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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/3/2026 Item 7a, Madland Kurt Madland <kurt.madland61@gmail.com> Sent:Tuesday, January To:E-mail Council Website Subject:Laguna Lake Golf Course Preservation Hello, I have recently learned that the City Council is considering repurposing the land that the Laguna Lake Golf Course currently occupies. I am writing today to plead with the City Council to reconsider. I moved to San Luis Obispo three years ago, following my college sweetheart (we graduated together at UC Santa Barbara). Funny enough, I was actually quite resistant to moving here initially. But now, I can't imagine ever living anywhere else. I LOVE being a resident of this community. When I arrived in San Luis Obispo I was fresh out of university and a full-time remote worker (in the wake of Covid). I didn't know anyone in the area, other than my girlfriend and her family. As I was working from home, it was very hard to meet new people. I quickly became "stuck" at home. Within a year, I was the heaviest I had ever been. I gained roughly ~60 lbs after graduating from university, and I was miserable. It was around that time that I was blessed to discover the game of golf. Seemingly overnight, my whole world changed. Golf pulled me off of the internet and back outside into the world. Suddenly, I found myself walking several miles a week while playing golf, spending hours and hours in the sunshine, and enjoying the beautiful views in our local slice of Heaven we are lucky enough to call home. Golf is traditionally played in groups of 4, which means when individuals show up alone, or as a couple, they are typically "paired" with other golfers. In this way, golfers are constantly meeting and interacting with other members of the community. We spend hours together with strangers, cheering one another on, sharing in each other's wins and losses, and getting to know one another. I have been paired with everyone from middle-school students, to retired seniors, and every type of person you can imagine in between. In that way, I began to grow my circle, and find new friends in the community. Now, I have countless golf friends. Just last week (1/15), I played at Laguna Lake and made two new friends: Patrick and Dylan. We arrived as strangers, but formed a group and became fast friends, united by our love of the game and the pleasure of outdoor recreation. At the end of the round, we all exchanged phone numbers, and shared plans to play again together soon: a very common occurrence in the golf community. How often are most people meeting and talking with their neighbors and community members these days? Golf is a rare gem in the way it offers us these human connections so freely. I have watched over the years as Americans have grown increasingly divided and fearful of one another. It is heartbreaking to watch. In a time where we are more divided than ever, outdoor recreation is a point where we can all come together and bond over the simple things: enjoying a fun game, appreciating the sunshine and natural beauty of our home, and sharing everyday conversations with our neighbors. 1 Since starting this golf journey, I have lost over 30 lbs of the original 60 lbs I had gained, and I continue to lose weight every week and I remain highly motivated to do so. EVERYONE can play golf: young, old, fit, overweight, etc. The game can be adapted to any shape or size golfer. Today, more than ever, we need to preserve these healthy physical outlets that get people off the couch and away from the TV / internet and out into the sunshine instead. Laguna Lake is a rare and truly special gem within the golfing world. Many golf courses are quite expensive, and younger people these days have an awful hard time affording things as it is. Golf can be an exclusionary game when only considering the upscale and expensive golf courses of the world (country clubs, etc.). However, Laguna Lake is different. Laguna Lake is teeming with people of all ages and walks of life because everyone can afford to play there. Stop by on a weekend and you will see the golf course packed with people of all ages, backgrounds, and financial statuses. It costs MUCH LESS to take my girlfriend and I to Laguna Lake to play a round of golf together, than it costs to take us both to go see a movie downtown. And when we go see a movie, we don't talk, we don't walk, and we don't enjoy any of the natural beauty in our area. It's just more sitting around, which everyone already does all day long. Whereas at Laguna Lake, we usually walk 2 or 3 miles over the course of the round! Which of those seems like a better investment of our time? To remove the Laguna Lake Golf Course simply for financial reasons would be a critical error. The financials do not convey how much this golf course is beloved by members of the community. I cannot count how many times I have been to this course and seen Terry, the local instructor, shepherding a crowd of 20+ kids around the golf course for First Tee lessons. It is heartwarming to see the kids enjoying the outdoors (instead of on an iPad) as they discover a game they will be able to enjoy for the rest of their lives. The City Council should also consider the fact that this golf course may not be performing as well financially as it could simply because the City has not invested in very simple improvements to the golf course that could dramatically increase revenue. To allow the golf course to fall into disrepair, and then point to its struggling revenue, is simply intellectually dishonest. The nets above the driving range could be replaced, which would drive MUCH more activity there. The restaurant has been closed as long as I have lived here and played golf, which is an easy opportunity for the City to be collecting a TON of additional revenue. Golfers love to hangout after a round and eat lunch and have a drink, and would happily spend the money doing so, if the City would simply invest in re-opening the restaurant (which already has a building in place and just needs to be opened!) Now, more than ever, we need to cherish our opportunities to escape the constant grind of social media, cable news, etc. that only divide and wear us down. Now, more than ever, we need to cherish our opportunities to enjoy outdoor recreation: to move our bodies and enjoy the sunshine. Now, more than ever, we need to cherish our opportunities to meet and interact with one another: to get to know our neighbors and realize we are all much more similar than we are different. Golf provides us with all that, and more, and Laguna Lake is a unique gem in that it offers all of that at an affordable rate that anyone in the community can enjoy. I sincerely hope the City Council will consider these points before making the terrible mistake of shuttering this golf course. Thank you for reading, and I wish you all a Happy & Healthy New Year. 2 Kurt Madland Local Laguna Lake Golf Course Enthusiast 3