Only In San Francisco...

Thanks to reader Sean for this Isabel Wade, Jill Lounsbury and Sally Stephens SF Chronicle complaint about San Francisco city golf courses.

They write that the San Francisco city courses are only at 40% of capacity, and therefore they need to be converted into hiking trails. Of course, that's a pretty good number, right? Much more and they'd be a mob scene. To put it another way, the hiking trails they want so badly would lose their appeal at 40% "capacity." No? Anyway...

A 2004 Recreation Assessment Survey conducted by a national consultant for the Recreation and Park Department recommends that the city build 35 more soccer fields to bridge the gap. Recreational needs in San Francisco today are far different than those of 50 years ago, according to the same 2004 study. Survey respondents ranked golf 16th out of 19 on a list of desired types of recreation. In contrast, 76 percent of respondents wanted more hiking trails, followed by more community gardens.

At the same time, a 2003 National Golf Foundation study showed that only 15 percent of golfers in America are minorities and only 23 percent of golfers are women.

 Ah...I knew that was coming.

Golf hardly reflects the diversity of San Francisco compared to many other recreational activities that enjoy broader participation. In addition to hiking trails, city residents want more soccer fields, skate parks, basketball courts, lacrosse fields, dog runs and venues for Tai chi and disc-golf courses. Why aren't the needs of these users being fairly considered?

Venues for Tai chi? Don't they have enough Starbucks already?

There are many creative ideas for the use of one or more golf courses but the only option going to the Board of Supervisors is to lock up four golf courses under lease for 30 years. Sharp Park, the site of both a threatened and an endangered species, could be a wonderful nature center and restored wetland for the Bay Area, with new hiking trails open to all. Lincoln Park, right next door to the Presidio Golf Course, could be changed into a nine-hole course with the other half converted into a golf driving range. This would still leave acres for additional soccer fields, a dog run, hiking trails and perhaps an amazing event venue overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands on what is now the 17th hole.

Oh yeah, the world needs another wedding chapel. Especially one where the weather is so benign and pleasant.

Comments

[Chuck]

A cynic might comment that Lincoln Park is already a "dog run."

Seriously, there are more people wakling in and on and around Lincoln Park than any other golf course I know of, including the famed Old Course of St.Andrews, which is fabled for its use by the locals as a dog run.

I actually love Lincoln Park, even as tawdry as the city-run maintenance is.

The idea that they are now counting demographics of golfers in considering the closing of golf courses is so offensive, it reminds me of the apocryphal headline that the Wall Street Journal Op-Ed writers are so fond of: "WORLD ENDS: WOMEN, MINORITIES HIT HARDEST."

[Lip Out]

Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Hiking trails? They're all over the city -- they're called sidewalks for crying out loud. I suggest they put these wonderful skate parks and basketball courts right next to the neighborhoods of some of the most vocal golf opponents. I'm sure they'd appreciate the proximity.

I'm telling you, the world has gone crazy!

[honest abe]

Lip Out..Not the entire world, just California. I mean, really, how can you not laugh at how bizarre and out of touch so many are in that state.

[Smitty]

I know that most people would rather vomit than talk to him, but what does a San Francisco golfer like Johnny Miller think about this? Or Ken Venturi for that matter?

[sully]

There was two responses in the editorial section of todays SFChron to the Forum topic and both were against the information stated in the article. Golf in the Bay area, especially San Francisco, is way behind the times and a large segment of golfers would benefit if the courses could be managed better. This is not a new problem as even from its early days Lincoln Park was often neglected. Yes, the course is shorter than most, but it offers a great opprotunity for beginners and all levels to enjoy the game at a decent price and a special location.

Both Lincoln and Sharp Park are two of my odd ball favorites for the Bay area and if a renovation of the courses was done golf could finally shine in the San Francisco. I have played all of the courses owned by SF and they have always been full and a very diverse group of ages, race, and income levels. That includes the 9 hole course at Golden Gate Park too!

It looks like there needs to be a save the Public Golf Courses of San Francisco Coalition!

Oh yeah, good luck on that socer field at Lincoln Park! The flatest part of the course is the parking lot and theres not much of that either.

Sully

[Scott]

You cannot replace golf courses with other things, except houses, because people will not pay. People would not pay $20 to $60 each time they wanted to hike, use soccer fields, use skate parks, use basketball courts, use lacrosse fields, use dog runs or use disc-golf courses.

If you closed the golf courses, where would the city get and recover the money to build these things? Not from user fees.

Already many cities use money made from city golf courses to pay for other recreational facilities. Why should my green fees go to pay for facilities that I don't use and others don't pay for?

I think that the money the golf course makes should go back into the course.

[Ed]

Ah, the the familiar smell of wrong facts, half-truths, and class warfare, slathered with a veneer of environmentalism...

[Jay]

Anyone remember that hot dog stand by the 8th hole at Lincoln Park??

Ah, the days when only golfers golfed...

[MJF]

Ah, California.....socialism's waiting room.

[Joel Stewart]

I was out at Sharp Park 3 days ago. The place was packed with a large percentage of those golfers being asian.

The course is a weed patch, the fairways are mostly white from flowers. One of the most remarkable sites for a great golf course, could be another Bandon Dunes.

[LEFTY]

What's the moral of this story?




Hippies don't golf.