San Geronimo Golf Club (Macan)-Marin about to become NLE?

[Noel Freeman]

Since I moved to the Bay Area this was one of my favorite places to play.  Old Vernon Macan design that Muir Graves did some work on but retained some good character.  A classic Doak 4 or 5 but given public golf out in the Bay Area doesnt have a lot of great options this was a keeper.  Looks like county wants to protect some fisheries, it would be nice if they could at least keep 9 holes of it. 


http://abc7news.com/realestate/san-geronimo-golf-course-may-be-rescued-or-returned-to-the-land/2460935/

[David_Tepper]

Noel -

Thanks for the posting. It would be a shame to lose San Geronimo, a pretty darn good course in a very pretty spot. Marin County is not exactly lacking in open spaces.

http://www.golfsangeronimo.com/

DT

[Joshua Pettit]

Noel,

Glad you were able to discover San G (as the locals call it) upon moving to the bay area.

San Geronimo is where I learned to play golf and also first learned about the golf business.  Was also my first experience working on a grounds crew when I was 16. 

Sadly the course has been largely neglected in recent years, but there is enormous potential if someone with the right mindset would manage it properly.  If it were to somehow remain a golf course there are economical solutions to the problems with playability and maintainability but they require the willingness and a bit of outside the box thinking.

[Matt_Cohn]

Played here a bunch. Where are the salmon???


It has been somewhat neglected, and I've always wondered why golf hasn't done better in Marin County. Too hard to build courses? Too many other things to do? There certainly are enough country-club types with disposable income.

[David_Tepper]

Played here a bunch. Where are the salmon???

Matt C. -

When you walk off the 7th green (the par-3) on your way to the 8th tee, you cross a bridge over the creek. If you look down to your left, you will see a concrete spillway that has a modest "ladder" that salmon can climb as they swim upstream to spawn. This usually happens in late November-December, assuming the normal winter rains (which have certainly not been normal over the past 5-6 years!).

Many years ago, I saw a couple of salmon climb that latter. 

Here are videos of salmon spawning in Lagunitas Creek:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNlpVrRZf5Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toyb1g54sXo 

DT

[JBovay]

I have a pretty unique perspective on this news. My wife and I had our wedding reception at the San Geronimo clubhouse after a ceremony in a redwood grove a few miles away.


At the time, we lived about 1.5 hours away, and I never played the entire course--just a quick few holes two days before the wedding. I recognize that Marin County has few public golf options, and for an affordable course, San Geronimo is an especially beautiful place to play. However, I would love to bring my children to fish for salmon in Lagunitas Creek one day, and setting aside the property for habitat conservation seems to us the right thing to do (i.e., the greatest good for the greatest number).


This is an unusual situation, in which an average-to-good golf course is being closed in favor of conservation rather than real estate. Hope that those of you in California get to enjoy a last round or two out there.

[Rich Goodale]

Sad to hear of this, but not unexpected, given the changing demographics in the bay area.  When I lived in Marin in the late 70's, SG was part of my local rota, along with Peacock Gap, Mill Valley, Napa GC and Bodega Harbor. I must admit that I never saw any salmon (or eleven lords) a leaping, as I avoided water hazards at all costs.

[Matt_Cohn]

How does the golf course interfere with the salmon?

[Kalen Braley]

I have to agree with David here.  Marin county is easily already one of the most sparsely populated areas in the immediate bay area, with TONS of existing open space


I'm for conservation and all, but this seems overboard....


Unless the course really is under financial distress, then sure, probably better to convert it to open space over housing.....

[David_Tepper]

"How does the golf course interfere with the salmon?"

It would certainly be interesting to get a specific answer or two to that question from the people pushing for the course to be closed.

I could not find one here: https://seaturtles.org/campaigns/spawn-advocacy/?parent=salmon

[Kalen Braley]

David,


I suspect this is an emotional appeal to the local citizens to drum up support for the move with little if anything to do with the Salmon.


Its not like hard core tree huggers haven't been fooled before with "dihydrogen oxide" petitions and the like...


    http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html

[CJames]

I am in the process of relocating to Marin County from Chicago and I am very disappointed by the apparent pending closure of San Geronimo.  I visited San Geronimo for the first time this past weekend as I shepherded my 11-year old son around the front nine; he was playing on a $15 junior all-you-can-play-before-the-dinner-bell twilight rate.  Walking golfers with dogs, friendly pro shop, and a stunningly beautiful setting.  Some interesting green contours.   I hope to see the back nine, which I have heard is even nicer, this coming weekend as my son had a gas and asked me to take him back.  As a kid, my father used to call courses like San Geronimo 'country courses,' and I find them to be a very nice compliment to the high-content courses that GCAers frequently play.  Vastly preferable, for my time and money, than ersatz resort courses and conventional country club layouts. 

[JBovay]

Kalen – I take your point that Marin already has plenty of conserved open space.

All – The truth is that the San Geronimo–Lagunitas watershed probably hasn't had a healthy salmon population in a long time. Golf courses generate a fair amount of pollution (fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides) which can damage habitat and potentially affect fish health. They also use a lot of water, which salmon obviously need to thrive. I have no idea what the quantifiable benefits from closing San Geronimo for the salmon population will be, nor do I know what priority this watershed is in terms of salmon conservation in California. Just wanted to put these basic facts out there.

The document below goes into some detail about the nature of golf courses' effect on salmon. It's qualitative, and the certification might be very easy to attain, but at least you can read about some of the issues.

https://www.salmonsafe.org/sites/default/files/file/salmonsafe-golf-certification-standards2014.pdf

[Kevin_Reilly]

I played San Geronimo this past summer (hadn't played there since the early 90's) and really enjoyed it.  The past wet winter was hard on the course, so I imagine the owners had a tough time financially with it.  Here is a link to a couple of pictures with my phone that capture some of the natural beauty. 


https://imgur.com/a/UzgBw

[David_Tepper]

JBovay -

Thanks to the link for that info on salmon habitat preservation.

It would certainly be interesting to know the length of the spawning ground in Lagunitas Creek and how much of that area runs along the golf course.   

There is a fair amount of human activity in that valley besides the golf course. It is a shame the golf course is being singled out as the sole problem.

DT

P.S. Here is quite a bit of info on Lagunitas Creek and the surrounding area: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagunitas_Creek

"The Lagunitas Creek watershed drains 103 square miles (270 km²).^[4] Most of its major tributaries are dammed, including the Kent, Alpine, Bon Tempe, Lagunitas, and Nicasio reservoirs.^[6] The San Geronimo Valley is the last un-dammed headwater tributary of Lagunitas Creek. Each of the reservoirs in the watershed has a dam and the biggest problem in the watershed is their blocking of the streams, which prevents fish migration. The dams dewater the streambed, especially as the first winter rains fill the reservoirs instead of flowing downstream. Also, water from the late winter rains are partially lost from streamflows because of evaporation from the reservoir surfaces."
 

[David_Tepper]

Measure D, an effort to keep San Geronimo golf course open, was defeated in a Marin County vote in early March. It sure looks like the golf course will never reopen.