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Pacifica Golf Course Celebrates Anniversary Despite Attempts To Close It

PACIFICA (KCBS) – An 80th anniversary celebration was held this weekend at Pacifica's Sharp Park Golf Course, even though the fate of the facility is hanging in the balance.

Approximately 250 golfers took part in the anniversary tournament on Saturday, hoping it was not the last one.

Richard Harris with the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance said the golf course, which was built in 1932 by legendary golf architect Alister MacKenzie, is just one of his many true masterpieces.

KCBS' Anna Duckworth Reports:

"His goal, which is what he said in his writings, was to create beauty and give people an experience with beauty," said Harris. "And he's done that here."

MacKenzie is responsible for designing courses such as Augusta National, Cypress Point and Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, among others.

But Sharp Park is at the center of a federal lawsuit, which was filed by environmentalists last February. They claim the golf course violates the Endangered Species Act because water pumping and lawn mowing are killing habitats of the California red-legged frog and San Francisco garter snake.

About a dozen members of the Santa Cruz non-profit Save the Frogs protested in the parking lot during the tournament.

But Lisa Villasenor with the Sharp Park Women's Club countered their claims and said the course has helped the species thrive.

"In the beginning, they didn't have a place to live and now they do and their populations are healthy," she said. "We hear them at night and we feel like we take care of them."

The judge in the case issued a stay in late April until the Fish and Wildlife Service completes a biological study of the course.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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