The par four sixth hole starts with a downhill tee shot to a fairway with two options. There are trees on the left and a creek on the right. Most players will want to get as much distance off the tee here, as the approach is long, but swinging out of one’s shoes might lead to some real consequences given these obstacles.

Today, however, tree removal has revived some of the course’s strategic elements. Take the par-4 sixth hole, which has a unique half-horseshoe green. Bunkers guard both sides of this green, and pin positions behind the bunkers are tough to access. Since the hole measures 450 yards and often plays into the wind, players typically hit long clubs from the fairway. When trees lined both sides of the fairway, this approach was somewhat dull: you couldn’t do anything but aim for the middle of the green. Now that the trees that once lined the creek on the right side have come down, however, there’s another option. When the pin is on the right, you might play across the creek to the 16th fairway in order to open up an angle. A mirror image of that strategy—hitting your tee ball toward the 13th fairway on the left—will apply to a left hole location once the redwoods on the left are removed.

Andy Johnson, Course Profile: Meadow Club, ClubTFE