Green Tree Golf Course

Green Tree Golf Course

      Green Tree Golf Course closed Feb. 24th, 2016 after 55 years in operation. Our golf club first starting playing there in 1972 and held regular tournaments there from 1974 through 1980, then again in 1983, 87 and 88. We held best-Ball tournaments there in 1981, 84 and 93. The Tom Stead Memorial Scrambles were held there from 1986 to 1991 and then from 1994 to 2015. It’s funny we held the Stead there, Tom hated the golf course and I think that’s why we had some terrible weather there for many of the tournaments. (Tom got back at us) Two Pyramid finals were held there, John Ortiz winning in 1990 and Larry Campbell in 2003. Carl Bradow held the low net course record (59), his shinning moment in 1977, Tom Palilonis held the low gross course record (78), setting it in 1981.

     Multiple winners in regular tournaments at the course were; Larry Campbell, Dave Pearce, Rollin Podwys and Clar Reyes with 3 wins each, Mike Cook, Don Dean, Don Scribner, Denzil Storbeck and Fred Trott with 2 wins each.

     Number of multiple wins as a member of a winning Tom Stead Scramble team; 10 – D. Scribner, 9 – M. Cook, K. Peck, 8 – M. Hurst, N. Williamson, 7 – L. Campbell, S. Cook, J. Ortiz, 6 – S. Blotzer, 5 – B. Boyer, F. Duggins, P. Eubanks, D. Pearce, D. Riley, R. Yarbrough, 4 – K. Dorsey, J. Finnegan, AJ Jones, D. Menzel, S. Menzel, D. Storbeck, 3 – R. Carr, Bn Cook, M. Osada, R. Robinson, M. Smith, N. Stachowicz, 2 – B. Bohnet, R. Butler, B. Cook, J. Grant, M. Katz, D. McFatter, L. Odom, R. Podwys, M. Reinhart, D. Richey, B. Simonson, J. Spurgeon, T. Yarbrough.   

      Green Tree golf course had gone under some changes over the years but I think not for the better. They took a fairly easy golf course that was fun to play and tried to make a championship course out of it and in the process screwed it up. The following is a description of the course and the routing we played for many years. Play from the white tees used to start on the 130 yard par 3 first hole (now the 140 yard 10th hole with a different tee box, the original tee was near where the new 9th green is now) and with the lake to carry on your first shot of the day made this a real adventure. “Lots of bad starts” took place here. The second hole was a 320 yard par 4 (now the 11th hole) that was fairly easy, only a depth perception problem on your second shot made it tricky. The third hole was a 472 yard par 5 (now the 464 yard 12th hole) that was reachable in two, depending on the wind. The hole now has water in front of it which really limits your options. The fourth hole was a 338 yard par 4 (now the 334 yard 13th hole) which played longer than the yardage into the prevailing wind. The hole is basically the same as it was before. The fifth hole was a 382 yard par 4 that played downwind but was still a tough hole to par, (it’s now the 377 yard 14th hole). Also tough was the little par 3 sixth hole (now the 106 yard 15th hole) At that time it had a large willow tree that sat in front and to the left of  the green, you couldn’t see the green, just hit your tee shot over the tree and hoped for the best. A very hard green to hit at that time. The seventh hole was a 512 yard par 5 (now the 493 yard 16th hole) that played downwind and was reachable for the longer players. A water canal was put in front of the green which forces most players now to lay up with their second shots. The eighth hole was a par 3 of 190 yards (now the 184 yard 17th hole), a very good but difficult hole even though it plays downwind. The ninth hole was a 385 yard par 4 (now the 382 yard 18th hole) which could play very tough also. The front nine was only 2826 yards long. Play on the back nine started on the 543 yard 10th hole (now the 489 yard 1st hole and players have told me this was the original 1st hole when the course first opened.). You wanted to hit your tee shot as far as possible without reaching the water hazard which was left, right and crossing the fairway straight away. This was a pretty easy par 5. The eleventh hole was a 402 yard par 4 (now the 393 yard 2nd hole) that I think was the toughest hole on the course. A long par 4 into the wind which required a long second shot to a narrow but long green that was tough to putt. The twelfth hole was a 386 yard par 4 (now the 382 yard 3rd hole) that then had a large tree off to the left of the tee that made your tee shot much more difficult then it is now. Three of the next four holes were closed and/or modified back in the early eighties because of home building on the course. The thirteenth hole was a long 180 yard par 3 then, now the new hole is 146 yards long with a two tier green (and is now the 4th hole). The par 4 dogleg left fourteenth hole was then 370 yards long (now the 323 yard 5th hole) which made the tee shot between the large trees left and right much more difficult. The green remains the same. The 150 yard 15th hole (now the 136 yard 6th hole) remains the same but shorter. The par 4 sixteenth hole was 370 yards long, (now the 285 yard 7th hole) which made the hole much more difficult then. The 400 yard par 4 seventeenth hole (now the 395 yard 8th hole) is essentially the same hole today, downwind but a tough hole to par. The par 5 finishing hole was a short 467 yards downwind which made it a great finishing hole, eagle and birdie possibilities, the green sat right were the second shots are shot now. A really fun hole, if you were having a good day you could add to it, a bad day and you still had a chance for a good finish. It’s now 548 yards long (9th hole) and almost impossible to hit in two shots because of it’s length and green location. The back nine was 3313 yards coming in for a total of 6139 yards. The yardage given on the new course is from the white tees at 5881, it’s 380 yards longer from the blue’s.

     Over the last few years the par 5 sixteenth hole was made into a short par 3 because of legal problems of golf balls being hit unto Leisure Town Road. The par 3 seventeenth was also shortened for the same reason, these two good holes were ruined because of this, too bad.