The Eisenhower Tree at Augusta National Falls Victim To Winter Storm

The iconic Loblolly Pine that thwarted golfers for generations was removed by Augusta National staff late last week after a heavy dose of ice and snow damaged the tree beyond repair.

The funny part is there are few photos of the tree being removed. Apparently the one photo was posted by the Augusta Chronicle but it has since been removed.

The photo above was provided to CP from a family source.

 

The Eisenhower Tree during the Masters in 2007



A view of the Magnolia lined entrance to Augusta National Golf Club during the February 2014 snow storm.

Apparently the Augusta National powers that be were unhappy with photos of the damaged tree that were posted on the Augusta Chronicle newspaper's web site.  Within hours of the series of photos appearing, they were removed.

In it place several media outlets are using this photo of another tree on an Augusta street to either illustrate the damage or even claiming it is the Eisenhower Pine.

Fallen Trees line an Augusta Georgia Street

The Pine was nearly as famous as the Masters itself often referred to as "The Eisenhower Pine" the tree had become a integral part of the 17th hole forcing many players to the right. But the tree, being a pine was well past its life expectancy and its eventual replace had been planned for years.

Rumor has it that a loblolly pine of suitable size has for years been readied for transplant and will be in place for the first week of April.

Anyone who as visited the course quickly notices the abundance of pine trees and the lack of Oak, Maple, Sweet Gum and Elm. The reason is that the Augusta management consider hardwoods to be "litter trees" who shed their leaves making playing golf difficult. So pine trees line the fairways of Augusta with only a few stately oaks around the club house and those far from the fairways.

Another photo mistakenly being used by media source as the iconic pine.