HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/3/2026 Item 7a, Heptig
Josh Heptig <
To:E-mail Council Website; CityClerk
Subject:Laguna Lake Golf Course
Attachments:Laguna Lake gc support letter.pdf
Please accept this letter on behalf of the Laguna Lake Golf Course topic scheduled for February 3rd.
Thank you,
Josh Heptig
SLO County Parks
Golf Superintendent
(805) 781-1318 office
(805) 215-4125 cell
jheptig@co.slo.ca.us
slocountyparks.com
slocountygolf.com
1
January 25, 2026
City of San Luis Obispo Mayor and City Council
Via email: emailcouncil@slocity.org
Re: Possible Repurpose of Laguna Lake Golf Course
Dear Council Members,
Recently, I became aware that the city is again considering closing or repurposing Laguna Lake Golf
Course. This topic was most recently heard in 2014. As the SLO High School Girls’ head golf coach, SLO
County Parks Golf Superintendent, President of the California Golf Course Owner’s Association and
resident of the Laguna Street neighborhood across Los Osos Valley Road, I felt the need to provide a letter
of support for Laguna Lake Golf Course. I would prefer to speak in person; however I have ironically been
invited to speak at a golf conference to discuss the importance of municipal golf courses at the time of the
scheduled meeting. My daughters will be present to speak on my behalf.
No discussion of a Municipal Golf program is complete without a review of the multiple positive benefits of
the game of golf. Here is an abbreviated list:
• Golf is a valuable recreational pursuit just the same as tennis, volleyball, snow skiing, basketball,
hiking, biking, pickle ball, and disc golf to name a couple.
• Golf is a social network for all ages which is especially important for seniors who play with the same
group of people each week just like a local bridge club or poker group.
• Human interaction along with being active outside in an aesthetically pleasing golf course
environment reduces stress, improves mood, and increases brain activity as golfers make
decisions, determine strategy, and keep score.
• Golf is a physical activity even if you ride a golf cart. Golf improves cardiovascular health, weight
management, and strength and flexibility. A person will average 10k steps during an 18-hole round
of golf and you can burn 3200 calories (1 pound of fat) by playing 36-holes of golf per week.
• Golf courses provide habitat for wildlife and create corridors for wildlife to move within and through
urban areas. Most of the Monarch sites in California are on or near golf courses.
• Golf courses are also vital green spaces in urban areas. They act as perfect filters for rain-water
runoff and urban overspray irrigation from surrounding homes and businesses. The homes and
businesses use 18% of our States overall water while golf uses less than 1%. An acre of golf course
turf removes 80% as much carbon from the atmosphere as one acre of rainforest. The amount of
carbon sequestration on a golf course is immense.
• Golf courses provide economic benefits through tourism by attracting visitors and providing jobs for
residents. It has been estimated that our local golf industry has a $50+ million economic impacts.
Each golf course provides 10-50 jobs for people in the community. Golf courses attract visitors who
eat at restaurants, stay at hotels, and shop in local retain shops.
• Golf courses increase real estate values which secondarily provide tax revenue to local
governments to provide assistance for health and safety.
• Nearly 4 million kids under the age of 17 are playing golf in the US, which represents a 60% growth
in this age category since 2019. This growth is due to municipal golf courses such as Laguna Lake
and the City of San Luis Obispo, so thank you!
Laguna Lake and municipal golf courses are often the sole source of recreational exercise for mature
individuals and create opportunities for generational interaction on a single competitive playing field not
afforded by other recreational facilities. Golf provides an outdoor sports experience for seniors that other
athletic sports simply cannot match. This activity can help fight obesity, which is a disease that has multiple
social and economic impacts worldwide and especially here in the US. By playing golf people of all ages
can stay fit and develop a passion for a game that will serve them well physically, socially, and morally for
the rest of their lives.
The nature of the game encourages positive ethics and morals as golf mimics life. Golf requires one to
make choices that have serious consequences during the game. Laguna Lake Golf Course is home to the
Laguna Middle School golf teams and also supports SLO High School, Mission Prep, and SLO Classical
Academy High School boys’ and girls’ golf teams. Laguna Lake is also a host site for the Central Coast
First Tee. The First Tee is a Youth Development Program where participants are taught life skills by
having fun while learning the game of golf. Through the process, these young people acquire Nine Core
Values: Respect, Courtesy, Responsibility, Judgment, Perseverance, Confidence, Sportsmanship,
Honesty and Integrity. This program proves that golf simply can be a catalyst to help develop better
people and reduce the stress on local law Enforcement Officers.
Laguna Lake golf course ensures the benefits of golf remain within our community because it is a public
asset. Golf resides within the Park Department with the same mission “to inspire happiness by creating
community through people, parks, programs and open space”. Laguna Lake is the only public golf course
in the City of San Luis Obispo. Municipal golf was developed in New York in the 1890’s to bring golf to the
common man. If the decision is made to close Laguna Lake golf course the only golf available to the
residents of “the happiest city in America” would be a private club.
I am hopeful that you decide to re-invest in an important existing facility rather that remove an aged and
improperly perceived “pale, male, and stale” asset. A public golf course was once considered to be an
important element of a prosperous city. I and many others in San Luis Obispo still believe this to be true.
Hopefully this Council does as well.
Thank you for reading,
Josh Heptig
(805) 215-4125
countygolfguy@gmail.com