Sharp Park named after George Sharp has such a long history. Mr. Sharp had more than 400-acre estate that he established. When he died together with his wife, the property was left to the San Francisco City Council under strict instructions that it would only be used for recreational purposes. Sharp Park is in California off Highway 1 along the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco. It has existed since 1917; the golf course was established in 1930's. In 1941-internment camp was established in the park that provided medical service, food, shelter and employment opportunities to San Francisco residents. When Pearl Harbor was attacked the government made a decision to incarcerate the enemy aliens with Italian, German and Japanese ancestries. In the following year, permanent intermittent camps for the alien enemies were built whereby Sharp Park was designed as the processing center. After the war activities of the park resumed with the golf course attracting more clients.
Sharp Park is in a 417-acre piece of land, and the San Francisco City owns it. It borders two residential properties, the Pacific Ocean as well as GGNRA properties. A majority of the golf holes are at the ocean side or the Western part of the property. The Park also has an extensive Wetland that is located between the earthen seawall and golf course. The wetland had been dried in the 20th century to make way for the artichoke farm that was later converted to a golf course. The Mackenzie designed course has 18 holes although six of them have been relocated and modified. It generates an average of $200,000 every year. Being a public course, it is relatively inexpensive with 85% of the rounds played in the park at a reduced rate with discounts for both seniors and juniors (San Francisco Board of Supervisors, 2016).
Climate change poses a great challenge to California's coast future. About 80% of the state population occupies the land 30 miles of the coast. Given that climate change is a reality, it is important to estimate its effects to help in planning and avoid more devastating effects. The effects of climate change can be categorized into four. Sea rise and the associated land migration, littoral sediment budget due to nearshore redistribution, littoral budget caused by deep-water changes and changes in sediment supply (Halaburka, 2013). The negative effects of rising sea levels range from social effects, health effects to economic effects. Many people living along the coastal line will be displaced leading to humanitarian crises. Flooding and shortage of clean water for drinking and domestic use may create devastating health challenges including the outbreak of water-borne diseases. Economic impacts, on the other hand, are enormous including disruption of businesses as well as the lack of customers because will have moved from the flooded area.
Statistics shows that Sharp Golf Course receives about 60,000 resident visitors and approximately 73,000 non-residents. This is a sharp increase given that between 2004 and 2005 there were 30,818 resident visits and 42,548 non-residents. Some years back golf was not in existence let alone round of golf. When it was introduced, it was not a professional sport or big business. It depended on tour sponsors, resort travel and equipment sale. People only played it for enjoyment, as it was part of the physical exercise. Recent reports show that golf has a major impact on U.S economy, the industry that is worth 68.8 billion contributes about 3.9 billion to charities every year that is higher than any other sport in the country. Revenue generated from the golf course has a considerable impact not only on the local authority but also in the entire state of California. It does not just benefit the city of Francisco, but it benefits the whole community including businesses in the area, which rely on the park such as the food vendors, retailers selling items like shoes and T-shirts, restaurants and real estate businesses (San Francisco Board of Supervisors, 2016).
Golf course charges are as shown in the table below
However, many golfers are willing to pay even more. This is the reason why the club has employed dynamic pricing strategy whereby prices fluctuate on demand. During the weekend and public holidays, customers are charged slightly higher prices compared to weekdays. The beauty of this kind of strategy is to set the price as high as possible at the right time under appropriate conditions to attract customers but not too high to lose other customers due to competition. The club must take sensibility when applying the concept of price dynamism. The green fee may fluctuate, but other charges must remain constant for example, the cart fee. Due to the increased love for the sport, most of the families are willing to set aside part of the holiday allocation for golf. Given that Sharp Park Golf Course is a public golf course, the residents must be able to enjoy the facility at an affordable price. The golf course must also try as much as possible to offer a variety of services to make the golfers more comfortable because they have different needs.
Although there are other golf courses in San Francisco such as Lincoln Park Golf Course the residents will have to pay an extra $2 in case Sharp Park is closed and an additional $1 computer reservation fee. In addition, they will incur travelling costs. It may be difficult for average Sharp golfers because they will have to travel every time they wish to play golf. Demand for 17-hole golf course has been on the rise recently given that it is one of the new sports. The sport is not as challenging as 18-hole golf course and that is why many people have come to prefer it. However, its demand is not as high as that of 18-hole golf because it is still less popular. City of San Francisco will lose a lot of revenue if Sharp Park is closed. Revenue of the golf course has been varying from year to year because of weather. Figures for the fiscal year 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 shows that the golf course generated annual revenue of $50,099. Since then the revenue has been on the rise with the increased number of users. Initially, golf was known to be the sport of the rich but now many people can afford especially the public courses such as the Sharp Park Golf Course that has continued to attract more and more visitors every year. The proximity of the course to the coastline as well as its spectacular design has given it an added advantage over other golf courses in San Francisco. Closure of the facility will not only affect the park but it will hurt the local businesses in the area. The companies supplying golf equipment, food, beverage and accommodation facilities to the visitors will be affected (San Francisco Board of Supervisors, 2016).
The statistics above are the latest, it includes the breakdown of both the day, and night visits. The city officials, Parks and Recreation Department of California provided the data. The overall number of visitors that the area receives in a year is about 8 million. In computing the economic impact there is need to determine the average expenditure per household for the beach goers. On average the households spends $106 on day trips and $505 on night trips. The figure may vary depending on the family size and the economic status of the parents. More visits are recorded during summer holidays as compared to other months of the year (King, 2012).
In estimating the future attendance of the beaches, several factors must be taken into consideration. First, San Diego and California will experience a notable population increase. Finance Department estimates that in the next ten years the population of San Diego will grow by 1.56% every year while that of the state will grow by 1.42%. On average, the beaches will experience a population increase of 1.49%, given that most of the visitors are local populations. Another key factor is the issue of erosion and overcrowding (King, 2012). According to interviews with geologists, coastal engineers and other consultants the North San Diego beaches will experience erosion at a rate of 3% every year. However, erosion is not uniform it can be unnoticeable at one beach and very severe in another beach. The measures taken by the San Francisco city officials to mitigate the effects of erosion have not been enough that is why the effects of rising sea level, floods and the associated erosion are likely to be felt more. Erosion will affect the golf courses along the coastal strip especially Sharp Park Golf Course that is located very close to the Pacific Ocean (Halaburka, 2013).
Using the estimates in table B the estimates in table C shows attendance in San Diego County in three different scenarios. First, width of beaches has the same growth rate as the population. Secondly, it shows how attendance will be affected by changes in the crowding levels. For example, if erosion rate remains constant at 3% per year. Because erosion is not always constant, the estimates are conservative and reasonable because of the rapid rate of erosion. The third aspect is that there will be maintenance of current beach width. If the beach width increases with the population increase then the attendance will also increase by 6.4 million that is about 10% (King, 2012). Therefore, overcrowding is a likely problem of the Californian beaches. The issue of dealing with large crowds is likely to cause substantial revenue loss to local businesses, state and local governments. It means that if the state government makes proper arrangements to expand the public golf courses to cater for the ever-growing population it will earn more revenue because when many people visit the beaches there will also be a significant number visiting the golf courses. Demand for golf has been on an upward trend due to the increased number of tourists as well as growing interest by the local populations.
California is blessed with 1,250-mile coastline. It also hosts San Francisco Estuary, which is one of the biggest estuary in the Pacific. To balance the economic development, environmental, habitat and population growth with the dynamic forces there is need for proper planning to avoid negative effects of climate change. Indeed, rise in the sea level is one of the greatest challenges of climate change in Californian Coastline. Although the seas have been rising, the rate has not been as serious as it is currently. The shift will have adverse effects on the coastline given increased erosion, loss of wetlands and beaches and threats to public and private structures along the coastline. The biggest problem is the average rise in the water levels, wave and storm attacks and shoreline erosion. Apart from the flood risks, the coastal communities will find it difficult to drain storm water and wastewater (Halaburka, 2013).
Wetlands loss is a major concern to both estuarine and ocean coastline. Although Wetlands usually adapt to rise in the sea level through migrating landward losses will be more severe in the adjacent land with steep slopes. For example, the Northern part of California city relies on wetlands for the provision of food, quality water and wildlife habitat protection (Halaburka, 2013). The frequent storms and high tide peaks are threatening to overwhelm the Wildlife Sanctuary and Marsh owned by the city because it interferes with wastewater treatment facility. Also, the rise in the sea water level as well as storm may alter the salinity gradient in the estuaries pushing further to deltas thus interfering with the habitat. It may also interfere with the state water supply system.
Most parts of the Pacific Coast are not susceptible to flooding but are vulnerable to erosion. In the near future erosion is likely to cause loss of about 41 square miles or 26,000 acres of land in the Californian coast. Currently there are about 16,000 people living in the area who are at risk of erosion. Additionally, transport infrastructure as well as well as property is also at risk of erosion. In California, the risk of floods exceeds that of erosion but some counties experiences more coastal erosion. For example, large parts of Pacific Coast in the rocky highlands are not susceptible to flooding but are vulnerable to erosion. In areas with high coast erosion higher sea levels may cause an accelerated shoreline erosion because of the increased wave attack. Erosion of dunes and sand pits also the protected areas to flooding (Halaburka, 2013).
Many methods can be used to estimate the amount of erosion. Bruun established a method that has been widely used to predict the shoreline recession based on the rise in sea level. The method assumes that water depth remains constant with the rise in sea level and that beach profile always remains the same. It also assumes that there is a known limit of offshore sediment transport. Sediment that maintains the beach profile comes from shore erosion. Using this, shoreline recession is estimated with beach profile readjustment to equilibrium being given as 1.0 to 1.5 meters of the shoreline recession in every centimeter rise in sea level. Although the rule has been widely used, many have criticized it arguing that it makes many assumptions that are not necessarily true. The rule is a two dimensional concept but it is well known that sediment transportation in the coastline is three-dimensional. It also assumes that the shoreline profile is equilibrium an idea that is difficult to verify (Halaburka, 2013). Another key problem of Bruun’s rule is that it predicts that shoreline will recess with sediment transport due to rise in sea level, yet there have been several instances where shoreline accreted with the rise in sea level because the sand onshore move from offshore deposits. Therefore, use of the formula may under or overestimate recession.
A group of engineers and scientists teamed up and established an alternative method for evaluating the risk of erosion. They evaluated the expected future erosion through examination of total water level (TWL) elevation time series. TWL is elevation of water levels as determined by total mean of waves, sea level, El Nino, wave run-up, tides and other storm components. Many researchers have found that erosion accelerates with rise in sea levels as the coastline is also exposed to higher waves. Higher water levels cause greater wave energy that will be experienced at the shoreline as well as in the cliffs and dunes. Californian coastline is complex both geographically and morphologically. Every geologic unit will have a different response to the rise in the sea levels. Shoreline may be classified depending on the geologic formation and type, for example dunes and cliffs. A different method can be used in each coastline to estimate response to rise in sea levels (Klemetti, 2003).
Many development projects including apartments have been developed along Californian coastline and now floods and erosion are threatening to bring them down. Usually homes erected along the coast attract premium prices because of their location. Although a few homes are being protected by the revetments and levees majority of them are clearly unprotected. Also, high value transportation, commercial and industrial facilities are located here. They use the waterfront in waste disposal, to move goods and for commercial activities. The most common coastline facilities include marinas, salt ponds, ports and docks, power plants, waste treatment plants, waste disposal sites, railroad tracks and airports. The investors will lose their property due to the effects of climate change, rising sea levels, floods and erosion (Sidun,2015).
Many municipalities especially in the United States are investing in golf courses in order to ensure that residents enjoy recreational facilities and attract tourists, provide health opportunities and generate income. San Francisco has more than five golf courses providing unique golf experiences. The city has very enthusiastic golf players who play during weekdays and weekends. Tourists who are regular visitors and players of golf also promote the courses. These courses promote youth development in the area by offering free classes for children as well as free round of golf for high schools located within San Francisco. However, golf industry is experiencing many challenges both locally and nationally especially in California. It is trying to maintain its status as the top sporting and leisure for the busy population that may not have much time allocated for leisure or sport.
Because of Sharp Park’s Golf Course design and its proximity to the ocean, it has the potential of being the best public course. It also has the potential for endowment and public fund raising that can help in remodeling and restoration making it unique and different from any other park in United States. It is a crown jewel for San Francisco Recreation and Park Department with the ability to extol life in the city. A proud heritage that has transformed the lives of many through the charitable works it supports and the unique golfing experience that it offers. If well managed it ca be the best revenue generator attracting golfers not only from the locality but also all over the world.
Golf industry can be clustered as shown in the figure below
Golf facilities is a central and core part of any golf economy because it generates the highest revenues. Revenue generated from the facilities comes from green fees, golf carts, membership fees, lessons as well as visitors expenditure on food and beverages. This revenue in turn helps in supplies that include golf equipment, manufacturers and apparel designers, turf grass equipment, food and beverages as well as maintenance service providers. In 2011 the California’s 65 miniature golf facilities, 84 ranges that are mostly stand-alone and 921 golf courses generated a total of $3.343 billion, which is an increase of 17.46% from that collected in 2006. This demonstrates that golf is a big industry and it can be more significant when compared to other sports generating considerable revenues. For instance, golf course facilities generate revenue approaching the combined revenue generated by all spectator professional sports in California such as football, basketball and baseball. The spectator sports generated a total of $3.825 in 2011 (Shmanske, 2008).
The golf facilities impacts on the economy even beyond operational revenues because of the new investments aimed at upgrading and maintaining infrastructure of the facilities, construction, renovation and expansion of the courses. Such investments generate employment opportunities for the local population, generate income to maintenance industries and companies selling equipment and supplies. Capital investment of golf courses in California comes in two segments; capital investment in the existing facilities and investment in new courses (Klemetti, 2003). In 2011, the golf courses made a total investment of $144.5 million; $8.4 million for constructing new facilities and 136.1 in the existing facilities (Shmanske, 2008). In comparison, the state had made significant investment in 2006 a total of $325.3 million; $163.6 for construction of new facilities and $161.7 million in the existing facilities. The financial crises as well as economic recession might have been the contributing factors for the sharp decline in the investment in golf industry.
Golfers in California also spend a considerable amount on golf media, golf apparel, golf clubs and golf balls. The state benefits economically due to production and sale of these items. The state is home to the leading companies in design and manufacture of golf equipment, golf cars, accessories and golf apparel such as the Yamaha Golf Car, Adidas Golf, Cleveland Golf, Callaway Golf and Acushnet. It is estimated that every year manufacturers spend more than $800 million on value-added shipment of products that help in playing golf. California retailers as well as golf facilities earns approximately $200 million on the sale of golf equipment, media and apparel. In total the segment of golf-related supplies generates a total revenue of an approximately $1 billion to the California economy.
There are several associations representing the sport of golf in California, one of the largest state in U.S in terms of golf participation, economy and population. Thus, golf organizations are divided into Southern and Northern California chapters. Examples of these associations include Southern and Northern Golf Association and Golf Course Owner’s Association. There are also active women and junior associations. The 17 chapter first Tee in California is targeting values of golf and youth games. Tiger Woods Foundation also helps by supporting youth programs through scholarships. In 2011, the associations generated an expenditure of about $69.5 million.
Every year golf courses in California hosts more than 20 tournaments generating an approximately $250 million excluding broadcasting costs and tournament purse. This is a sharp increase given that in 2011 it only hosted 12 tournaments that generated $112.05 million. Golf industry also makes considerable contribution to charity. In 2011, the Northern Trust Open made $1.6 million and benefitted many Los Angeles charities like the Foster Family Picnic, Los Angeles First Tee, Ready to Learn and others. Since 1937, AT& T Pebble Beach has managed to raise more than $100 million for charity to fund environmental and community programs, arts, human services, health, education and youth development projects. Again, in 2011 El Camino Hospital held a golf tournament that generated $650,000 to help support the hospital’s cancer center. In total golf gives about 3.9 billion every year to charity that is almost double that which it was contributing in 2011.
Golf is a key component of the real estate business because it is one of the amenities that help developers attract home buyers. Construction of residential homes has been on the rise where it peaked in 2005 where there was also sale of many homes. However, in 2007 to 2009 the real estate business suffered a great blow due to economic recession. Even with the steady economic recovery, California has recorded the lowest rate of home construction since economic recession. Opening of new golf course facilities has however changed the narrative leading to steady increase since 2011. Today construction of real estate related to golf generates approximately $580. In 2011, there were 242 golf communities. The premium that comes with the sale of development projects such as real estate is approximately $243.5. These premiums are additional money that buyers pay for homes located within golf communities. The premiums have been increasing for the last five years because more and more people are buying properties within the golf communities because of the associated benefits (March, 2013).
Golf also supports the hospitality or tourism industry by a larger extent because many travelers and tourists are attracted to the sport. In California, it is one of the most important components of tourism together with other recreational activities such as skiing, sailing, biking, hiking, and visits to parks and beaches. The golf resorts attract business meetings, conferences, professional as well as amateur tournaments. Tourism expenditure on golf-related activities alone was is about 2 billion per year. It is a sharp increase as compared to that of 2011, which stood at $1.329.
Impact of golf on California’s economy involves both direct economic impact as well as impact on the golf-enabled industries. The idea of multiplier in economics assumes that any change in the economic activity in one industry also affects other industries in the economy. For instance, a percentage of money spent in the golf course is in turn spent on buying goods and services by the golf courses for operation purposes. Additionally, the golf course staff spent their disposable income in buying goods and services, which stimulates economic growth in other industries. The overall economic impact involves employment and income from wages for people working in golf-related industries, secondary employment and income through purchase of goods and services. In 2011 alone, the $6.345 billion golf industry in California made an impact of $13.132 through direct and induced impacts, created 128,300 employment opportunities and income wage of $4.060.
It is important to employ technological solutions in water management systems. A key concern of most golf courses is maintenance and improvement of irrigation as well as water control and distribution systems. There are several technologies used in irrigation management for example, the central control computers and on-site weather stations. It helps determine water and power demands in different seasons. In addition, moisture sensors and soil monitoring systems help avoid overwatering by providing real time data. Combination of these technologies with use of growth regulators, wetting agents and systems that improve uniformity can considerably reduce water usage (Selhorst, 2011).
Sharp Park and other golf courses have been increasingly using recycled water. Proximity of these golf courses to water treatment plants put them at a better position to use the recycled water. Planting drought resistant grass, especially Bermuda grass in some parts of the golf courses will help conserve water. Coordination with the local communities and the community-based organizations dealing with environmental conservation is also very important (Shmanske, n.d). For instance, about 33 golf courses in California are now certified sanctuaries due to their efforts in engaging the community in conserving natural resources and improving wildlife habitats.
Another key factor in golf business is management of customer expectations. Nowadays, many customers are demanding for a natural landscape because it provides a more natural and serene environment for playing golf. Turf grass specialists as well golf course superintendents are highly educated on water and land conservation issues. They participate in regular training and education programs on conservation, water management, pests control and turf management using various technologies. To get the latest and most current information they interact with water resource agencies, turf grass organizations and university agriculture departments. They are also part of the state and local committees addressing environmental concerns (Selhorst, 2011).
Golf courses benefit the local people living in California. The benefits include green spaces and appealing landscape, provision of recreational and social opportunities. The industry is also responding to the environmental concerns by regulatory agencies, environmental agencies and the local communities (March, 2013). Thus, the community does not only benefit economically but they also enjoy quality air, get access to clean water and other environmental benefits associated with golf courses because most of them have embarked on environmental conservation efforts. It is through efforts of environmental conservation that the negative effects of climate change can be mitigated. There is need for multi-sectoral approach in conservation because there is no single sector with the capacity of ensuring that there is total conservation.
The economic value of golf is indeed immense. Sharp Park being among the top golf courses in California generates a lot of income to the state as well as the businesses around the area. Almost the entire Californian coastal strip is at the threat of floods and erosion due to the ever-rising sea levels. The number of people visiting the beaches in the area has been increasing over the last five years but the trend is likely to change because of the likely effects of climate change (Sidun,2015). Many golf courses are located along the coastal strip and they have attracted both local and external tourists because most of them enjoy playing golf as part of recreation. In case Sharp Park is closed, there will be negative impacts just because of the loss of revenue but also due to other businesses that depend of the golf course for the sale of their products and provision of services. The golfers who are enjoying the cheap golfing facilities of the course will also have to incur additional cost to travel to other nearby golf courses such in San Francisco, which are offering these services at a relatively higher price. Economy of California will benefit the community if the state government take the appropriate measures to mitigate the effects of climate change.
References
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