Past Masters champions remember the iconic and often frustrating pine tree on Augusta National’s 17th hole that was destroyed in an ice storm in 2014.
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AUGUSTA,Ga.–WhenitcomestotheEisenhowerTree’sdemise,BenCrenshawjokinglypleadsguilty.
“Ihitthattreesomanytreesinmylife,”Crenshawsaid,“Ialwayssaid,Ihititsomanytimes,itfelldown.”
Ultimately,itwasanicestorm,10yearsagothisyear,thatdestroyedthe65-foot-tallloblollypine,whichsatontheleftsideofAugustaNationalGolfClub’spar-417thhole,some210yardsfromtheteebox,andwasbelievedtobeasmanyas125yearsold.
“ThelossoftheEisenhowerTreeisdifficultnewstoaccept,”saidBillyPayne,theclub’schairmanatthetime.“Wehavebegundeliberationsofthebestwaytoaddressthefutureofthe17thholeandtopaytributetothisiconicsymbolofourhistory.”
Theiconic,yetofteninfuriatingtreereceiveditsnicknamebecauseofformerPresidentDwightD.Eisenhower’sdisdainforit.HeissaidtohavemetwithchairmanCliffordRobertsin1956andaskedtohavethepinechoppeddown.Robertsrefused.
Overtheyears,theEisenhowerTr
