It's been a bad year for famous trees in golf.
First, down went the Eisenhower Tree at Augusta National Golf Club. Next, we found out that pesky overhanging tree at TPC Sawgrass' sixth hole wouldn't make it to see another Players Championship.
Now, one of the iconic cypress trees in the landing area at the 18th fairway at Pebble Beach fell prey to a powerful storm on California's northern coast Thursday.
"I was standing on the 18th tee and conservatively the wind was blowing at least 40 miles an hour," Ron Read, a longtime USGA official who lives in the area, told GolfDigest.com on Thursday.
How strong were the winds? For Read, it was reminiscent of a time when a long iron was needed for a par-3 that was barely 100 yards.
"I was just talking to Robert Trent Jones [Jr.] and said this reminds of 1967," Read told the website. "I was a marshal on the sixth green at Pebble Beach [for the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am]. This was very similar to that. I remember Jack Nicklaus said he hit a 3-iron on the seventh hole. That's what it reminded me of."
According to GolfDigest.com, the cypress trees replaced two diseased pine trees back in 2004.