Every golf course offers something special that all golfers can/should appreciate. The beauty of each course can be found on every hole and sometimes that beauty is subtle. Regardless of the layout of each course, its beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. As diverse as each golf course, what golfers find beautiful depends on so many factors it is hard to articulate. However, a simple question of ‘tree or no trees’ make up the beauty of a golf course seems simple enough……right?
“With 2,363 golf facilities, 921 of which are 9-hole courses, Canada is the third largest golfing nation in the world. The provinces of Ontario and Quebec, home to around 60% of the nation’s population, contain just under half of all the golf facilities.” (top100golfcourses.com) Considering the make up of Canada, most of these courses will be lined with trees. Additionally, trees will likely be found on or near each hole. As you can see from the pictures below, the first is more likely, but the second is definitely a possibility.
Personally, I like both. I find beauty on every golf course regardless if there are trees or not. Because Canada’s Boreal Forest Region, “one of the largest intact forest and wetland ecosystems remaining on earth. It stretches across the centre of the country, from Newfoundland and Labrador to the Yukon, covering nearly 6 million km2 and over 58 per cent of Canada’s land mass”, trees are almost a given. Hence, beauty with trees rates highly on the beauty scale for most Canadians.
Playing a course with no trees offers its style of beauty. Watching the rolling hills, undulating greens and exposure to more elements, golf courses with no trees cannot be overlooked. Often mistakenly referred to as ‘links golf courses‘ because of flat no trees design, golf courses with no trees are still a beauty to behold. I like playing these flat open courses as much as ones encased with trees.
Each golf course offers a great deal of beauty. It is really up to each player to discern that beauty. I like both types of course, trees or no trees, and hope I play over a hundred of them in 2024.
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 
Interesting golf courses come in several varieties. Good golf course architects make use of the character of the land.
A well designed course can use trees to define each hole and also for strategic value. Making good use of contours and elevation also add to the golf experience, a large factor in links style golf courses.
So Jim, put me down as being in favour of trees. In fact, I like them so much that I prefer my club shafts made of wood.
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Your comments made me laugh. I am also enjoying my hickory sticks. It is a fun way to play golf and opens a whole new set of opportunities. Golf is a great game played in the wilderness, open lands or a combination of both.
Cheers Jim
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I have no favorite in that regard. I do have a preference for elevation changes though. We just don’t get enough of that around here so playing a mountain course or even one that just has rolling hills is special to me.
It’s also fun to play at higher altitude which most everywhere is from the Gulf Coast of Florida. You get to feel like superman when you’re a couple thousand feet above sea level and the ball flies farther than you’ve ever hit it at home without a hurricane to help. 😂
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Kevin,
Playing a course with elevation is fun. We have a couple of courses around here that change about 100 feet on a single hole. This change definitely makes club selection more challenging, but fun.
Cheers Jim
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