Golfing was passed down from father to son in San Luis Obispo retiree Jeff Spevack’s life. He played with his father, and ultimately taught his son the game at SLO’s Laguna Lake Municipal Golf Course.
Spevack now plays friendly games for a small trophy called the Laguna Cup every Tuesday with a group of avid golfers who call themselves “the Lagunatics.”
“This is a municipal golf course,” he said. “It means community golf course. I think that’s the key issue. I think a lot of people think of golfers as rich white men that play at country clubs, and we’re not.”
The Lagunatics worried about the future of the 26-acre, 10-hole golf course because of a Feb. 3 SLO City Council study session.
Golf course expenses outpaced revenue in fiscal year 2024-25, according to the city Parks and Recreation Department. It cost a little more than $700,000 to operate but raked in roughly $375,000.
THE REGULAR SLO retiree Mike Suddarth plays for the Laguna Cup at his weekly meetup at the Laguna Lake Municipal Golf Course.
Credit: PHOTO BY BULBUL RAJAGOPAL
City staff floated ideas of installing a disc-golf course, a mini golf course, a small lighted sports field, and even housing.
“I’m all for affordable housing, but I don’t want them to take our golf course down to do it,” Spevack said. “There’s an existing, beautiful city golf course here that works really well.”
Two things Spevack and his fellow golfers want changed are the floodwater-damaged concession store and pedestrian bridge.
Before storms took out the bridge, golfers and their carts could simply use the bridge over Prefumo Creek to get to the next hole. Now, they must go around the creek to get to the other side of the course.
The concession store, which golfers call the clubhouse, has been closed since December 2021 due to flooding. Achievement House used to serve food and beverages there but moved on for other opportunities. Hot dog food truck Zen Dog then served food after the closure of the clubhouse but left in 2024.
Lagunatics member Mike Suddarth told New Times that the city wasn’t fixing the clubhouse despite golfers asking them to.
“Our group could have spent money there but instead we go to Nautical Bean across the street after,” he said.
Suddarth and Spevack weren’t alone in wanting to retain and even improve the golf course. At the City Council meeting, Mayor Erica Stewart said officials received around 200 letters from residents.
“Without the Laguna Lake Golf Course, many San Luis Obispo residents, both children and adults, will lose out on a recreation activity, and an opportunity to exercise and socialize outdoors, as Laguna Lake is the only public golf course in town,” resident Amanda Quinney wrote.
During the public comment period, the Lagunatics—some of whom are members of a vocal troupe called the Bald Spots—sang to the City Council to save the golf course.
“Down at Laguna, where all folks can play,” the group sang to the tune of the Drifters’ “Under the Boardwalk” while wearing matching yellow shirts. “It’s such an asset to our city, gotta help it stay.”
After the study session, City Council members directed staff to improve the clubhouse and the bridge.
City staff said that the bridge repair project, planned for this year, is approved and funded at $60,000. The clubhouse repair project has a budget of $250,000 but depends on the insurance claim and pending final interior redesign.
The City Council also asked the Parks and Rec Department to continue keeping the golf course accessible for the community.
Parks and Rec Director Greg Avakian told New Times that staff will try to get more community feedback to study current and future golf programs and expand activities.
“The support from our community and the city leadership shows the overwhelming commitment towards providing accessible opportunities to participate in a variety of recreational activities, including honoring the long history of the unique Laguna Lake Municipal Golf Course here in San Luis Obispo,” Avakian said. ∆
This article appears in Feb 5-12, 2026.
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