Extreme weather in the past week has jeopardised one of golf’s most recognisable visuals. The ghost tree at Bandon Dunes’ Old Macdonald — a large, stately Port Orford Cedar situated on the third hole that can be seen from most every hole on the course — is in danger of falling down, the resort has acknowledged.

Videos and photos surfaced on social media on Tuesday of the tree leaning to the north after a storm brought wind gusts of more than 70mph to the Bandon, Oregon, coastal layout. A resort spokesman said the Bandon team is researching possible solutions for stabilising the tree, but it was unknown whether it would be lost.

“If you are scheduled to play Old Macdonald soon, please be respectful of its space and celebrate it from a distance,” the resort said in a post on Instagram.

A golfer on the second hole at Old Mac earlier this week with the stately cedar tree looming in the distance. Tony Shuster

The tree has become a celebrated logo of sorts for visitors to the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, with its five top-ranked 18-hole courses. It not only serves as a target on the third hole ‘Sahara’, a short par 4 that rewards drives that get close to the towering cedar, but in many ways it symbolises the mystique of the entire course. A golfer tees off to an elevated, blind fairway on the third hole — and a severely uphill walk over the sand ridge reveals one of the more awe-inspiring vistas at the resort.

The ghost tree at Bandon Dunes. Ben Walton

There are ghost trees on other parts of the Bandon property, such as the new Sheep Ranch course. It’s unknown whether the resort would consider replacing the existing, original cedar with another from the grounds.

Of course, this has happened with other famous trees in golf. In 2014, one of the two cypress trees in the 18th fairway at Pebble Beach toppled over in a storm with similar winds. It cost the resort an estimated $350,000 to replace the trees. Earlier that year, golf lost perhaps its most famous tree, the loblolly pine dubbed the Eisenhower Tree to the left of the 17th fairway at Augusta National. It was not replaced.