Most defunct golf courses get paved over, but a number are getting transformed into ecological life rafts for wildlife, plants — and people.
There was scraggly grass in one sand trap and wooden blocks and a toy castle in another, evidence of children at play. People were walking their dogs on the fairway, which was looking rather ragged and unkempt. This was only to be expected.
Nowadays, these grounds are mowed just twice a year, and haven’t been doused with pesticides or rodenticides since 2018, which was when this 157-acre stretch of land stopped being the San Geronimo Golf Course, and began a journey toward becoming wild, or at least wilder, once again.
A small number of shuttered golf courses around the country have been bought by land trusts, municipalities and nonprofit groups and transformed into nature preserves, parks and wetlands. Among them are sites in Detroit, Pennsylvania, Colorado, the Finger Lakes of upstate New York, and at least four in California.
I’m gonna catch hate for this but I enjoy golf. I don’t play often, 5-10 times per year at most however nothing beats a day out with the boys, plenty of beer and joints, and smacking lil balls around with crooked sticks.
Having said that my local muni 5 min down the road has 3 18 hole courses. They shut one down a little over 4 years ago and didn’t know what to do with it, so in the meantime, being county owned land, they turned it into a park. They didnt change anything. The first year was odd, it felt like you were walking on a golf course with a broken lawn mower. Now, 4 years later, it’s completely wild and I love it. Some trees have begun to crack and grow through the pathways and there is so much wildlife everywhere from deer to coyotes to birds and so many small mice and chipmunks.
It really is quite peaceful and beautiful out there. The county decided to permanently leave as a park and it feels like a small escape from everyday life. There are about 5 miles of trails as well as a connection to an adjacent park with a couple more miles of wooded trails and a small lake for catch and release fishing. The maintenance there is next to zero and it rarely ever has more than 4 or 5 cars in the lot, making it rare to see anyone out there. I take my dog out there at least 2-3 times per week.
I fully support returning unused land back to nature. It’s quite exciting to see it slowly transform over time.
Have you expressed your support for that plan by actually saying anything to the city or county you live in?
Voice my opinion and participate in local government? Preposterous! /s
They had some public forums on it a couple years ago. I did not go but they did release a survey online shortly after that I completed. Took less than 5 min and I did submit my preference to keep it undeveloped as a park.
You could marry your old love and your new love by taking the boys out for disc golf. Just as many beers but maybe a few more joints. Plus you can play in a section of the wooded park that used to be a golf course.