The eighth hole on the 18-hole course at the Bangor Municipal Golf Course will have a new look this season.
Brian Enman, the golf pro at Bangor Muni, said more than 35 trees have been removed from the 398-yard, par-4 eighth hole.
All the trees that were removed were situated along the left-hand side of the fairway or near the green.
“From the landing area down to the green, we’ve taken out some pine trees along the left side of the fairway into the tree line. We’ve had a lot of root problems there. The root system has been coming out into the playing area. That has made it very tough to mow,” Enman explained.
The trees near the green have limited the amount of sunlight, which has hampered the drying of the green.
“Usually, after you put the top dressing on the green, you can drag it a half-hour later,” Enman said. “But on the eighth hole, you’d put the top dressing down at 7 (a.m.) and it wouldn’t start drying until the sun hit it. You wouldn’t be able to drag it until 1:30 or 2 (p.m.). It wasn’t as bad in the summer.
“The green wasn’t getting enough sunlight,” Enman said. “We’ve never been able to grow grass on the back of the bunker due to the trees, and we have nice sod over there.”
Enman said golfers definitely will “notice the difference” and it will make the hole a little easier.
But not too much.
“It will definitely open up the left side. You’ll be able to miss the green to the left and hit shots into certain areas without being in the woods,” Enman said. “But it’s still going to be a tough hole. The (remaining) trees will still gobble up quite a few balls.”