Even the USGA recommends alternate use of our golf courses...

A bit of deja-vu for those of us who have supported alternate use of our golf courses...

from the USGA On-site Visit Report (here)...

Regarding the South course... "this would leave approximately 160 acres of desert landscaping. This seems like a waste of space. It sure seems as if there is an excellent opportunity here to utilize this space for alternative purposes such as hiking or biking trails, picnic areas, disk golf or maybe areas that attract different wildlife with a variety of habitat throughout the property"

 

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing that. From his lips to the ears of the powers that be....I've suggested and hoped for shared use for years....Type in Disc Golf in TOSC search and see the posting I put up about it last year....
It frustrates me that there is so little time afforded non-golfers to walk the courses--dusk doesn't last long and sometimes the sprinklers start coming on, so I called to ask if they couldn't wait a little longer to turn them on but was told the courses need to dry off before play begins and it takes that long for the cycles to run--come on--an extra hour would throw off the whole system?

 

Green space to walk is one of the major activities lacking in Sun City unless you are a golfer. Sharing the golf courses has been an issue brought up from time to time but is always shot down. Money is the main reason there is no sharing of this precious resource. Liability from wild golf shot injuries is the primary reason and loss of a small amount of revenue if a course is closed for a few hours to allow walking is another. I would love to see walking hours(2-3 hours is plenty) alternating golf courses from north courses to south courses a couple days a week. A great compromise to allow the majority of RCSC Members to take advantage of which is something so few get to use on a regular basis.

 

What a great compromise idea. I went to Sun City Roseville, CA and their golf course bragged about being a nature conservation area too--with trails. How could they do that? Well from what I could tell, they rimmed the course with tree-thick roughs that made for wonderfully shady and nicely protected trails. (Encouraging people to donate memorial trees could help flesh out ours--all our courses could benefit from more trees, but there's never been any outreach to encourage people to donate for that).
Multiple use courses have been done and should be done. We just need designers with those goals in mind, but since those mtg. with them don't have interest in changing the status quo....
BTW, was talking to a regular golfer the other day who says the newly designed courses have not been designed with older golfers in mind since the sand traps were too steep and dangerous to get in and out of, and too tough to shoot from. He said Lakes East and West are the best they they were the least messed with, so far....

 

I read the report when it came out and was stunned. The amount of turf reduction is staggering. I'll stay away from other issues, but i too found it fascinating to read the suggestions for mixed usage. The funny thing is we have relied on their recommendations in years passed, how many think they will consider this idea moving forward? Golf rounds are up this year, but that's no surprise. For months it was the only game in town (literally) and while the rest of the community has been shuttered to visitors, everyone and their brother could come to Sun City and golf.

It is interesting to read your comments from Sun City Roseville CA. scj. We all know communities with courses are looking for solutions to dwindling play and becoming creative is far better than just dumping money into the money pit. From reading the USGA report, there appears to be no end in sight.