After fielding complaints about golfers damaging sensitive wetland habitat in the Palo Alto Baylands, the city has installed fences, added signage and instituted a new “local rule” in an effort to keep the area pristine.
The issue of golfers trampling on Baylands plants surfaced in 2023, when a complaint from a local environmentalist prompted intervention from the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. The course’s Water Quality Certification permit required the course to expand the wetlands habitat and remove invasive species, but for five years the city failed to monitor progress and file annual monitoring reports.
Since then, the city has worked with the state water board to achieve compliance with permit conditions, Chief Communications Officer Meghan Horrigan-Taylor wrote in an email. The city submitted a “current conditions report” to the board last August and has implemented additional protective measures, including split-rail fencing installation, improved signage, educational materials and a local rule that allows for stroke relief when golf balls land in wetland areas, discouraging golfers from entering sensitive habitat areas.
The city constructed the municipal golf course in 2017 to both accommodate a regional flood-control project and enhance playing conditions. The permits for the project required at least 4 acres of wetland creation and 0.2 acres of enhancements, according to a report from the Community Services Department.
Since learning of the violations in 2023, the city has been coordinating its response with the state water board, the report states. In December, Palo Alto began to prepare to conduct a “wetland delineation” to verify the extent of wetland acreage present and determine whether additional mitigation is needed. According to the staff report, the study is expected to be completed in July and will inform whether any hydrological modifications are needed.
“This will inform if any hydrological modifications are necessary to make the wetlands successful and will also just outline how many acres of the wetlands are currently existing,” Sarah Robustelli, division manager for space parks and golf, told the Parks and Recreation Commission at a recent update on the golf course.
In the meantime, staff have been working with the course operator, OB Sports, to implement protective measures near the wetlands.
“We ask people to stay out of [wetland areas],” OB Sports Senior Vice President Matt Molloy said at the May 27 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. “People chase their golf ball everywhere. For those people who know golf, they just can’t help themselves, so we really work with them on the local rule and stroke relief.”
Rebranded as Baylands Golf Links, the municipal course has been steadily turning a profit since the renovation, even despite a pandemic-era slump. The total number of rounds of golf played has increased by over 3,000 in the last fiscal year, from 56,314 to 59,526. The staff report forecasts continued growth, with revenues expected to increase by $0.3 million and more than 59,000 rounds of golf played in 2025.
Average revenue per round has also increased over time, according to the report, driven by improved yield management and demand.
The city is also looking for ways to attract new players. One such effort is a new partnership with First Tee – Silicon Valley, a nonprofit providing educational golf programs for youth ranging from second graders to high schoolers. The golf course signed a short-term facility use agreement with First Tee last October, which grants teaching facility access to seasonal practice putting greens, driving range, a portion of the youth practice area and on-course.
“We’re investing in the kids, as every golf course should,” Molloy said. “When people learn to play at a golf course, they hold that golf course in high esteem and they’ll always remember that, and they’ll always have a tendency to play those golf courses.”
The short-term agreement runs through February next year, and the city and First Tee intend to work out a long-term agreement before then, Superintendent of Community Services Lam Do said at the meeting. The process is currently underway, albeit slower than anticipated, with the primary focus being on developing the youth area and First Tee programming.
At the same time, staff is working with the National Golf Foundation on a study to determine the feasibility of adding a second deck on the driving range. The completed study will be presented at a future meeting, as will status updates regarding the golf course’s new app and other efforts to improve the guest experience.
“Hopefully, we’re moving in the right direction and we’re very happy with where things are going at the moment,” Parks and Recreation Commission chair Nellis Freeman said at the meeting. “I just want to applaud you guys on the work you’re doing on this.”
This story originally appeared in Palo Alto Weekly. Grace Gao is an intern for Embarcadero Media.
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