwise dark situation.
“Running a golf course is tough enough as it is,” Tabberson said. “Something like this, it’s just a bummer.”
