The actions by a Kingwood golf course to remove a number of old trees has some area residents asking if they really do live in The Livable Forest?
Billye Otten, a Kings Point resident, says she is extremely disappointed with Kingwood Country Club officials who decided to cut down more than 20 trees to make way for better greens on the Deerwood golf course.
"These trees are more than a 100 years old," said Otten, who jogs along the trail where the trees used to stand. "I know that it's the club's land and they can do whatever they want, but part of the reason I moved here was because of all the trees and the beauty they brought to Kingwood."
Club Director David Priesler said that the tree-cutting was a major concern of his and that the decision came as a last resort after several months of careful research and planning.
"All golf courses mature over time," he said. "These trees weren't a hazard a few years back. But they are today, and so we had to cut them down."
The hazard Priesler is referring to became known to officials as the golf course began undergoing some major renovations including the installation of TifEagle grass on the greens to better suit the climate in Houston.
"This type of grass is resistant to heat and can grow in extreme temperatures," Preisler said.
But he added that parts of the greens on the course were not getting the amount of sun required for the grass to grow properly.
"That's when we realized that we had to cut down the trees over by hole number four," he said.
The hole is among the most well known in the country, having served as the 18th hole of the U.S. Open in the movie Tin Cup, starring Kevin Costner, Don Johnson and Cheech Marin in 1996.
"There is no doubt that there is a lot of history there and the trees are a big part of it," said Linda Dalton, the club's member relations' director.
"But the new grass needs sun to grow and that would be impossible with the trees shading that area."
Angus McMillan, an architect involved in the decision-making process to cut down the trees, said that part of his job included monitoring the area for sunlight where the trees once stood.
"We wanted to absolutely make sure that the grass wouldn't grow properly due to lack of proper light," he said.
"We exhausted a lot of our resources in the process and found that cutting down the trees was the only way to go."
With the trees already chopped down, Otten and fellow residents, such as Jim Bowen, also are concerned about erosion caused by the tree-cutting.
"Now that these trees are gone, what are they going to do if the soil erodes?" Bowen asked. "And we hope that they do something to maintain and beautify the area."
McMillan said there is no chance of erosion because several understory trees continue to dwell in the area.
The understory is a group of small trees, shrubs and vines that grow under taller trees.
"This will help beautify the area to some extent for now," McMillan said.
Source: The Houston Chronicle
