Should golf courses become shared spaces?
The recreational sport is back on in the state of California and across the U.S., but during the time when courses were among the businesses closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, some of them became public spaces. Public parks, if you will.
The Presidio Golf Course in San Francisco, in particular, was open to everyone but golfers for a few weeks.
The course first opened in 1895 as a nine-hole track. It expanded to 18 holes in 1910. It didn’t open for public play until 1996. During the shutdown, the 150-acre site immediately became a popular spot for all other kinds of outdoor activities when it was closed to golfers.
People walked the grassy fairways, kids played in the sand traps, dogs scampered about, people took naps under the Cypress trees.
In an article posted on sfchronicle.com, it’s suggested that maybe this should become more of a normal thing.
The article does note that the six courses owned by the Recreation and Park department bring in significant revenue and giving up a day of golf would of course have an impact.
But it’s also stated that perhaps courses could follow a model set by St. Andrews in Scotland, where, on the Old Course, Sundays are reserved for non-golf activities.
