Hundreds of golfers show up to support keeping facility as an 18-hole course
On June 6, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 against purchasing potentially potable water to supplement irrigation efforts at Dairy Creek Golf Course in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Costs for the supplemental irrigation would have ranged from $1,500 - $2,000 per acre-foot.
Supervisors Lynn Compton, Bruce Gibson and Adam Hill voted against purchasing the supplemental
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| County Supervisors Meeting in SLO |
Hundreds of golfers from around the San Luis Obispo area as well as numerous allied golf industry representatives showed up to speak on behalf of Dairy Creek and the water purchase which would have allowed the course to remain an 18-hole facility.
Dairy Creek, a county facility located in El Chorro Regional Park, is irrigated with recycled water from the neighboring California Men’s Penal Colony. A decrease in the prison population due to realignment over the past several years has resulted in 60 percent less recycled water deliveries for the course leaving only 100 acre-feet per year available for irrigation.
Dairy Creek is not scheduled to receive another delivery of recycled water until Dec. 1. Even with record-setting precipitation during the winter of 2016-17 and stormwater capture efforts, the reduction in recycled water leaves only enough irrigation for greens and select areas on tee boxes. The reduction in irrigated areas has had a devastating effect on Dairy Creek’s ability to attract and maintain golfers in a competitive marketplace.
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| "Keep Dairy Creek Green and 18" |
What’s next for Dairy Creek? While an opportunity may be available to use well water from the California Men’s Penal Colony, Dairy Creek will most likely be looking at reducing the number of holes from 18 to 9 (keeping the practice facility) to accommodate the reduced recycled water deliveries that will be 100 acre-feet for the foreseeable future.
Golf course architect Andy Staples was brought in by San Luis County Parks and Recreation (working closely with County Golf Course Superintendent Josh Heptig) to create numerous master plans based on water availability. Using his Community Links concept, Staples has put together a plan to reduce the facility to 9-holes and a state-of-the-art practice facility (which would be home to the Cal Poly golf team) while incorporating programming that includes mountain biking, disc golf, trails, camp/cabin sites, zip lines and batting cages that would enhance an already active regional park.
The programming provides the highest-and-best-use of the Dairy Creek property (at 100 acre-feet of water) while maintaining a golf-oriented amenity that can be accessed by 100 percent of the community.
While the outcome of this meeting was not what the golf community had hoped for, the efforts of Josh Heptig, Andy Staples and the golfing community should be applauded.
For more information on Dairy Creek including updates on the water situation, visit the website.
