Photos: Oakmont Before/Afters And Through The Years

Sadly lost in all of the news this week was another successful showing for Oakmont. Many of you heard about the tree removal project and wanted to see good before-after images, and I didn't have a good link to send you to.

So here is Dunlop White's piece about that origins of the design, the evolution and tree work at Oakmont, with a link to a slideshow giving impressions of the improved the look.

The post-Fownes’ era coincided with the emergence of a nationwide tree-planting trend. Oakmont was among hundreds of golf clubs that believed high volumes of newly planted trees could enhance the golf course aesthetic. Oakmont officials responded by planting thousands of ornamental saplings in virtually every open space on the golf course as part of their newly adopted orchard program. At the 1973 U.S. Open Championship, Oakmont's official press release revealed that 3,200 trees had been added to the golf course.

Here is the slideshow.

Comments

[fyg]

Wonderful course and wonderful tournament with a proper winner, marred only by the USGA clowns.

Glad the tournament is going back there quickly again, at least the USGA did that right.

[AJ]

Thanks Geoff for putting this slideshow together. It is really cool to see how, with smart management or sneaky late-night chainsaw shenanigans, a club can restore a course to it's former glory. I'm sure Fownes is smiling up in heaven when he sees his original vision for Oakmont restored like this.

[Fore]

Thanks Geoff!

[OWGR Fan]

Great photos provided by the USGA and others for the slideshow. Some of those before/afters are pretty jarring to see. What a difference for the better.

[John C]

What is this - Hate Trees month?

[KLG]

Much better without the trees!

[Straightshooter]

Is Firestone South next?

[Paul]

I think they went too far taking every tree down. I was there in '92 for woman's and '94 and obviously looks very different today. I would've liked to see some left, what % not sure. Would've like to seen how it looked w/50% gone, maybe 75%.

[Hawkeye]

No line-of-sight drop for DJ on the 10th if a few trees had been spared between 10 and 11! Actually, judging from the approach shots by DJ on 10 from the 11th fairway and Branden Grace on 1 from the 9th fairway, players might actually benefit from aiming for the adjacent fairway since the side angle from which the ball comes into the severely slanted greens makes it easier to stop the ball quicker. So what's next - OB stakes between holes to keep scores up?

[digsouth]

Thanks fr the comparison show.

As Harvey said about aspirin and golf, you don't take the whole bottle. It would seem that tree removal to give grass more sun exposure, and th restore some of the original ''look'' wouldhave been a good thing, going from a Beatles cut to a Marine buzz cut may have been taking the whole bottle, and the idea of keeping a handsome grouping of trees would have added some much needed character to a nice golf course, IMO/.