Sharp Park Golf Course

Last updated

Sharp Park Golf Course
HR1230419Aa.jpg
Laguna Salada at Sharp Park Golf Course
Club information
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Icona golf.svg
Relief map of California.png
Icona golf.svg
Coordinates 37°37′31.85396″N122°29′9.63341″W / 37.6255149889°N 122.4860092806°W / 37.6255149889; -122.4860092806
Location Pacifica, California, United States
Established1931;92 years ago (1931)
TypeMunicipal
Owned by Government of San Francisco
Operated by San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department
Total holes18
Website website
Designed by Alister MacKenzie
Par 72
Length6,494-yard (5,938 m)
Slope rating 127

Sharp Park Golf Course is a public golf course in Pacifica in Northern California in the United States. It was designed in 1931 by Alister MacKenzie and is owned and operated by the city of San Francisco. It is the only public oceanside golf course designed by MacKenzie in the United States. [1]

Contents

U.S. Open champion Ken Venturi described the course as "Dr. MacKenzie’s great gift to the American public course golfer." [2]

History

In 1930, Golden Gate Park Superintendent John McLaren commissioned the Scottish course architect Alister MacKenzie to design San Francisco's third municipal golf links. [3] The course was built on 120 acres of coastal property bequeathed to the city in 1917 by the wealthy San Francisco widow Honora Sharp. [3] She stipulated it was be used as a “public park or playground.” [4] Sharp Park was designed by MacKenzie in-between designing his two most famous courses, Cypress Point Club and Augusta National. [3]

At the time of its donation, the site primarily consisted of wetlands, artichoke fields, and sand dunes. Through 1931, the property's ocean lagoon was deepened and converted into a fresh-water lake, and fairways and tees were sited on islands and spits. [3] MacKenzie included several of his signature design tropes, including cross bunkering, double fairways, multiple tees, mounded greens, undulating fairways, and optical illusions. [3]

The Spanish Revival-style clubhouse was designed by an associate at Willis Polk's architecture firm and includes murals by the Works Progress Administration. [3] The course debuted in 1932.

In the early 1940s, large storms washed out parts of MacKenzie's original routing, resulting in the construction of a seawall to protect the course. [5] From 1942 until 1946, the area east of the golf course was used by the War Relocation Authority as a Japanese internment camp. [6] In 2011, San Francisco mayor Ed Lee vetoed a measure for the National Park Service to take over operations at Sharp Park. [7] [8]

Layout

Sharp Park's routes feature Monterey cypress, with views of the Pacific headlands and surrounding mountains. [3] [9] Twelve of the course holes retain their original routing. Changes have included an added seawall at holes 12 and 16, which are directly on the shore, as well as an additional four holes designed in 1934 which are accessible via a tunnel. [5] [10]

Historic Status

In 2017, Sharp Park Golf Course was designated a Historic Resource Property under the California Environmental Quality Act. [11] In a statement to NBC, architect Jay Blasi stated, "They are not making any more MacKenzies near the Pacific... This is a one-of-a-kind in the world of golf." [5]

Environmental concerns

The area around the course is home to two endangered species, the San Francisco garter snake and the California red-legged frog. [12] As a result, the city of San Francisco faced multiple lawsuits by environmental organizations to protect the species, sparking what became known as the “Save Sharp Park” movement. [13] [14] [15] In 2017, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 9-to-1 to certify an environmental impact report to modify three holes to protect the species' habitats. [16] [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacifica, California</span> City in San Mateo County, California, US

Pacifica is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golf course</span> Series of holes designed for the game of golf

A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". The cup holds a flagstick, known as a "pin". A standard round of golf consists of 18 holes, and as such most courses contain 18 distinct holes; however, there are many 9-hole courses and some that have holes with shared fairways or greens. There are also courses with a non-standard number of holes, such as 12 or 14.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Troon Golf Club</span> Scottish golf club

Royal Troon Golf Club is a links golf course in Scotland, located in Troon, South Ayrshire, southwest of Glasgow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Links (golf)</span> Style of golf course

A links is the oldest style of golf course, first developed in Scotland. Links courses are generally built on sandy coastland that offers a firmer playing surface than parkland and heathland courses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alister MacKenzie</span> Scottish golf course architect

Alister MacKenzie was a golf course architect whose course designs span four continents. Originally trained as a surgeon, MacKenzie served as a civilian physician with the British Army during the Boer War where he first became aware of the principles of camouflage. During the First World War, MacKenzie made his own significant contributions to military camouflage, which he saw as closely related to golf course design.

Tom Doak is a golf course architect. He has 6 courses ranked among the top 100 in the world according to the "Top 100 Courses in the World" March 2021 list compiled by Golf Magazine. These include Pacific Dunes in Oregon, Ballyneal in Colorado, Barnbougle Dunes in Tasmania and Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand. Doak lives in Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New South Wales Golf Club</span>

The New South Wales Golf Club is a links-style golf course designed by Alister MacKenzie in December 1926. It consists of 18 holes, two of which are beside the Tasman Sea and Botany Bay. The course is situated in La Perouse, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, and regularly rates in the top 50 golf courses in the world.

Pasatiempo Golf Club is an 18-hole golf club on the West Coast of the United States, located in Pasatiempo, Santa Cruz County, California.

Kingston Heath Golf Club is one of the premier golf clubs in Australia, located in Cheltenham, Victoria. The course is situated on the sandbelt region in the southeast suburbs of Melbourne famed for its golf courses, with Kingston Heath consistently ranked in the top 3 courses in Australia and top 20 courses in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chandler Egan</span> American golfer

Henry Chandler Egan was an American amateur golfer and golf course architect of the early 20th century.

The Australian Golf Club is a golf club located in Rosebery, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Although it survived numerous course location changes, it is arguably the oldest golf club in Australia. To date the course has held 20 Australian Open events and most recently in 2017 the event was won by Australian Cameron Davis. The course has been rated the 9th best in the country.

Pasatiempo is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, located along State Route 17 between Scotts Valley and Santa Cruz. Bus service is provided by Santa Cruz Metro and the Highway 17 Express. Pasatiempo sits at an elevation of 394 feet (120 m). The 2020 United States census reported Pasatiempo's population was 1,093.

Green Hills Country Club, located in Millbrae, California, is often referred to as the San Francisco Peninsula’s “hidden gem”. Green Hills is a private members-only country club located on the San Francisco peninsula approximately 20 minutes south of the city.

The Union League Golf and Country Club of San Francisco was constructed in 1929 in Millbrae, California, United States. It was one of the most ambitious golf and country club projects of its era in Northern California. It was conceived in the prosperous time that proceeded the Great Depression by a prominent group of San Francisco businessmen who would spare no expense during the design-phase of the project. The golf course was designed by Alister MacKenzie who considered it one of the top three courses on the West Coast. The unforeseen economic downturn of the Great Depression caused the club to become financially insolvent and in 1933 it was reorganized as Millbrae Country Club. In 1945 the club was named Green Hills Country Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moortown Golf Club</span>

Moortown Golf Club is a golf club located in Alwoodley, near Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1909, and the championship golf course was designed by Alister MacKenzie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marion Hollins</span> American golfer and golf course architect

Marion B. Hollins was an American amateur golfer. She is known as an athlete and as a golf course developer, one of the only known female golf course developers in history. She won the 1921 U.S. Women's Amateur and was runner-up in 1913. She also had many other amateur wins. She was the captain of the first U.S. Curtis Cup team in 1932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic</span> Golf Tournament

The Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic was a women's professional golf tournament in California on the LPGA Tour, held at Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, an adjacent suburb south of San Francisco. It debuted in April 2014, but ran for just three years, the LPGA Mediheal Championship succeeded it in 2018, also played at Lake Merced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perry Maxwell</span> American golf course architect (1879–1952)

Perry Duke Maxwell was an American golf course architect. He was a founding member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects and was an inductee into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. He was known as the "father of Oklahoma golf".

Lake Merced Golf Club is an 18-hole private golf club on the West Coast of the United States, located in Daly City, California, an adjacent suburb south of San Francisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cavendish Golf Club</span> Golf course in Derbyshire, England

Cavendish Golf Club in Buxton, Derbyshire, opened in 1925 and was designed by Alister MacKenzie. The course is 5,721 yards (5,231 m) long with a par of 68. It is consistently voted as one of the top 100 golf courses in England.

References

  1. ↑ Sens, Josh. "14 of the best municipal golf courses you can play in the United States". Golf. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Sharp Park". San Francisco Public Golf. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Sharp Park Golf Course". The Cultural Landscape Foundation. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  4. ↑ Blasi, Jay. "Saving Sharp Park: Time to restore Alister MacKenzie gem in California". Golfweek. USA Today. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Deegan, Jason Scott. "Saving Sharp Park, the neglected cousin of Augusta National". Golf Pass. NBC. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  6. ↑ Kamiya, Gary. "The dark past of San Francisco's Sharp Park". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  7. ↑ White, Bobby. "Big Wedge Over Sharp Park's Future". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  8. ↑ "SF Mayor Lee vetoes plan to restore Sharp Park". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  9. ↑ Keyser, Tim (1991). Golfing Northern California. Pelican Publishing. ISBN   9780882897455 . Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  10. ↑ Deegan, Jason Scott. "Sharp Park Golf Course: A historic walk near San Francisco, California". Golf Pass. NBC. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  11. ↑ Deegan, Jason Scott. "Vote likely ends the long political fight over the future of Alister MacKenzie's Sharp Park Golf Course". Golf Pass. NBC. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  12. ↑ Plater, Brent. "Take a mulligan at Sharp Park". SF Gate. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  13. ↑ Zito, Kelly. "Sharp Park Golf Course sued over red-legged frog". SF Gate. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  14. ↑ Nevius, C.W. "Sharp Park Golf Course fight an endless bogey". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  15. ↑ Loomis, Graylyn. "The Dream California Golf Road Trip". Links Magazine. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  16. ↑ Diaz, Jaime. "The fight over Sharp Park isn't just about saving one golf course, but muny golf overall". Golf Digest. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Sharp Park Wins Battle for Preservation, Restoration". USGA. Retrieved June 26, 2023.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.