The Burning of an Ancient Oak Tree

While we had done research for our project (the Winter Park Country Club), I came across a really interesting fact. 1956 became a year to be remembered by many of the Country Club's members. In that year, an ancient live oak tree standing in the middle of the golf course was burned in order to make room for the golfers to play. The burning turned into a public event with many spectators. Some of the golf club members were that intrigued that they wrote poems or stories recounting the event. The absence of the tree was believed to improve the golfers' score tremendously. Many national newspapers covered the stories, adding to the good reputation the golf course was already enjoying across the country.
To me it seems interesting that a tree is burned instead of cut and also that the event includes that many spectators. Nowadays, I also believe it might not be customary anymore to remove such an ancient tree for the simple purpose of making a golf course more accessible. Laws protecting such old trees would prevent that, however in 1956, this was a completely permissible thing to do.