Dr. Alister MacKenzie is known the world over as one of the preeminent golf course architects of all time. He created Cypress Point, Augusta National and Royal Melbourne, among others. But one of his greatest creations is the public course at Sharp Park, located just 10 miles south of San Francisco on the Pacific Coast. The course, which opened for play in 1932, displays MacKenzie’s design philosophy in full – multiple tees, dual fairways, cloud shaped bunkers, heaving greens and the use of MacKenize’s favorite tool: camouflage.
But Sharp Park is special for another reason: it is MacKenzie’s only seaside public links. When he introduced his original routing to San Francisco golfers in 1930, MacKenzie proclaimed: “The proposed municipal seaside golf course at Sharp’s Park will be as sporty as the old course at St. Andrews, and as picturesque a golf course as any in the world.”
Finally there is a beautiful coffee-table book to commemorate Sharp Park’s unique beauty, charm and mystique. Alister MacKenize’s Legacy of Public Golf at Sharp Park is a visual celebration of a course that is truly unlike any other, a masterpiece dedicated to public golfers.
Photographer Brad Knipstein’s brilliant images allow readers to experience MacKenzie’s magic at Sharp Park – both as it exists today and as it existed when the course first opened for play. Historic commentary by San Francisco Public Golf Alliance founders Richard Harris and Bo Links compliment Knipstein’s stunning photographs. The book also includes historic images as well as a reproduction of the original course map, artfully depicted by Andy Anderson.
This book is a true collector’s item for every golfer. And there is a special bonus for purchasers: proceeds generated from the sale of this book will help fund the drive to preserve and restore MacKenzie’s Sharp Park for future generations. (All sale proceeds benefit the efforts to Save Sharp Park.)