WEBVTT - Fire Drill 098: The Rebirth of Golden Gate Park Golf Course 0:00:03.320 --> 0:00:06.359 The true leaders in the game are people like yourselves 0:00:06.880 --> 0:00:10.200 that are willing to actually do something for the good 0:00:10.400 --> 0:00:15.400 of the growth of the game as it relates to affordability, accessibility, kids. 0:00:17.440 --> 0:00:19.360 I got daughts in my head. 0:00:20.040 --> 0:00:23.800 Can't get them, joh, and not the thing what I'm 0:00:23.840 --> 0:00:30.680 thinking about. Can't get them out, joh, not the thing 0:00:30.960 --> 0:00:32.400 what I'm thinking about. 0:00:39.840 --> 0:00:42.520 Hello, this is Alan schipknoking back for another fire drill. 0:00:42.680 --> 0:00:45.160 This is a special one. We are going to talk 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:49.519 about the reimagining of Golden Gate Park golf Course. Those 0:00:49.560 --> 0:00:51.400 of you who have been following the Firefit channels, no, 0:00:51.520 --> 0:00:54.160 we've been in the dirt from the very beginning. There's 0:00:54.160 --> 0:00:56.240 been videos, there's been stories, but we want to hear 0:00:56.240 --> 0:01:00.760 from the protagonists. So I'm joined by Matt Janelle of course, 0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:05.840 also Dan Burke Coe of First t of San Francisco, 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:09.559 j Blasei, the golf course designer, and Josh Lewis, who's 0:01:09.600 --> 0:01:13.000 the project manager and the guru of all things agronomy. 0:01:14.160 --> 0:01:16.840 But before we get to those our special guests, Matt, 0:01:17.600 --> 0:01:20.759 let's pay a few bills. Tell the people who's helping us, 0:01:21.080 --> 0:01:24.360 sponsoring this podcast, and just your general excitement level for 0:01:24.400 --> 0:01:26.959 this project. Is before we get deep in the weeds 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:27.720 on this podcast. 0:01:28.160 --> 0:01:31.480 Well, yeah, thanks to Dormy Workshop, the family business based 0:01:31.480 --> 0:01:34.440 in Halifax, Nova Scotia who create all the fine leather goods, 0:01:34.440 --> 0:01:37.720 some of which are in our pit shop at Firepitcollective 0:01:37.720 --> 0:01:41.320 dot com and in pro shops all over the world. 0:01:41.400 --> 0:01:43.560 Now, they are very good at what they do. 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:47.520 We love that we're partners with them and appreciate their support. 0:01:47.840 --> 0:01:52.160 And then Link Soul obviously the lifestyle brand I've been 0:01:52.160 --> 0:01:57.120 wearing forever and always will. Anything John Ashworth does I follow, 0:01:57.400 --> 0:02:00.240 and certainly as it relates to Link Soul and the 0:02:01.880 --> 0:02:04.760 clothing that he makes and what we wear a lot 0:02:04.760 --> 0:02:08.320 out at goat Hill Park, especially the outer outer wear. 0:02:08.440 --> 0:02:11.160 The hoodies are some of my favorites and the shorts 0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:14.040 are very popular. So thanks to Linksoul for all of 0:02:14.040 --> 0:02:17.240 their support and partnership and for everything they bring to 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:20.240 the game of golf. I will say that Alan this 0:02:20.520 --> 0:02:22.680 and we get to it at the end of this podcast. 0:02:22.720 --> 0:02:28.440 But this group of people, this project, this reimagination of 0:02:29.000 --> 0:02:34.680 a community asset that you know was you know, was surviving. 0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:36.480 I mean they were getting you know, upwards of forty 0:02:36.520 --> 0:02:40.640 thousand rounds a year. I cannot wait to see what 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:44.680 happens next at Golden Gate Park and then other you 0:02:44.680 --> 0:02:50.800 know San Francisco municipalities on the heels of what will 0:02:50.840 --> 0:02:55.919 be deemed a massive success for everybody involved here, huge win. 0:02:56.080 --> 0:02:58.080 Let's let's get to it, guys. I was out at 0:02:58.080 --> 0:03:00.600 Golden Gate Park with the three of you. Matt couldn't 0:03:00.600 --> 0:03:04.120 make it, but everyone else on this on this little chat, 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:06.600 we got to play the golf course for real earlier 0:03:06.639 --> 0:03:09.440 this week. It's not open to the public just yet 0:03:09.480 --> 0:03:12.359 because they're waiting for the clubhouse to finish, but golf 0:03:12.400 --> 0:03:14.919 is being played at Golden Gate. Let's just go around 0:03:14.919 --> 0:03:17.960 the horn. So, Dan, now you've seen this come to life. 0:03:18.440 --> 0:03:20.440 How excited are you and how pleased are you with 0:03:20.480 --> 0:03:21.280 the finished product? 0:03:23.080 --> 0:03:23.280 Yeah? 0:03:23.320 --> 0:03:26.520 I would say a twelve on a ten scale. You know, 0:03:27.560 --> 0:03:30.720 we knew the site had great bones, but to actually 0:03:30.880 --> 0:03:34.400 execute the project to a pretty high standard with a 0:03:34.400 --> 0:03:37.960 lot of unknowns, and now to see people play it 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:42.720 or play it yourself. The number one, you know word 0:03:42.800 --> 0:03:45.920 or feedback is the word fun, right, And that's exactly 0:03:45.960 --> 0:03:48.800 what we want, whether it's you know, a young girl 0:03:48.880 --> 0:03:52.040 playing or a you know, a scratch golfer, an older 0:03:52.200 --> 0:03:56.880 retired guy. You know, it's unanimous feedback is that it's fun, 0:03:56.920 --> 0:04:00.400 and it really is. So I'm just you know, rerilled 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:02.680 that we were able to execute this to the standard 0:04:02.680 --> 0:04:06.240 it's at and can't wait to share it with you know, 0:04:06.320 --> 0:04:09.480 the community and you know the golf world in general. 0:04:10.600 --> 0:04:13.320 So Jay, we weren't in the same group, but it 0:04:13.400 --> 0:04:16.440 was fun that you get glimpses of other other players 0:04:16.480 --> 0:04:18.320 and you get you see that, you see shots, and 0:04:18.400 --> 0:04:20.440 just just the four of us that that I was 0:04:20.440 --> 0:04:22.600 playing with out there. So many times the ball is 0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:24.839 getting closer to the hole, you know, on the fourth 0:04:24.880 --> 0:04:26.600 a little punch bowl and was like playing off the 0:04:26.720 --> 0:04:29.840 left mound, which I actually did perfectly. It trickled all 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:31.840 the way around the back of the green and then 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:33.800 and then took a hard right turn, came back to 0:04:33.839 --> 0:04:35.360 the flag and I looked like it might go in. 0:04:35.480 --> 0:04:37.120 Like there was a lot of shots out there, it 0:04:37.120 --> 0:04:39.840 felt like the ball was moving and usually getting closer 0:04:39.880 --> 0:04:42.520 to the destination, which is one of the thrills in golf. 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:45.360 I mean for you to hear the whoops and and 0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:47.839 uh and and see the smiles, like what did it 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:50.520 mean to you just to see golfers having fun on 0:04:50.560 --> 0:04:52.160 your on the golf course, you help bring to live. 0:04:53.360 --> 0:04:55.320 Well, that's that's what it's all about, right, I mean, 0:04:55.320 --> 0:04:57.440 that's what we set out to try and achieve. That's 0:04:57.720 --> 0:05:00.920 why we selected the turf types that we did, That's 0:05:00.960 --> 0:05:03.359 why we shape the greens that the way that we 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:06.160 did is we wanted it to be a fun factory. 0:05:06.240 --> 0:05:08.920 And to your point, you know, one of the most 0:05:09.040 --> 0:05:11.720 fun things in all of golf is watching the ball 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:15.679 move on the ground, and particularly when it's moving closer 0:05:15.720 --> 0:05:18.599 to the hole. And so that was truly one of 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:22.119 the most exciting things about the other day was to 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:25.960 get to watch others hit shots that were you know, 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:29.680 they'd hit it beyond the hole and have a backstop 0:05:29.720 --> 0:05:31.919 that would bring it back, or they'd hit it, you know, 0:05:32.040 --> 0:05:34.560 right of the hole and use a sideboard that would 0:05:34.560 --> 0:05:37.120 feed it there. Or they'd get on the green and 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:40.800 then there'd be a putt that you know, they'd make 0:05:40.839 --> 0:05:43.000 a normal twenty foot put towards the hole and then 0:05:43.000 --> 0:05:45.359 they'd say, I want to try going this way instead, 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:48.000 and they you know, they'd turn their their whole body 0:05:48.080 --> 0:05:51.560 and angle ninety degrees away and use the slopes and 0:05:51.560 --> 0:05:53.160 put it a different way to get to the hole. 0:05:53.200 --> 0:05:56.480 So it was tons and tons of fun to watch 0:05:56.520 --> 0:05:59.600 that happen. And what it means is that people are 0:05:59.600 --> 0:06:02.360 out there making memories with each other. You could see 0:06:02.400 --> 0:06:04.840 them high fiving and putting their arms around each other, 0:06:04.920 --> 0:06:07.919 and you know, at the end of the day, it's 0:06:08.000 --> 0:06:12.000 just golf, but we really are hopefully making memories for 0:06:12.080 --> 0:06:15.000 people that will last a lifetime and that's very, very rewarding. 0:06:16.440 --> 0:06:19.320 That's cool, Josh. You know, for a brand new golf course, 0:06:20.240 --> 0:06:24.040 the turf was in spectacular shape. What are the challenges 0:06:24.160 --> 0:06:29.320 of this particular site and you have golfers out there 0:06:29.360 --> 0:06:32.840 wall that the course is still maturing, Like what can 0:06:32.880 --> 0:06:35.520 golfers expect in the coming months on how the course 0:06:35.560 --> 0:06:38.080 will keep shaping up? And what are the challenges now? 0:06:38.120 --> 0:06:39.479 Is you have to turn the reins over to the 0:06:39.520 --> 0:06:42.080 city at some point and let them maintain the golf course. 0:06:42.080 --> 0:06:44.159 Can you just speak to the playing conditions where they 0:06:44.160 --> 0:06:44.920 are and where they're going. 0:06:45.800 --> 0:06:48.680 Yeah, I think I think right now we're pretty happy. 0:06:48.720 --> 0:06:52.360 Everybody's you know, I think the golf courses is good. 0:06:52.400 --> 0:06:55.440 It's ready to open. It's you know, the golf balls 0:06:55.440 --> 0:06:57.640 are taking the slopes the way they're supposed to the 0:06:57.680 --> 0:07:03.480 playabilities there. But with any project like this, there's there's 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:08.080 a maturity phasing. I guess, you know, we're kind of 0:07:08.120 --> 0:07:11.400 in phase one. You know. Year over year, as you know, 0:07:11.560 --> 0:07:14.640 root health and turf health, density, all these things continue 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:15.400 to build, the golf. 0:07:15.280 --> 0:07:16.520 Course is going to get better and better. 0:07:18.800 --> 0:07:21.040 So you know, as we open there's still going to 0:07:21.080 --> 0:07:23.360 be areas that are maybe a little softer than we like, 0:07:23.680 --> 0:07:26.440 or not quite a turf, you know, isn't quite as 0:07:26.480 --> 0:07:30.480 dense as we want, things like that. But I think 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:33.280 as we saw the other day, it's it's in a 0:07:33.360 --> 0:07:36.000 position where it's really fun to play, and that's the 0:07:36.120 --> 0:07:39.520 ultimate goal. As it relates to hand off to the city. 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:41.920 I mean, those guys are more than capable of doing 0:07:41.960 --> 0:07:46.200 a great job, and I think there, you know, the 0:07:46.320 --> 0:07:48.520 energy around this is so good. You know, it's been 0:07:48.560 --> 0:07:52.680 such a collaborative effort so far that we should just 0:07:52.680 --> 0:07:55.120 see this thing continue to sing as it moves forward 0:07:55.160 --> 0:07:56.560 and just get get better and better. 0:07:56.680 --> 0:07:57.840 That's that's the hope. 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:02.600 Matt knows you're kind of an apostle for for public 0:08:02.600 --> 0:08:07.920 golf and accessibility and affordability. Where do you think Golden 0:08:07.920 --> 0:08:10.240 Gate fits into the larger golf landscape. 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:10.480 Now. 0:08:12.000 --> 0:08:16.320 I mean it goes from a guy from northern California 0:08:16.920 --> 0:08:20.080 who grew up in Santa Rosa, who frequented a lot 0:08:20.120 --> 0:08:24.160 of golf in and around San Francisco, and have you know, 0:08:24.240 --> 0:08:29.480 had never played Golden Gate Park. Uh knew it existed, 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:32.960 but had never heard you got to go play Golden 0:08:32.960 --> 0:08:35.079 Gate Park. You should see golden Bit never heard that. 0:08:36.040 --> 0:08:42.480 It goes from like off the national curiosity radar to 0:08:42.679 --> 0:08:45.240 on it, and not only just on it, but like 0:08:45.400 --> 0:08:47.400 at the top of a list, right like at the 0:08:47.440 --> 0:08:50.400 top of a list of people wanting to say I 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:52.760 got I gotta see this, I got to play this, 0:08:53.520 --> 0:08:55.640 And then the chances are they're going to want to 0:08:55.640 --> 0:08:59.120 come back, or they're going to spread spread that gospel, 0:08:59.160 --> 0:09:02.360 spread that word, which is what golfers are so great 0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:02.800 at doing. 0:09:03.960 --> 0:09:04.760 I just did this. 0:09:04.880 --> 0:09:07.760 You got to go see it too, And I think 0:09:08.000 --> 0:09:12.920 that that's exciting for so many reasons. Yes, this is 0:09:12.960 --> 0:09:15.280 a hub of first t and you know, Dan, we'll 0:09:15.320 --> 0:09:18.079 get into that. Like you know, the intentions here at 0:09:18.120 --> 0:09:20.400 the core of what just took place at Golden Gate 0:09:20.480 --> 0:09:25.640 Park is that it's for the kids, it's for accessibility, affordability, 0:09:25.960 --> 0:09:31.360 fun factor, truly growing the game that you know, they 0:09:31.400 --> 0:09:34.840 planted seeds of fescue and bent grass greens, but they 0:09:34.880 --> 0:09:38.400 also this is a this is a garden of growth, 0:09:39.600 --> 0:09:42.920 and that's going to be good for kids because with 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:46.160 kids come adults, and with adults and aging adults that 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:49.840 are dealing with you know, health and physical issues. This 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:53.240 is walkable, this is accessible like it's just in the 0:09:53.280 --> 0:09:55.679 heart of one of the big cities in the United 0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:58.560 States that, oh, by the way, needed a needed a 0:09:58.600 --> 0:10:02.280 pr win for all. I love San Francisco. I'm sad 0:10:02.320 --> 0:10:04.880 about the sort of the sort of the state of 0:10:04.920 --> 0:10:08.640 the city itself. This is a huge win for San Francisco, 0:10:09.040 --> 0:10:11.960 for the game of golf, for kids, for first tea, 0:10:12.360 --> 0:10:15.760 for fun factors, for all. It checks all the boxes 0:10:16.040 --> 0:10:18.559 and tribute to everybody on this call. I know there's 0:10:18.600 --> 0:10:20.480 a lot of other people involved, and that's kind of 0:10:20.480 --> 0:10:23.560 my question to you, Dan, is it was you know, 0:10:23.800 --> 0:10:26.040 it's one thing to say and a lot of people 0:10:26.040 --> 0:10:28.520 do I want to I want to make this. This 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:31.439 is underachieving, This could be better, this should be better, 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:35.439 and you did something about it. I guess my question 0:10:35.520 --> 0:10:37.760 is like from a donor's perspective, and I know some 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:39.160 of them were out there the other day. 0:10:39.720 --> 0:10:40.960 What's what's there? 0:10:41.200 --> 0:10:44.960 What's their feedback? Is this something worthwhile? And hopefully there 0:10:44.960 --> 0:10:48.400 are more donors around the country that will do something similar. 0:10:49.600 --> 0:10:52.280 Yeah, I think it's a good perspective. 0:10:52.360 --> 0:10:55.960 Matt is you know, in my year ten years at 0:10:56.000 --> 0:10:58.320 First Tea, which it's it's really twenty years old, you know, 0:10:58.360 --> 0:11:02.040 as we've you know, it's noted that Sandy Tatum started that, right, 0:11:02.600 --> 0:11:06.840 and people give to people they respect for worthy causes. 0:11:07.400 --> 0:11:09.560 So you take an organization like First He and our 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:13.719 missions really to change, you know, underserved kids' lives. And 0:11:13.880 --> 0:11:17.520 Sandy's perspective of this game that meant so much to him, 0:11:17.960 --> 0:11:21.000 not just from an athletic perspective but a life perspective. Right, 0:11:21.320 --> 0:11:24.720 the lessons he learned, the network he built to take 0:11:24.920 --> 0:11:29.360 that to underserved kids made perfect sense to him very 0:11:29.440 --> 0:11:32.240 late in his life, and he was all in right, 0:11:32.360 --> 0:11:37.440 and that kind of marching order that he brought to 0:11:37.520 --> 0:11:42.320 the community that's still with us today. So our leadership 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:46.200 looks at strategy very importantly. They take very seriously the 0:11:46.280 --> 0:11:49.960 impact we're having on the community, and they're very conscious 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:53.200 of like we need to do more so taking risk 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:57.600 capital and investing it in the community for the greater 0:11:57.760 --> 0:12:00.840 good of our mission of helping underserved kids. 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:01.680 That makes sense. 0:12:02.040 --> 0:12:05.800 So you know, the Scott Sellers and Tom Kleines the 0:12:05.840 --> 0:12:08.200 world who have you know, helped Sandy lead this thing. 0:12:09.040 --> 0:12:10.480 They value what we do. 0:12:11.440 --> 0:12:15.000 Their networks and our donor base are very in tune 0:12:15.040 --> 0:12:17.480 with what our efforts are. So this wasn't a play 0:12:17.480 --> 0:12:19.560 of like, hey, we're going to fix the city's golf course, 0:12:19.679 --> 0:12:23.479 that's a byproduct of it. But to use this incredible 0:12:23.520 --> 0:12:27.400 facility for the next fifteen years to you know, develop 0:12:27.440 --> 0:12:30.720 our programs even further. That's what made the most sense. 0:12:31.280 --> 0:12:35.400 And then the byproduct of the community benefit, the golf 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:39.880 world benefit, the agronomy, the sustainability, all of that are 0:12:39.960 --> 0:12:45.160 really you know, they fall in line after that first 0:12:45.360 --> 0:12:48.040 kind of pillar, which is our kids, right. 0:12:48.640 --> 0:12:53.120 So you know, to you know, our donor bases a 0:12:53.160 --> 0:12:54.360 lot of resourcial people. 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:58.560 They listen when we ask or or educate them, and 0:12:58.600 --> 0:13:02.000 in this case it made sense, right and you know, 0:13:02.200 --> 0:13:05.800 our leadership myself included, was able to get you know, 0:13:05.880 --> 0:13:07.880 some of our donors and some of the first time 0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:12.160 people to really buy into the concept of how important 0:13:12.160 --> 0:13:14.200 this site is for us in the long term from 0:13:14.559 --> 0:13:18.559 a growth perspective, and then understanding that you know, it 0:13:18.840 --> 0:13:21.600 does have community value and that's why it got done, 0:13:21.679 --> 0:13:24.640 you know, and the park and rec you know, and 0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:28.360 a lot of times municipalities take it on the chin, right, 0:13:28.400 --> 0:13:31.200 I mean, the city has Sharp Park and Lincoln and 0:13:31.200 --> 0:13:34.640 there's always a lot of you know, there can be 0:13:34.760 --> 0:13:37.000 you know, negative things saying about those facilities. 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:39.319 Well, they've been a partner of ours for twenty years. 0:13:40.559 --> 0:13:43.520 They've shown that Harding Park can work, right, It's hosted 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:46.680 major championships, They've taken good care of that golf course, 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:49.640 and as Josh alluded to, they are capable, right, And 0:13:49.760 --> 0:13:54.679 so this whole concept of new clubhouse, new lease investment, 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:57.959 they were all in on this too, and they value 0:13:58.000 --> 0:14:00.600 this just as much as we do. And kind of 0:14:00.600 --> 0:14:03.840 the stars are aligned, you know, you know, one off, 0:14:03.920 --> 0:14:09.120 but it's it's definitely repeatable around the country, right, But 0:14:09.160 --> 0:14:12.400 there has to be community leaders to get behind it, 0:14:12.800 --> 0:14:16.080 and the synergies have to be there. And then I 0:14:16.240 --> 0:14:20.120 like the fact of a community grassroots effort, you know, 0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:24.240 addressing problems in the local society that was the selling 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:26.880 point here, not like hey, we're going to fix up 0:14:26.920 --> 0:14:30.000 a golf course, right, There's a community aspect to it 0:14:30.280 --> 0:14:33.320 which really resonated with people that are willing to invest 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:36.480 their money to, you know, for the better betterment of 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:37.920 the community. 0:14:38.040 --> 0:14:40.480 People listening and they've they've seen the content we put 0:14:40.480 --> 0:14:43.600 out on the firepit channels. The folks are dying to 0:14:43.600 --> 0:14:48.280 play this golf course. And obviously the course is ready 0:14:48.920 --> 0:14:50.200 went in to can be upen to the public. Kind 0:14:50.240 --> 0:14:53.120 of hinges on the clubhouse being finished. They've had some 0:14:53.760 --> 0:14:58.640 supply chain delays for those who are hoping to book 0:14:58.680 --> 0:15:01.000 a tea time to dan. What is your best guess 0:15:01.000 --> 0:15:02.960 and when the doors are going to open to the public. 0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:06.440 Yeah, you know, that's definitely been a moving target. 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:09.120 You know, we initially were talking, you know, targeting both 0:15:09.160 --> 0:15:11.600 golf course and clubhouse this fall. You know, sometimes they 0:15:11.600 --> 0:15:14.760 around October November. There's been some things out of our 0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:18.440 control related to the city rebuilding the clubhouse, and that 0:15:18.520 --> 0:15:22.360 continues to get moved, pushed a little bit. I think 0:15:22.400 --> 0:15:25.040 the public is playing golf in this golf course, you know, 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:28.760 if not in January, you know, early February, it shouldn't 0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:30.520 be more than you know, we're airing right now in 0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:35.120 early December. I would say sixty days is probably the 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:38.480 back end, but hopefully more like thirty or forty five days. 0:15:38.920 --> 0:15:41.920 And we'll communicate to the greater public when we do 0:15:42.000 --> 0:15:44.200 have a definitive date of when we're going to open it. 0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:47.080 And then it's worth noting you know, we've we have 0:15:47.200 --> 0:15:49.960 invested a lot of money in the property. We want 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:52.880 the city and their gardeners to take good care of it, 0:15:53.280 --> 0:15:55.840 and so we're going to be very conscious of how 0:15:55.920 --> 0:15:59.200 much traffic we put on the golf course. You know, 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:01.040 in the early state ages, we won't don't want to 0:16:01.080 --> 0:16:03.400 take a step back just by having too many people 0:16:03.440 --> 0:16:05.360 play the course, So we're going to there'll be a 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:07.760 little balancing act of like what's the right number of 0:16:07.920 --> 0:16:11.080 rounds versus you know, the excessive demand we assume we're 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:12.920 going to experience when we first do open. 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:15.960 Another question is how much is it going to cost? 0:16:15.960 --> 0:16:18.920 And again the city kind of controls that, but the 0:16:19.800 --> 0:16:22.400 talking to folks yesterday when I was on the golf course, 0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:26.240 it seems like the residence fee that that's capped right, 0:16:26.280 --> 0:16:28.040 that can only go up two dollars a year, So 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:30.720 it's going to be in the mid twenties for city 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:34.520 residents and for non residents it sounds like a target 0:16:34.600 --> 0:16:37.880 somewhere in the mid to high forties. Greens fee is 0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:39.960 what's on the table. Does that sound right? 0:16:40.360 --> 0:16:43.000 Yeah, that's probably accurate, you know, to your point, the 0:16:43.520 --> 0:16:46.880 part code protects the rates for the residents. You know, 0:16:47.040 --> 0:16:50.680 so the residents are going to you know, a regular 0:16:51.000 --> 0:16:53.800 San Francisco resident's going to play the course for twenty 0:16:53.880 --> 0:16:57.400 twenty five bucks a weekday weekend, extremely affordable, especially by 0:16:57.400 --> 0:16:58.720 San Francisco standards. 0:16:59.000 --> 0:17:02.120 I think we'll probably start the non resident rate around forty. 0:17:01.840 --> 0:17:05.199 Dollars weekday, maybe fifty weekend, you know, and we do 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:10.520 have we can adjust that up or down with that 0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:12.639 that part of the rates for the non resident, so 0:17:12.680 --> 0:17:14.959 we'll let supply and demand kind of take care of that. 0:17:15.600 --> 0:17:18.439 But you know, in San Francisco, to come play a 0:17:18.480 --> 0:17:21.840 place like this, you know, for forty dollars to me 0:17:22.480 --> 0:17:26.920 by California Bayry standards is great value, and that'll kind 0:17:26.920 --> 0:17:27.959 of be the starting point. 0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:31.720 Yeah, And it's also just part of the experience, right 0:17:31.760 --> 0:17:33.280 if you go play the golf course, you're probably going 0:17:33.359 --> 0:17:35.040 to walk around the park, you might go have lunch 0:17:35.080 --> 0:17:39.120 on the beach like it. It's because of where it's situated. 0:17:39.840 --> 0:17:42.240 It becomes part of a day. It's not just drive 0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:44.440 to a golf course, drive away like I think people 0:17:44.440 --> 0:17:47.160 will be encouraged to explore the park and the whole 0:17:47.160 --> 0:17:50.080 neighborhood there, and it's another win for San Francisco, like 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:54.199 like Matt was talking about. So, you know, Jay, this 0:17:54.880 --> 0:17:57.440 Matt allude to the fact that you donate your services 0:17:58.200 --> 0:18:03.240 as a Northern California resident, someone who just loves loves golf. 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:04.480 I know it was. 0:18:04.520 --> 0:18:07.639 Really emotionally satisfying to be part of this project. It's also, 0:18:08.240 --> 0:18:10.119 you know, a chance to spotlight your talents. And I 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:12.520 think when people play these greens and play this golf course, 0:18:12.560 --> 0:18:15.280 they're gonna they're going out to know more about your 0:18:15.480 --> 0:18:18.439 design philosophy and what else you're working on. Can you 0:18:18.480 --> 0:18:21.280 give listeners kind of a little look into where you 0:18:21.359 --> 0:18:24.480 are in your career, because there's never been a more 0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:28.119 interest in golf course architecture and I think this is 0:18:28.160 --> 0:18:29.280 gonna be a big moment for you. 0:18:30.760 --> 0:18:31.000 Yeah. 0:18:31.000 --> 0:18:33.240 Well, you guys have done a great job of kind 0:18:33.280 --> 0:18:36.119 of documenting the process and getting that out there. And 0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:38.040 I think that's great and it's fun to kind of 0:18:38.440 --> 0:18:40.880 let people behind the curtain a little bit to see 0:18:40.880 --> 0:18:43.480 what goes into designing and building a golf course. So 0:18:43.480 --> 0:18:46.040 we're really grateful for all your efforts on that front. 0:18:46.119 --> 0:18:49.679 But no, I mean, it really is a once in 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:52.640 a lifetime opportunity. You know, I grew up playing municipal 0:18:52.680 --> 0:18:55.760 golf courses, starting out at a part three, you know, 0:18:55.880 --> 0:18:59.480 moving up to an executive nine, then the Big nine, 0:18:59.520 --> 0:19:05.080 then the Big eighteen, and so the idea of crafting 0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:07.560 a golf course where people are going to play their 0:19:07.600 --> 0:19:10.840 first round of golf and having it be something more 0:19:10.880 --> 0:19:13.359 than just a field, right. You know, so many people 0:19:13.400 --> 0:19:17.280 get started in golf and the facility that they first 0:19:17.320 --> 0:19:20.760 swing a club on, you know, maybe they're hitting off 0:19:20.800 --> 0:19:24.200 mats there, may may not be terf you know, they're 0:19:24.240 --> 0:19:28.760 certainly not likely to have a compelling architecture behind it. Here, 0:19:28.800 --> 0:19:33.760 we've got a situation where you've got this unbelievable facility 0:19:33.840 --> 0:19:35.760 right in the in the heart of the city in 0:19:35.880 --> 0:19:39.000 Golden Gate Park. It's been a treasured part of the 0:19:39.040 --> 0:19:42.920 community for decades. Many people will play their first round 0:19:42.920 --> 0:19:46.640 to golf there, and you've got you know, the soils 0:19:46.680 --> 0:19:49.119 that are perfect for golf, that are so rare to 0:19:49.200 --> 0:19:52.200 find that you know, people like Mike Kaiser, you know, 0:19:52.520 --> 0:19:54.680 scour the ends of the earth to find this type 0:19:54.680 --> 0:19:57.880 of saying. You're within a few hundred yards from the ocean, 0:19:58.240 --> 0:20:01.840 You've got these magical cypress t is. The topography that's 0:20:01.840 --> 0:20:04.800 out there is just ideal for golf. It's really exciting 0:20:04.800 --> 0:20:09.480 and compelling to you know, ascend up to the top 0:20:09.520 --> 0:20:11.199 of the knoll and then look out and get the 0:20:11.200 --> 0:20:14.560 big view and then drop down and see So it's 0:20:14.640 --> 0:20:18.199 just really such a dream opportunity and the connection to 0:20:18.240 --> 0:20:21.119 the first t that it was easy to get behind. 0:20:21.640 --> 0:20:21.920 You know. 0:20:22.240 --> 0:20:24.199 My hope is that people will come and have a 0:20:24.200 --> 0:20:26.719 great time and say, wow, this was fun. You know, 0:20:26.880 --> 0:20:29.399 we talked about it earlier, but the key word is fun. 0:20:29.440 --> 0:20:33.240 And and you know, with any project that I take on, 0:20:33.320 --> 0:20:36.680 my goal is to try and there's kind of two facets. 0:20:36.720 --> 0:20:40.320 One help the client achieve their goals and two to 0:20:40.400 --> 0:20:43.679 try to maximize the potential of the site. And you know, 0:20:43.720 --> 0:20:47.199 I think I think we did a great job on 0:20:47.240 --> 0:20:50.320 those fronts in terms of, you know, the site had 0:20:50.359 --> 0:20:53.719 so much potential with the sand that was there, the 0:20:53.760 --> 0:20:57.720 topography that was there, It just needed a you know 0:20:57.840 --> 0:21:00.199 kind of to peel back some of the layers and 0:21:00.280 --> 0:21:03.800 expose some of those areas and take full advantage of it. 0:21:03.280 --> 0:21:06.960 And so again, just such a dream opportunity and really 0:21:07.040 --> 0:21:08.760 lucky that we had a great team to help us 0:21:08.760 --> 0:21:09.200 get there. 0:21:10.960 --> 0:21:13.199 Let me just jump in there because I know we 0:21:13.200 --> 0:21:16.040 were going to use this podcast, as you know, to 0:21:16.160 --> 0:21:19.520 make sure that some of the stuff that we've been 0:21:19.560 --> 0:21:22.280 documenting isn't everything right. I mean, there's a lot of 0:21:22.320 --> 0:21:24.520