Extreme weather in the past week has jeopardized one of golf’s most recognizable visuals. The ghost tree at Bandon Dunes’ Old Macdonald—a large, stately Port Orford Cedar situated on the third hole that can be seen from most every course on the course—is in danger of falling down, the resort acknowledged on Wednesday.
Videos and photos surfaced on social media on Tuesday of the tree leaning to the north after a storm brought wind gusts of over 50 mph to the Bandon, Ore., coastal layout. A resort spokesperson said the Bandon team is researching possible solutions for stabilizing the tree, but it was unknown whether it would be lost.
“If you are scheduled to play Old Macdonald soon, please be respectful of its space and celebrate it from a distance,” the resort said in a post on Instagram.
The tree has become a celebrated logo of sorts for visitors to the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, with its five top-ranked 18-hole courses. It not only serves as a target on the third hole “Sahara,” a short par 4 that rewards drives that get close to the stately cedar, but in many ways it symbolizes the mystique of the entire course. A golfer tees off to an elevated, blind fairway on the third hole—and a severely uphill walk over the sand ridge reveals one of the more awe-inspiring vistas at the resort.
There are ghost trees on other parts of the Bandon property, such as the new Sheep Ranch course. It’s unknown whether the resort would consider replacing the existing, original cedar with another from the grounds.
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