Is This Heaven or Hell?

I’ve used one of our favorite local walks, Ocean Trail, as the setting for a number of blog posts about nature, the environment, the ocean and other subjects.

Those bluffs are the southern edge of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. To left, they face the Pacific Ocean and Santa Catalina island.

California law preserves the immediate oceanfront as public land. You can’t build something right at the beach and close off public access. Thanks to that rule, we have an extensive series of trails through the chaparral at the edges of those bluffs, a bit dry at this time of year. I’ve shown you scenes like this before.

It’s an excellent place to hike, with views of the ocean, and we occasionally spot a whale spout, as well as hawks and other birds, rabbits and, rarely, a coyote. People use this public land in all sorts of ways. There are strollers, hikers, runners, dog walkers, photographers and more than a few couples getting engaged or taking wedding photos against the dramatic ocean backdrop. Down at the shoreline, there are swimmers, sunbathers or people poking around the tidepools to discover what they can find.

What I’ve never shown you is how the land immediately adjacent to Ocean Trail is used, not far back from the cliffs’ edge.

Yep, oceanfront golf. It took several decades of effort by a couple of developers to get the place approved, engineered and operating. It’s semi-public — available for public use, although it’s privately owned. It ain’t cheap to play there. Golf with ocean views appeals to many devotees of the game. This picture suggests why.

So, I have a question. Is this heaven, hell or something in between? Obviously, part of your answer depends on whether or not you play the game. I gave it up long ago.

I’m happy that the law of the land required that the developer preserve access to the trails, the bluffs and the shore below for the rest of us, as well as the rabbits and hawks. One can take issue with having more than a hundred acres of land in such a spectacular setting devoted to the pursuit of the few who can afford the time and money. The fact is, it’s been private land a long time, originally farmland. The history of California is replete with similar tales of development. The good news is that the trails are still there.

Should one be irritated, or accept it? Either way, it won’t change things.

Your reaction? Are you dying to have me post a link to the course’s website so you can book a tee time? Or do you consider golf — as Mark Twain famously is reported to have said* — “A good walk spoiled?” Leave a comment.

*The attribution of that comment to Twain is disputed. One hopes he said it.

© Brad Nixon 2018