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Writing in the Examiner, Hayley Peterson reports on a resurrected bill from D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton that would allow private companies to take over running the District’s three public golf courses in order to finance much needed improvements. The plan, presumably, would mean access to the historically cheap public courses would become more expensive.
Any readers out there care to educate this non-golfer on the current state of the city's greens? Would you be willing to pay more to have them spruced up and modernized?
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In the immortal words of Jean Paul Sartre, "Au revoir, gopher."
There are plenty of great golf courses in the area for those scratch golfers. The public courses in DC are not always suuuuuuuuper well maintained but provide an inexpensive and easy option for hackers or those who like to play but couldn't afford it otherwise. Leave them be!
At the very least, if Langston is the problem - privatize it, and leave East Potomac as it is.
I hear this place is restricted, Woo, so don't tell 'em you're Jewish, okay?
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Oh Mrs. Crane, you're a little monkey woman. Yeah, you're lean, mean, and I bet you're not too far in between are ya? How'd you like to wrap your spikes around my...
Oh, this your wife, huh? A lovely lady. Hey baby, you must've been something before electricity.
Now I know why some animals eat their young.
i would, most definitley... but only a little bit more. the courses definitley need a make-over at the very least. the last time i went to rock creek (granted, it was last year...), they were replacing all of the greens so set up these "interim" greens that were basically holes cut into the fairway. the greens fees for the back 9 was only about $7... totally worth it if all you want to do is practice and go on a nice walk. however, dc golf courses (especially hains point) are not built to be competitive. i think dc should have one really nice course - langston - and the private developer can come in and make it all professional and slick. then leave the other two - which is good b/c hains point has the driving range - for the more laid back players who don't care too much about the green-ness of the stretch.
I agree - make one course a nice one (maybe nice enough for some real-ish golf tournaments?) and leave the other two as is (although with some nicer maintenance and upkeep).
Don't screw with Langston. It is my favorite place to play in DC mostly b/c you can usually get out quickly as most people don't like the location so they would rather wait in a 2 hour plus line for the shooting gallery known as Haines Point. Historically, Langston was the only course that black people could play and if they make it too expensive, I think the place would lose it character as well at the characters that hang out on the porch joking with each other all afternoon.
Rock Creek has been greatly improved; it's not stellar, but the greens are good now, and it's cheap! Leave it be!
Hains Point is fine for what it is; of all the things Norton should be worrying about, I think our golf courses should be much lower on her list.
I would base my decision on the "quality" of the food at each course. Langston has deep fried half-smokes, so it's safe. East Potomac has the best cheeseburgers in town, so it's safe as well. That leaves Rock Creek. Privitize it and lengthen it to a par 72 course.
The National Park Service should adminster parks that benefit the nation as a whole. Places like the Grand Canyon or the National Mall. These golf courses are used exclusively by DC area residents and these residents, not the taxpayers of the entire US, should foot the bill for them.
One of Mama CHUD Chinatown Sues offspring used to munch on golf balls until one exploded in his stomach. She said he was dropping rubber worms for days.
@okienoodler
Damn you, don't tell people about the best kept secrets. Next thing you know, the President will be casting his shadow on East Potomac Park.
Well, he is going to have to wait 30 minutes for the wrong order just like everyone else. It's still delicious, though.
The federal government should not be running golf courses. Nor should state government, local government, private enterprise, the non-profit sector, or retarded monkeys. Golf is a public health hazard. Studies show that 18 holes of golf, which many golfers play during a single day, is almost ten times the maximum USDA Recommended Daily Allowance of dull.
(This only applies to "traditional" golf courses. Miniature golf courses, ideally with the hazards rendered in animatronic style, contain only trace amounts of dull. It is virtually impossible to die of boredom from miniature golf; you would have to consume so much of it that you would die from "tired of life" first.)
I wouldn't pay more to play these courses if they were renovated. It'd take some serious work (closing down the courses for months and months) to be worth slogging through the five-hour rounds stuck behind foursomes of hackers every weekend. I'd much prefer driving the extra half hour or so to play a county course.
Woo said it well: leave them be for the hackers. What do they care? These places are jam packed with schmegegies as it is. Bottom line, these types of courses have their place. Serious golfers expect to play faster-paced rounds when they pay moderate-to-high greens fees. But Haines Point and Rock Creek are perfect for hackers who play a couple times a year. They don't care about the dull layouts and poor course conditions.
I played Langston (aka "Gangston" or "The Sands of the Kalahari") last weekend and the course was in pretty good shape, I might even go so far as to say it was in excellent shape for a municipal golf course. They just did a fairly major makeover on Langston in the last five or so years, so I can't really see what the point would be.
There's really nothing that can be done with Hains Point. The land is ironing board flat and without elevation changes the course is never going to be taken seriously by golfers willing to pay higher greens fees. If they want to do something with Hains Point, work on the drainage situation there; the shit stays water-logged.
I can't say too much about Rock Creek because I haven't played there in years and I also had one of my best days ever (12 over par) on a golf course there, so I don't want to diss.
IMHO the golf at the DC courses isn't even really that cheap; I play there because of the convenience, not price. If you're buying on price there a lot of places that offer twilight rates that start as early as 2pm. Back in the day I used to play Glenn Dale all the time where you could ride for less than $40 if you teed off after 2pm.
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