The Presidio Golf Course Is SF’s Most Egregious Waste Of Public Land

I recently went on a jog in Presidio Heights, because — for all of their horribleness — the richies who live on Billionaire’s Row have some really sweet Halloween decorations. And as I jogged in to the Presidio National Park, something not-very-National-Park happened. I was told I have to leave immediately, because I was on a certain 150 acres of this national park that are not open to the general public.

That 150 acres is the Presidio Golf Course, which could be shelter for every single one of San Francisco’s more than 8,000 unhoused residents, but instead operates as a very non-public park priced at $65-$85 a day for SF residents, $90-$100 a day for non-residents. Even on its busiest possible day, the 150 acres of the Presidio Golf Course are used by fewer than 1,000 people, all of them paying in the neighborhood of $100 to do so.

This might be acceptable if the public were also allowed to stroll the course’s sidewalks, or access the 150 acres of National Park land in any way. But we are not! This is unusual for a national park.

Because of COVID-19 accommodations, this area was briefly open to the public for a couple months in 2020. But that shit came to a complete halt in May 2020, when it went back to being paid golfers only.

There is no logical reason for golf courses to exist in modern-day San Francisco, particularly when the city is facing a housing crisis. If we can outlaw cemeteries within city limits, we can outlaw golf courses, and solve our homelessness crisis in one fell swoop. The fact that we have a paid-only golf course on National Park lands is particularly offensive to any San Franciscan with a conscience.

Though we understand that haughty suburban dipshit C.W. Nevius would disagree.

For those who wonder why we keep the Presidio Golf Course open “since nobody is playing” This is the line for the driving range at 8 am. Played today. All tee times reserved. pic.twitter.com/yEAOg3tixh

— C.W. Nevius (@cwnevius) May 23, 2020