CLICK HERE! To read a Golf Digest article about the tree removal programs at several clubs, including Oakmont CC. Oakmont has a special place in my memories because it’s where I worked in 1997 and 1998, as a Penn State student. I was involved in several of the midnight tree raids and it was an experience I won’t ever forget. We were eliminating trees at a good clip, yet no one knew what was happening at first because we hid the evidence so well. A tree could be cut at 4:00AM and by the time the sun came up, the tree was gone, stump was ground and resodded. There wasn’t a wood shaving to be found because tarps were laid out around the tree before the saws started. Again, no evidence to be found! After a while it became obvious trees were missing and that’s where I’ll always admire my boss and mentor, Mark Kuhns, for navigating the politics that came along with that! With the US Open being played at Oakmont this coming week, this story always gets a lot of attention.
