Daily HolesObstacle · from 28 October 2026 · most holes
Trees: How Low Shots and Corner Trees Work in Daily Holes
Trees at the fairway edge and on the inside of bends. A ball still low as it passes through a canopy drops beneath it, where only a short punch out is possible.
By the numbers
- How often
- from 28 October 2026, on most holes
- Where
- fairway edge; inside of bends on par 4s and longer
- Stops
- a ball in the first or last quarter of its flight
- Under a tree
- punch out only: up to 75 yards
- Penalty
- none
- How to tell
- a dashed ring marks a tree in play
What it is
From 28 October 2026 most holes have trees in play: one at the edge of the fairway and, on par 4s and longer, one or two on the inside of the bend, where a straight line to the flag would cut the corner. Trees in play have a faint dashed ring around the canopy; the scenery trees further out never touch the ball. No canopy reaches the middle of the fairway.
What it costs
There is no penalty stroke. A ball that is still low, in the first or last quarter of its flight, stops in the first canopy it meets and drops beneath it. Under a tree there is only room to punch the ball out: about 75 yards at most, 60% of the usual carry and more than twice the usual spread.
Which shots it catches
Height decides it. A ball in the middle of its flight sails over a tree, so a tree close to where you stand or close to where the ball comes down is the one to watch. A long shot whose middle passes over a corner tree is safe; a short one aimed through the same corner is not.
How to play it
Follow the fairway rather than the straight line to the flag when a tree sits on the corner. If you want to go over a tree, make sure it is near the middle of the flight, not near either end. From under a tree, take your medicine: punch the ball back to the fairway, not at the green.
Worked example
A par 4 bends left with a tree on the inside 120 yards out. A drive aimed straight at the flag passes the tree in the last part of its flight and drops under it, leaving a 75-yard punch out. The same drive aimed down the fairway lands clear, about 15 yards longer to the flag, and leaves a full approach.
Common mistakes
Cutting the corner with a short club, which keeps the ball low right where the tree is. Treating the scenery trees as trouble — only the ringed ones are in play. And trying a full shot from under the branches, which the game will not allow.