Kissing Tree’s course is not truly public
Editor,
Regarding your article on local golf by Drew King entitled “Kissing Tree becomes first Texas public golf course to open in 6 years” (Friday, Nov. 16), I wish to take issue with the alleged “public” nature of the Kissing Tree course. Kissing Tree is a privately-funded course, built primarily for the use of the residents of a gated, privately-funded residential community. The fact that it is “available to the public for daily-fee play” does not make it a public course.
A truly public course is completely taxpayer-funded and operated by an appropriate government agency directly accountable to taxpayers and voters. Typically, the physical layout, fee structure, and accessibility of a public course is in keeping with the socioeconomic profile of the general taxpaying population.
The Kissing Tree course is unquestionably a well-designed and managed state-of-the-art motorized-play facility, quite suited to the expectations of serious golfers. However, it does not fill the popular niche of the defunct 9-hole walking course (motorized carts not obligatory as they are at Kissing Tree) at Aquarena Springs where no tee times were required, and the fee schedule ($10 there vs. $40 minimum at Kissing Tree) was reasonable for golfers of low to moderate income levels and with a wide variety of golfing experience and skill levels.
Scott Cook
San Marcos