Roll Call: Bay Area Golfers

I would LOVE for that back 9 to come back, though i’d alter 11 cuz the blind approach sucked and i’d alter 14 cuz that weird left bender with the slope right was weird.

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Totally agree re: San Geronimo. I tried to reach out and gauge price bc I have one or two strings I could pull to MAYBE get an invite and was basically told F off by invite only. So for whatever that is worth careful how you approach it!

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(the latter half of this is in regards to Meadow not San Geronimo lol).

@OnOff I’m a member at StoneTree which is one of the other affordable options. And we’ll take anyone - not a member owned club. Let me know if you want to know more!

So my dream course to play is actually Machrihanish Dunes… big Kidd fan… and its just something in my head… Mr. Kidd said flat out, that the land in which they built that course on was already there for them… they barely had to do anything; and, they really weren’t allowed to do anything as Scotland’s environmental laws prohibited it. His quote was something to the nature of, by building a course on that land, it helps the economy and protects the environment for generations to come. I see Meadow Club in the same light; if that wasn’t a private golf club, there would assuredly have been houses there; not the open space for walking and hiking that current Marin folks want. It would have been 5 million dollar homes; not a piece of golfing history.

Same with San Geronomo; it is now open space because it was a golf course; and now no one enjoys it except for a few cattle farmers who have property there. I take that drive to avoid traffic back to Petaluma, no one is out there.

Isn’t stonetree owned by bay club?

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Yep. which is why anyone can join/ don’t need to be sponsored/ no waiting list etc.

Not ideal compared to others in prob any number of ways, but course is in best shape it’s ever been and it’s a fun challenge/ no real problem getting course access.

“ it’s a fun challenge”

We should hold a vote on that description

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For sure.

And what’s happened with San Geronimo is a disgrace. I’m fearful that whole area will be consumed by a fire during this drought and nobody will want to acknowledge that if there was grass fairways they’d act as a firewall. See: Fountaingrove during the Santa Rosa fires. Of course, Marin won’t let golf courses water fairways right now so that may be moot.

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A business associate of mine is a member at The Meadow Club. He’s in his 70s. In about 1985 or so, a couple of his friends asked him to come out and play there. He didn’t play golf or even own clubs, but went out for the day. They then asked him to join so he submitted an application and was accepted immediately. The initiation was something like $2500. Not chump change in 1985 but nothing like it is today.

He’s kept the membership ever since, and plays it maybe a half-dozen times a year.

Ahh. … the good old days.

[He is a banker type and promised me a couple of rounds out there if a deal I was working on closed. A little piece of me died when my client walked away from the deal, although it was the right decision.]

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image
Got screwed… no bueno…

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Yeah I think you both have it exactly right. Unfortunately people in Marin are a little too short sighted with SGGC. They don’t realize how special it could be if it were in the hands of the right people, who can build an asset that is environmentally sensitive, preserve the land, and serve the community for years to come. Something legitimately special. But I think there are too many people in Marin that see golf as a rich man sport that is bad for the environment and I don’t think you can realistically expect to change that attitude any time soon, which is a shame. At least that’s what I found spending (read wasting) my time reading and sometimes commenting on the issue on Nextdoor.

To be fair, to build something like Sweetens in Marin County, with so many special interests groups, would be something almost impossible to pull off.

Thanks man. I’ve definitely thought about that course as well. It’s obviously not close, but its also affordable compared to a traditional golf club. Between that and Richmond CC, there are a couple of affordable, all be it, distant options.

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Depending on where you are, Berkeley CC is another good deal. Not sure of the fees but they aren’t insane, and I enjoyed the course when I played it last year. Not that walkable but neither is Stonetree.

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I keep getting served IG ads for Berkeley. Curious if we had any ins.
Not walkable?! That’s a bummer.

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Yeah I played it as part of a tournament so I don’t know anyone - the one guy I do know left Berkeley and joined Richmond. Which used to be the Instagram ad CC around here but they’ve stopped doing that. Brought too many people like me around, I suspect …

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I thought StoneTree was unwalkable and then I did it and have been walking it ever since.

I will cede to others points that for some it may not be a “fun challenge” but man does your handicap travel well :slight_smile:

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Thanks, another course I have very limited knowledge on, I’ll look into it.

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To be fair to StoneTree (though not Johnny Miller who also designed The Bridges which can go to hell and die), I was always persuaded to play from the tips, and that was not a good scene. If I teed it up from the correct tees, I undoubtedly would have a better time.

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I am unable to make the NCGA member for a day outing at Lake Merced on 8/2. I can cancel and they’ll take one of the gazillion people from the waitlist, but they told me if I found my own replacement first I can swap them in.

It’s $200 and includes lunch, cart, and tee prize.

If anyone is interested shoot me a DM.

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I’d be all over that if it weren’t for the Fleming cup on the 1st. Not going to get that much golf by the wife :slight_smile:

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Hey all - visiting a friend and squeezing in a round at Pasatiempo the morning of July 24. We had booked a foursome but two guys unfortunately had to bail. If anyone wants in just shoot me a DM!

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