Sharp Park Supporters Speak Up

Melting Pot

• "This park works as a melting pot for Bay Area people.  I have played with people who came from different background and origins.  You cannot find the real 'INTERNATIONAL' melting pot enjoying the place anywhere else.  We love each other and enjoy the time together here, please keep it as is for all of us and generations to come." - Martin L., SF
• "I live just two blocks from the course and have played there many times and each time I'm impressed by the variety of people who come there. The working class, the elderly retired, school kids and everybody in-between." - Eric N., Pacifica
• "Sharp Park and Lincoln Park are two of the few remaining courses in the Bay Area that provide AFFORDABLE golf to players of all skill levels and demographics.  Seniors, juniors, first tee kids, cops, firemen, teachers, and golfers of every economic strata play and enjoy these courses." - Mike I., SF
•  "Don't make the mistake of thinking these golf courses are some sort of elitist refuge. They are important recreation facilities for the common man.  They are the people's golf courses.  They will provide a legacy for the golfers of San Francisco and beyond to enjoy for years to come." - Frank P.
• "As a native born citizen, my concern is: where will the youth and all the blue collar working people play golf in and around the city?  I am not one of the chosen few to afford or have the contacts to join a private club." - Daryl C., SF

• "My son, 14, became interested in golf about 18 months ago.  He'll get up at the crack of dawn while school's out and on weekends so that he can get two rounds in at Sharp Park.  As a Pacifica resident, I'd much rather be dropping him off at Sharp Park than having to drive him to (and pick him up from) Half Moon Bay or the East Bay or other locations with decent, affordable courses.  While many of his peers are sleeping till noon, hanging around street corners or playing video games, he is out there in the fresh air honing his skills at a game he loves.  He is salivating at the prospect of being on the local high school team which, with along other area high schools, calls Sharp Park home." - Laurie F., Pacifica
• "As a local dad whose children are just starting to get interested in the game, it's crucial that the officials in this city, who actually have the power, do their utmost to save and preserve places like Sharp Park (and Lincoln park, most likely next in line of the political firing squad), so these kids have access to places to play.  It saddens me to think of the closing of high quality public golf facilities and the decreasing access of affordable golf to local youth.  This is both the future of the game, and also an asset to the community." - Tom F., SF 
• "Sharp Park is a gem and should be preserved. Golf is a great outlet for many people, from kids to senior. Kids learn honesty, self reliance, gain confidence, seniors get exercise, social interaction (and frustration) at a very reasonable price. This form or recreation should be expanded, not eliminated. Golf is not for the rich or elite anymore, despite what some people may think." - B. Goodwin, former SF resident 
• "I am a senior at St. Ignatius College Prep and the number one player on the golf team. Every year I play in the SF City Golf Championship at Lincoln Park Golf Course and Sharp Park Golf Course is our home course for our matches and practices.  It would be a shame if these two courses were closed." - Dylan S., SF

• "These courses are the only affordable places for seniors to play golf in the area.  Don't let senior golfers become endangered
• "Although SF has a few golf courses, the Sharp Park Course is the only one suitable for the general public, especially for seniors.  It is not so costly as Harding Park, nor as hilly as Lincoln Park.  I wish you would give us a chance to enjoy life as those who came before us, and those who soon will retire like us." - Martin L., SF
• "I Just recently started playing golf and I am not rich. Having accessible golf courses like Sharp Park, Golden Gate Park, and Lincoln Park makes golf enjoyable and affordable. And at 61 years old, I plan to play for another 20 years. The quality of life in the bay area should not be compromised by a few narrow-minded people. I support the efforts of the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance and hope Sharp Park is preserved for my grandchildren and your grandchildren." - Christine R., SF

• "The game of golf is a very peaceful game and golfers have a true love of nature and peaceful serene surroundings as well as respect for wildlife living there.  Please do not touch the golf course.  Leave it alone.  The frogs and snakes will thank you." - Margit I., Pacifica 
• "At the present time, we co-exist with the native environment well.  To use the environment as reason to close our park is a very negative way of dealing with the on-going societal development.  We should try to improve the existing condition to protect all the concerning parties, let the no-leg, four-leg and the two-leg co-exist in our park.  We have done it for so many years.  We should keep the park for now and for the years to come." - Martin L., SF 
• "Sharp Park Golf Course has always protected the native wildlife and natural landscape of the area.  Environmentally sensitive areas are carefully isolated, while marshals patrol the entire golf course continuously to prevent encroachment, vandalism and other illicit activities.  If Sharp Park Golf Course is shut down and converted to a nature preserve, the city would have to spend money and employ other means to ensure proper security and protection of the natural landscape and native wildlife." - Gilbert L., SF 
• "Pacifica mayor Julie Lancelle's comments in the Pacific Tribune on July 29, 2009 are right on regarding the existence of an eco system that has grown up and in harmony with the course over the past 80 years. The destruction of this coastside jewel would be looked upon in the future with deep regret." - Sharon S., Pacifica 
• "San Francisco’s stewardship of the Sharp Park golf course has allowed for the continued survival of several species that are not found any more in other parts of Pacifica.  The changes proposed in the proposed open space plan will require bringing in heavy equipment to log over 13,000 trees, and excavate hundreds of acres of habitat to 'restore' the area.  Letting the seawall 'go to nature' will ensure the extinction of amphibians on the western portion of the golf course (the lagoon)." - Tony B., SF 
• "I believe that the golf course and wildlife habitat are surviving well together.  Without the berm (which is not part of the original landscape) there may not be any frogs or snakes in a large part of the golf course. The plans that I have seen drawn up by the Center for Biological Diversity for 'restoration' of the golf course indicate that the berm will remain.  That is not restoration!  That is just taking land away for the habitat.   Let the golf course stay a golf course!  It is a beautiful and important part of the coast enjoyed by many, even if one doesn’t play golf."  - Janet K., Pacifica

• "I can understand the need to protect endangered species but am at a loss to understand how anyone could advocate that the only way to do it is to either destroy or to desecrate a historic landmark!  Please find a way to protect both the golf course and all of the species that depend upon it." - Laurie F., Pacifica
• "This is the Pebble Beach of city courses and with an affordable price. This course should be saved, if is not there will never be another course with this much character built by any city in this country." - David D., Santa Rosa
• "Sharp Park stands alone in its historical value to the people of California.  To me, it is a place of beauty and joy. All species are represented here, supported and nurtured." - Kevin C., SF 
• "What a disgrace it would be to destroy this historical gem." - Joe B., former SF resident 
• "The jewels of San Francisco should be saved for future generations." - Valerie A., SF

• "The Sharp Park facility is the most important civic venue in Pacifica.  The course regularly hosts fund raisers for local school programs.  Even as a San Francisco resident, I have gone there many times for non-golf meetings and events.  There is nowhere else in Pacifica to do this.  The people of Pacifica have helped support Sharp Park, and the City of San Francisco, for decades.  We have an obligation to work with them at this time, before we make unilateral decisions that impact the lives of others." - Tony B., SF
• "Sharp Park Golf Course supports the local economy In addition to a revenue source for the city of San Francisco, Sharp Park Golf Course also helps generate money for local businesses.  Both residents and non-residents play golf at Sharp Park Golf Course and patronize local restaurants, shops, and other businesses in Pacifica and San Francisco.  By shutting down Sharp Park Golf Course or reducing it to a 9-hole course, there will be fewer visitors to the area and local businesses will suffer financially.  The proposed ordinance to shut down Sharp Park Golf Course is misguided and will have an adverse impact on the local economy and community.  I am in full support of protecting the wildlife species that inhabit Sharp Park Golf Course, but closing the golf course or reducing it to a 9-hole course is not the correct solution." - Gilbert L., SF
• "I believe the course helps to keep our little neighborhood safe.  I live right next to the Mori Point trail and have noticed a great deal more unsavory activity in our area since the GGNRA took over.  I have already had to complain about gang graffiti in the area.  I can only assume the same would happen to the golf course if it were relegated to the care of a public park/preserve system with limited resources and oversight." - Sharon S., Pacifica
• "Please save Sharp Park.  It is one of the many reasons Pacifica is a great place for blossoming families.  Although I don't play golf, it is a place where I could go to think, walk my dogs, and jog for exercise.  It is a place that I would escape to, spend quality time with my family, and even go on dates.  Please do not take this gem away, do not be fooled into thinking it is a golf course in disrepair when in truth it is so much more." - Camelia P., SF

• "I invite you to come to Sharp Park Golf Course and actually meet some of the people whom you wish to deny a healthy recreational activity.  After working for almost 40 years in San Francisco to pay property and business taxes for schools I never used, to have the one activity I use in this City denied in my retirement years, is downright depressing." - Judy M., SF 
• "I have been a neighbor of this course since 1985 and since my husband's early retirement due to chronic illness.  This course has been a life saver for him.  We live on a limited income and this course is the only affordable 18-hole course on the peninsula. His regular games at the course which he walks provide a wonderful social outlet and give him the gentle exercise the doctor has ordered that helps to keep his condition under control.  In fact, many seniors on fixed incomes play this course for the very same reasons. It would be a terrible shame to take this healthy resource away from so many who benefit from it." - Sharon S., Pacifica 
• "My grandfather passed when I was in my early teens: some of my earliest memories are from learning to golf with him on this very course.  I still visit it yearly to relive these precious early life experiences.  The happiest times, with someone I cared dearly for.  If Sharp Park isn't preserved, you're not just taking away a favored spot to golf, but destroying a part of my personal and OUR combined history." - Marcellina B., Pacifica 
• "I have played so many rounds on these two courses and met so many people that are involved with these two courses that I can't imagine how they would feel if their 'home away from home' was closed. Maybe to you or someone else this isn't the biggest problem right now, but to the golfers in and around the city of San Francisco it is very much on our minds, and in our hearts." - Dylan S., SF
• "I grew up in Pacifica, not far from Sharp Park Golf Course.  I learned to play golf on the course as a boy playing with my father, and competed on that course while playing high school golf for Terra Nova High School.  I have many fond memories of Sharp Park, and with all of your support I will continue to make more.  The course is a historic landmark, and should be preserved as such for generations to enjoy.  At the very least, keep the course open and operational until I can get my ace on number 8.  It has been a pursuit 25 years in the making." - Eric W., SF