TOLEDO, Ohio — A tree that appeared overnight during the 1979 U.S. Open to become a part of golf lore has met its end.
The Black Hills spruce known as “The Hinkle Tree” was partially uprooted by a gust of wind this week at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, and was cut down.
The tree dated to the 79th Open, when a journeyman pro named Lon Hinkle came up with a way to outsmart the course during the first round.
Hinkle noticed that he could take a shortcut by hitting through a gap of trees near the eighth tee and drive his ball on the adjacent 17th fairway, shaving 75 yards off the dogleg hole.