Save Sharp Park GC Advocates Harris and Links Receive Prestigious Presidents Award from GCSAA of Nor Cal

January 3, 2012

San Francisco, CA-The Golf Course Superintendents Association of Northern California (GCSANC) will recognize Mr. Richard H. Harris and Mr. Robert D. “Bo” Links for their exceptional contributions to the game of golf, evidenced through
their grassroots efforts to help save Sharp Park Golf Course, a much-loved seaside municipal facility in Pacifica, CA, designed by legendary architect Alister MacKenzie. The prestigious GCSANC Presidents Award will be presented at the association’s annual meeting and awards ceremony on Monday January 9, at The Course at Wente Vineyards (Livermore, CA). More than 100 golf course superintendents and allied golf industry leaders are anticipated to attend the ceremony.

“We are very pleased to recognize these fine gentlemen,” stated GCSANC President & Host Superintendent Glenn Matthews. “They have worked tirelessly in support of public golf as they fully demonstrate the kind of effort it takes to preserve public golf especially in challenging economic and political times.”

Both men have deep roots in Northern California golf. Harris is a member at Gleneagles GC, Sharp Park GC and Stanford GC. He was introduced to the game at a young age by his father in Redwood City, CA, and later played Varsity Golf at Stanford where he was captain of the golf team in 1968. After graduation, Harris served in the U.S. Army, 82^nd Airbone Division and 25^th Infantry Division, South Vietnam (1969-1971). He graduated from Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley in 1977, and has been practicing law in San Francisco ever since. He is with the firm of Erskine and Tulley, where his legal practice has focus in the areas of business, insurance, and real estate litigation.

Harris was instrumental in the “Save Stanford Golf Course” campaign in 2000. He is co-founder of the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance (SFPGA), an organization committed to preserving affordable eco-friendly golf, with focus on San Francisco’s historic Sharp Park and Lincoln Park courses.

According to Harris, the alliance is dedicated to educating and galvanizing public support for the benefits of municipal golf. “These are challenging times, and golf is not the only public resource that is threatenend,” said Harris. The fight to preserve Sharp Park and our other historic courses is an ongoing one, and golfers and the golf industry must continue to be vigorously
engaged within the public arena, to help preserve golf’s role as a valued place where the broad public can meet, recreate and relax, and enjoy nature together.”

Co-honoree, Robert D. “Bo” Links is a lifelong resident of the City & County of San Francisco. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UCLA Law School. He has practiced law in San Francisco since 1974, and is currently with Slote & Links where he maintains an active general litigation and legal counseling practice.

Links is an avid golfer and a dedicated golf historian. He has written two golf books, Follow the Wind and Riverbank Tweed & Roadmap, and Jenkins: Tales From the Caddie Yard. He has served on the USGA Green Section Committee for nearly two decades and is a pro bono speaker for the association on legal issues affecting the game of golf. He serves as the volunteer historian for the City’s golf courses, and was active in the project to renovate and restore Harding Park GC.

A past president of Lake Merced Golf Club (2003-04), Links was successful in leading the effort to rebuild the club’s infrastructure (new clubhouse, recycled water facilities, maintenance building). In 2007 and 2008, Links was honored by the Alister MacKenzie Society, which awarded him first prize in the international Lido Design Contest. He is the only two-time winner of that award.

Links’s greatest golf endeavor is his leadership role in co-founding the SFPGA, and always with immense energy and focus on saving Sharp Park, which has been under attack by anti-golf activists. Links and Harris continue to help secure funding for an environmentally-sensitive restoration of the cherished MacKenzie-designed course. Both gentlemen continue to keep others informed about the issues surrounding SPGC, evidenced through their compelling presentations to the California Alliance for Golf (CAG) and the California Chapter of the Golf Course Superintendents Association (CGCSA).

“Through our travels and work in golf, both Richard and I have come to know and admire many course superintendents all across the country,” stated Links. “Now, receiving this special award from our local superintendents, right here in our own backyard, means so much to us. It is by far the best evidence that our focus on preserving affordable, high quality, memorable public golf is striking a responsive chord. As you can imagine, we are both humbled yet extremely grateful for such an honor.”

In addition to award winners Harris and Links, the GCSANC will recognize five of its association members. The Golf Course Superintendent of the Year Award will be presented to Patrick “Pat” Finlen, CGCS, Olympic Club (San Francisco, CA), the George Santana Distinguished Service Award is extended to Jason Green, San Jose Country Club (San Jose, CA), Turfgrass Excellence Award in the Public Category is earned by Abelardo “Lalo” Pacheco, Rancho Solano Golf Club (Fairfield, CA), Turfgrass Excellence Award in the Private Category will be presented to Dale Engman, Mayacama Golf Club (Santa
Rosa, CA), and the Bert Graves Affiliate Merit Award Winner is Jim Sherman with Turf & Industrial Equipment Company (Santa Clara, CA).

The GCSANC Annual Meeting & Awards Ceremony is made possible through the support of Diamond Sponsors: Mid Cal Tractor (John Deere Golf), Turf Star Inc., and John Deere Landscape. For information about the meeting contact: GCSANC Association Manager Barbara Mikel at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (877) 942-7262.

Doctor’s Orders: Play Golf. To learn more about the organization visit http://www.gcsanc.com/.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee Vetoes Anti-Golf Sharp Park Ordinance

December 20, 2011

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, on December 19, vetoed the Board of Supervisors' close- Sharp Park Golf Course Ordinance.

Click here to download a Word File of the full SFPGA Press Release.

Click here to download a PDF of the Mayor's Veto Statement.

Articles of Interest:

*SF Chronicle, "Mayor Ed Lee Vetoes Sharp Park Legislation," Dec. 19,
2011:http://blog.sfgate.com/cityinsider/2011/12/19/mayor-ed-lee-vetoes-sharp-park-legislation/

* SF Chronicle Editorial, "Don't Give Up Sharp Park," Dec. 16, 2011:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/16/EDU61MCEPI.DTL

*Golf Digest, Bill Fields, "Historic Sharp Park's Fate Hangs in the
Balance," Dec. 14, 2011: http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/blogs/local-knowledge/2011/12/historic-sharp-parks-fate-hangs-in-the-balance.html

*Geoff Shackelford, "To USGA Critics, I Have a Message: Give the USGA a
Break," Dec. 15, 2011: http://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2011/12/15/to-usga-critics-i-have-a-message-give-the-usga-a-break.html

*GolfWeek, Bradley Klein, "SF Public Golf Under Fire, As Sharp Park
Loses Vote," Dec. 14, 2011: http://www.golfweek.com/news/2011/dec/14/sf-public-golf-under-fire-sharp-park-loses-vote/

*Beyond Chron, Rochelle Metcalfe, "I heard that! Sharp Park, Frogs,
Snakes, and Golfers,"Dec. 8, 2011: http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=9748#more

Court Denies Injunction in Sharp Park Case

San Francisco, 11/30/11 – Federal district court judge Susan Illston, in a ruling issued late Tuesday afternoon, denied a preliminary injunction sought by environmental activists seeking to close the historic Sharp Park Golf Course, owned and operated by the City and County of San Francisco but located in neighboring Pacifica.

The course, which has existed for almost 80 years, was designed by legendary architect Dr. Alister MacKenzie, the man who created Augusta National, Cypress Point and Royal Melbourne, recent site of the Presidents Cup competition. The course is a rarity – a seaside links open to all at modest greens fees.

“The court came to the right conclusion,” said Richard Harris, co-founder of the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance, which intervened in the case in an effort to save the course. “The evidence clearly showed that the species are doing quite well at Sharp Park and that the city’s efforts to improve their habitat while at the same time providing affordable recreation to a diverse and vibrant group of local golfers, is working.”

The plaintiffs, Wild Equity Institute v. City & County of San Francisco, had urged the court to completely halt mowing on 10 of the 18 holes, ban winter flood-relief pumping, and severely restrict the use of golf carts. The plaintiffs argued that those activities “take” the threatened California red-legged frog and the endangered San Francisco garter snake, in violation of the Endangered Species Act.

In its 15-page ruling, denying the injunction, the court noted that “{e}xperts for both sides agree that the overall Frog population has increased over the last 20 years,” (page 8) and that “plaintiffs have failed to show a likelihood of irreparable harm,” which is a requirement for preliminary relief. The case is set for trial July 16, 2012 in Federal District Court in San Francisco.

In the course of her opinion, Judge Illston found persuasive the declaration of Dr. Mark Jennings, an acclaimed expert on the frog and snake, and one of the persons who initially petitioned to declare the California Red Legged Frog a “threatened” species. Dr. Jennings is an expert who has offered his opinion on behalf of the SFPGA.

“Over the course of the past two decades,” Dr. Jennings told the court, “all available scientific evidence shows that the Frog population at Sharp Park has dramatically increased.” The courts also relied on testimony from the City’s staff who have worked hard to improve habitat for the species in and about Sharp Park. (Pages 10-11)

Judge Illston noted that “{t}he expansion of the Frog population,” coupled with other factors, “make this a situation that does not warrant the temporary, immediate, and drastic relief afforded by a preliminary injunction.” (Page 14)

In ruling that mowing can continue, the court observed that “the only evidence that plaintiffs provide that take is occurring with respect to the use of these vehicles was a single Snake that died six years ago. “ (Page 15) However, the court also noted that the details and cause of the snake death were “inconclusive,” and since that time, the City has implemented substantial measures to safeguard and protect both the frog and snake.

SFPGA's attorney in the case, Chris Carr of Morrison & Foerster, said that the court's finding that the frog population at Sharp Park is thriving should give plaintiffs pause in pursuing their suit further.

"Plaintiffs' position that the Endangered Species Act is violated by the death of a single or even a few frog eggs out of the hundreds of thousands or more laid each year at Sharp is simply untenable in the face of this biological reality,” Carr said. “It is precisely the sort of extreme position, and abuse of the ESA's citizen suit provision, that fuels legislative efforts to gut the law. For the same reasons, a decision adopting plaintiffs' position would provide an unusually attractive vehicle for the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the reach of the ESA."

After the decision, SFPGA co-founder Bo Links voiced hope for an amicable resolution of the litigation.

“While we are fully prepared to defend Sharp Park and its historic legacy of public golf at trial, we also will work hard to promote responsible solutions to the current situation,” said Links. “The fact is this course has been there for 80 years. It was designed by a master architect who is known and revered the world over. And it’s a course that is loved by all who play it. We want to help preserve that.”

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