Only in golf can trees be considered controversial. Part of that is because we’re petty and love to bicker. Part of that is because the margins of our sport are so slim, that even an innocent sapling can have a vast impact on how a hole is played. The ever-mischievous Pete Dye understood this, tormenting golfers for years with an infamous oak tree looming over TPC Sawgrass’ sixth tee. In 2014, the oak died of natural causes, granting players a decade-long reprieve, but in 2025, as part of a course-wide revitalisation project, the tree has returned and, with it, players’ grumblings.
This week, the sadistic content minds at the PGA Tour captured the reactions of players as they arrived at the sixth hole during their practice rounds, and, needless to say, not everybody was thrilled about the new flora they found awaiting them.
Players have thoughts on the new tree on No. 6. pic.twitter.com/KBmetPbn05
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 13, 2025
Most players handled the pesky oak better than the Twitter/X nerds, who turned the tree into some sort of golf Rorschach test, but not everyone was a fan.
“This is impossible for me to hit my 7-wood,” Keith Mitchell said.
“Golf’s too easy, so you might as well make it tougher,” Collin Morikawa quipped.
“That’s a bit aggressive,” Scottie Scheffler mumbled.
But no one loathed the new obstacle quite like Matt Fitzpatrick, who called it “the dumbest tree I’ve ever seen”, and asked, “whose brilliant idea was it to bring this tree back? If someone could remove it, that would be great”.
Despite Fitzy’s mixed feelings about the tree, he still managed to hit a sensational stinger, beanie and all.
He wasn’t the only one, either. In fact, the tree produced a rainbow of incredible trajs from the likes of Min Woo Lee, Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, who all navigated the new hazard with style.
Say what you want about the tree (go ahead, it doesn’t have feelings), but if it produces fireworks like this all weekend, then perhaps Pete Dye was on to something after all…
