Sharp Park: Get your rounds in while you can
At the last meeting of San Francisco's ad-hoc Golf Course Task Force the only decision that seemed to get made was to take more time, but things do not look good for Sharp Park Golf Course. Sources tell me an environmental consultant who has had numerous successes on the North coast has been in town, starting to map out a transition plan for Sharp Park.
No-one else is saying a word, and the fact that he's been out at Pacifica, looking at a rapid transition from golf course to native wetlands says one of two things are at play:
1) The people who want Sharp Park Golf Course removed are trying to further build their case for the task force, or
2) Sharp Park is done, and you just don't know it yet.
I'm torn on the issue, because I firmly believe that underused golf courses are a liability to the sport. There is not enough water to go around to be able to support under-utilized courses. In fact, every course should, in my mind, be moving towards grasses and course conditions that are far more environmentally conscious and friendly.
On the flip side, I really like having three affordable courses to play within 30 minutes of my house, and would hate to see any of them disappear, especially before I break 90 on them.
Now that the election is over we may finally see some movement on this issue. Here's my call: San Francisco will keep Lincoln as an 18-hole course, but with the goal of making it actually profitable. There is no place to readily convert Lincoln to a usable 9-hole course, and build soccer fields. The place is too hilly, and any layout that would make for a good 9 would include the flatest fairways. Sharp Park will be sacrificed to the naturalists and soccer fields. There are lots of flat fairways to choose from to create soccer fields while still leaving plenty of space to create a large buffer zone around the wetlands habitat.
I could be wrong. Either way, you should get out and play Sharp Park course while you can. Winter is on the way, and those wetlands are only going to get wetter this year.
Comments
Travesty...please be wrong....
Rather have Sharp than Lincoln, the bare bones routing is much better (Dr Alister MacKenzie knew a thing or two about golf course design)
How about turning part of Sharp Park into a disc golf course?
Hey PB -
Y'all just got your DGC in GGP a few years ago...how would you feel if they were going to take it out and put in a soccer field?
DG players would be tramping into the marshlands more than the ball golfers anyhow...bad thought in my opinion.
Let's keep it real - you can have McLaren Park for the next DGC like the board of Supes already provided. Leave Sharp Park for the ball golfers living in Pacifica who no longer can use their Resident cards to play Harding.
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