A 68-year-old man was killed last weekend when a tree snapped on the Oregon golf course he loved playing, pinning him to the ground.
Bob Dunn, who split time between Tillamook, Oregon, and a home in Nicaragua, was playing the Mook at Alderbrook when the tree collapsed and killed him.
The managing partners of the course released a statement on Facebook.
“Bob was not only a dedicated member of our golf community, but also a beloved friend to many,” the statement read. “His presence on the course brought joy and camaraderie, and he will be profoundly missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him.”
According to a story in the Oregonian, his playing partner said nothing about the conditions would have led the group to believe a tree could come down:
“We were just in the wrong spot at the wrong time,” said Hugh Ragle, who was playing golf with Dunn and Dunn’s son on Saturday at The Mook at Alderbrook course. “That tree came down without any wind. Just a crack, and boom, it was down.”
Fellow golfers say Dunn was well-liked and known for his habit of walking the course. After retiring from NW Natural Gas Company, he moved to San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua, where he spent several months each year. In the rest of the year, he lived north of Tillamook, friends said.
Dunn was just getting ready for his return to Nicaragua but had scheduled a few more rounds with his buddies before he left, said Mark McClaskey, who golfed with Dunn several times a week.
Patrick Zweifel, a co-owner of The Mook, said maintenance crews removed probably 100 dangerous trees when he purchased the course two years ago. The alder tree didn’t show signs of being a problem at the time, he said. Now he plans to look again.
The Mook at Alderbrook was built in 1925.
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