There is irony in the
CBD’s push to close the course. Both the Red-legged Frog and San Francisco Garter Snake are saltwater- intolerant, and it was the presence of the golf course that created the freshwater conditions that attracted these species in the fi rst place. Aerial photos from the 1920s show that before the golf course, the lagoon was open to the sea, and the land was not pristine native habitat, but was rather an artichoke farm. The fi rst scientifi c records of the snake at Sharp Park are from the mid-1940s, years after golf irrigation and construction of the original sea wall in 1941 converted the hydrology
from brackish to freshwater. The Commission’s vote
to save the golf course is not however the end of the story. Environmental, political, and infrastructure issues will require years of further proceedings through a complex of federal, state and local governmental agencies and entities, in- cluding U.S. Fish and Wild- life, Army Corps of Engi- neers, State Fish and Game, Coastal Zone Commission, the City of Pacifi ca, and Counties of San Francisco and San Mateo. Supporting Rec & Park’s win/win plan to restore both the frog/snake habitat and the golf course is a coalition of environmental, preser-
vationist, labor, civic, and golf organizations, from the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club, to La- borer’s Union Local 261, the Pacifi ca Chamber of Com- merce, Cultural Landscape Foundation, the NCGA, and World Golf Founda- tion. Congresswoman Jackie Speier, representing both San Francisco and San Ma- teo County, has spearheaded a multi-jurisdictional effort by local politicians and agencies to restore habitat while saving the golf course. Summarizing the case
for Sharp Park is San Fran- cisco favorite son and 1964 U.S. Open Champion Ken
This March 1941 photograph shows the original course still intact.
Venturi, Honorary Chair- man of the 4000-member San Francisco Public Golf Alliance, a leader in the fi ght to save the course: “Sharp Park is a great course of the old school: a seaside links, designed by one of history’s greatest architects, where the wind and weather dictate how the game is played. Sharp is an unpretentious place, where golfers enjoy a scenic walk in the salt air, then a sandwich and a beer in an old-fashioned publ. In these ways, Sharp con- nects golfers to the Scot- tish public course roots of the game. This is Dr. MacKenzie’s great gift to the American public golfer. So I urge my friends and fellow golfers to preserve Dr. MacKenzie’s legacy, and defend San Francisco’s golf heritage with your time, your money, and your passion. Do not let anybody destroy Sharp Park.”
Richard Harris, Jr. is a San Fran- cisco attorney and former captain of the Stanford Golf Team. He is a co-founder, with San Francisco attorney Bo Links, of the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance. See: http://www.sfpublicgolf.com
SPRING 2010 NCGA Golf 41
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