Indian Tree GC's foray into tree art began with Native American work near No. 7. After having an outside carver create the piece, superintendent Scott Gibson and his staff decided to create a few pieces themselves.

2001 Leo Feser award candidate

As superintendents, we are not only responsible for growing and maintaining healthy stands of turf, trees and the like, but I believe we are also entrusted with providing an aesthetically pleasing look to our facilities and grounds. Superintendents do this in a number of ways, with bold and beautiful flowerbeds, striking entryways or unique and manicured fairway designs. Most of us strive for these things within our resources as I do at Indian Tree Golf Course in Arvada, Colo.

As golfers become more sophisticated, superintendents try to keep pace by not only maintaining our golf courses in the best possible condition but adding interest to the surrounding areas as well.

As stewards of the environment, we are taught to preserve and protect our natural resources as much as we can by providing nesting areas for birds by using old trees, using fountains to help oxygenate our water supply and more. However, instead of finding another use for dead or dying trees, many people would just as soon cut them down and destroy their environmental potential.

Nature's art
In recent years in Colorado, particularly in mountain communities, chainsaw art has become one of the big trends. Most often, you will see bears cut from ponderosa trees. However, hardwoods are also used, with cottonwood and elm being preferred choices. While cottonwoods tend to become extremely dry and brittle, the cracking and warping add character over time.

Details such as painting on the underside and taxidermy eyes add realism to this "Colorado crocodile," which was formed from a fallen Austrian pine. Varied shades of color and a dark walnut stain were used to give the croc a weathered look and protect the wood from splitting.

Along our No. 7 tee stands a group of large cottonwoods, one of which needed to come down because of safety concerns and liability issues. As we were taking it down, I decided to keep the remaining 6 feet of stump in hopes of doing something with it. Initially, I thought of possibly setting a pot of flowers on it or attaching a sign to it. Then it hit me: Let's try carving something out of it, and if it doesn't work, we could always finish cutting it down. I contacted a carver, and he came to look at the stump. I told him I wanted to somehow incorporate a Native American theme to go along with Indian Tree's name and to keep with the idea of nature and the environment Ð using, yet preserving, our natural resources. His creation, an American Indian with a bearskin draped over the top of his head, was perfect and became an instant success with the public. Local media became very interested as well. This led us to doing several projects ourselves and planning others.

Creative teamwork
After the first piece was done for us, I decided my staff and I could attempt similar projects and use them on the golf course to add a little flavor and diversity to the golf experience. With a chainsaw, chisel, file and a bit of ingenuity, several projects have been undertaken. It has really been a labor of love. Everyone has enjoyed the work, and the input has been tremendous.

I am fortunate to have a crew with varied backgrounds and abilities. Several of us have always been involved with woodworking and different crafts, and a few of the crew members lend their expertise in art and design. Although we enjoy these projects, the downside is that now my staff has so many ideas, we simply don't have time to do them all. A few members of my staff have actually been offered woodworking jobs on the side. Although the busy golf season cuts down our woodworking time, be assured that we will be back at it again this winter if time allows.

This past winter, a severe windstorm blew down a large Austrian pine. It broke at the ground level, and we later determined that root girdling was the problem. Rather than cut it up and dispose of it, one of the employees suggested we carve a crocodile out of it, and set it out on an island we were constructing into a wildlife enhancement area. While carving the crocodile, one person contacted a taxidermist, who gave the crocodile its realistic eyes. Several golfers have taken a second look at the "creature" before remembering they are in Colorado. We also added a "Beware of Croc" sign to help draw attention to the sculpture. We have since planted ground covers and wildflowers to help attract wildlife.

A dead blue spruce became a work of art, and its teepee birdhouse (on top) began serving as a home for sparrows. By not cutting down the tree, Gibson and his staff also preserved the "enclosed feeling" the tree and others around it give to a championship tee area.

Unexpectedly -- I don't want to say unwelcomed -- a pair of Canada geese decided to roost right next to the crocodile without any concern. So apparently wildlife isn't as easily fooled as our human guests.

Last summer we had a diseased blue spruce we were unable to save. It was a good-sized tree right next to one of our championship tees. It had some value not only for the tree itself, but also because of its location. The tree seemed to enclose the tee, and so removing the tree would have changed the appearance and sensation of the tee; it would have appeared more wide open.

Rather than cut it down, we decided to do something fun with the tree. We began by trimming all the lateral branches, and designed it to look like a totem pole. Signs in the shapes of arrowheads were added with destinations and their actual mileage from Indian Tree. Signs for Pebble Beach, Augusta National and the North Pole now cause golfers to stop and look and pass to the next hole with grins on their faces. Another employee built a teepee-shaped birdhouse for the top of the tree. The perch was hand-carved into an arrow to match the mileage signs. Bird feathers were collected from throughout the course and strung onto the end of the arrow perch. Currently, sparrows inhabit the teepee. By providing additional nesting areas like this, we are not only enhancing our wildlife, but adding to the scenery as well.

These projects started out innocently enough so we could just have a little fun while being constructive, but it has had a snowball effect with both the employees and golfers. These days, I hear as many positive comments about the woodworking projects as about the condition of the course. Through this collaborative effort of my employees and the utilization of their talents and imaginations, I truly think of them as my best natural resource. While fun projects like these have not only helped preserve, protect and enhance our wildlife, they have also awakened employees' interests in environmental issues.

All of the issues affecting golf courses today can sometimes be overwhelming. But I believe that taking a little time for creative diversions will benefit us all, in the end, because the little things do matter.

Scott Gibson is superintendent at Indian Tree Golf Course in Arvada, Colo., and a seven-year GCSAA member.