By Barry Salberg
If you’re facing north, it lies at the top end of Silicon Valley. Turn the other direction, looking south, and it marks the mythical gateway to the high-tech capital of the world.
It’s Foster City, an upscale, master-planned community of mostly residential housing, office parks, some condos some apartments and a small of amount of limited retail. All of it interlaced with internal waterways, lagoons and a perimeter that is often directly adjacent to the San Francisco Bay.
Perennially ranked as one of the best and safest places to live in California, Foster City reports the average home value at just under $2 million, with a median resident income of $195,000. Home to several bio and other tech firms—and until recently, the corporate headquarters of Visa—Foster City was originally built on landfill over 100 years ago, and wasn’t incorporated as a city until 1971. It now occupies 19.8 square miles, many of which are contained in a myriad of inland waterways — thus, the City’s maritime theme with its official sailboat logo and various aquatic street names.
And in keeping with that nautical theme, at the town’s northern border, where the land meets the bay, is the aptly named, Mariners Point Golf Center. It is a 22-acre, full-service facility, featuring a 70-station driving range, with upper and lower decks, as well as a separate grass section; a dedicated short-game area; independent putting green; full-service bar; quality food truck; onsite staff of teaching professionals with an indoor-outdoor training studio; Cool Clubs fitting facility; and a lighted, nine-hole, par-3 course. “It’s the second busiest amenity we have,” says Foster City Mayor, Stacy Jimenez. “Exceeded only by Costco.”
To be sure, this place jumps on all fronts--where according to management at VB Golf , who operates the facility on city-owned land--the course charts an overall 110,000 rounds per year, and is second in the country for Youth on Course rounds. Kids play here for $5. So, who are all these customers at Mariners?
“The demographic changes throughout the day,” explains Lee Stambollis, who mans the front desk at the pro shop. “The age group skews on the older side in the morning , seniors and retired folks; then at lunchtime, the business professionals, and those guys will stay on; and then, the kids start showing up in the afternoons.” While the range does bring in a steady customer flow, “the course is 98% sold out, with the lights and nighttime play having a big impact and draw,” says management from VB Golf.
Designed by noted golf architects, Bob Cupp and John Fought, the Mariners course opened in 1996, and has matured significantly in the ensuing years. Each of the nine, par-3 holes is separately shaped, framed, and sculpted, with Rye grass fairways and tees, Blue grass and Rye rough, and a 70/40 combination of Poa annua and Bent grass greens. The course features two sets of tees that can be stretched to almost 1,200 yards, and often plays longer than it measures because of the bay side winds and a few deceptively elevated greens.
On course there is a mix of Cypress and Monterey Pine trees, eight in total, along with nine bunkers and lots of thick, fluffy sand—not your normal, thin muni fare—and a small pond that does come into play on the ninth hole. All of it punctuated by 165 LED lights for golf at night.
“During the summertime, it’s unbelievable, you’ll hear an announcement for the 8:30 starting-time on the tee,” relates Mariners superintendent, Ross Brownlie. “ And that’s p.m., because clearly, we have starting times at 8:30 in the morning too!”
Mariners management adds that they make a continuous, concerted effort towards ongoing improvements, with things like changing of the range balls every 90 days; recent installation of the Top Tracer electronic tracking system at each hitting station; and the addition of comfy patio furniture behind the lower deck hitting stalls. “We do put a lot of money back into the property every year,” notes the rep from VB Golf. “I’d say $500,000 goes back in annually for improvements.”
Over the years, a number of well-known golf figures have utilized the facilities at Mariners. Among those: Steve Elkington, Cristie Kerr, and Kay Cockerill, as well as Maverick McNealy and Will Zalatoris, who both played in a Mariners junior tournament. Ironically, neither of them won it, despite Zalatoris’ hole-in-one here as a 7-year-old. More recently, Cockerill called to set up LPGA superstar, Lydia Ko, whose husband lives in the area. “I let her in the front gate early, before we opened, and she worked on her game for hours,“ recalls Brownlie. “She’s been out a few times, hitting balls on the grass tees, and one time, the guy next to her asked what college she played for, not realizing who she was.”
No, the Mariner’s course is by no means a manicured homage to the great par-3’s of the world, but 80% of its players do have discount loyalty cards, and clearly return often. The facility draws from a wide geographic range—well beyond just locally—to include golfers on a regular basis from the East Bay, the Peninsula, and even from San Francisco.