By SARAH SHMERLING | Managing Editor
One young Palisadian hopes to bring the community together, one swing at a time.
Sam Swartz, 15, has designed and built a two-hole golf course, complete with a sand trap, at his Pacific Palisades home.
Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer
“I have been working on the course for three months,” he explained. “There have been multiple trips to the hardware store and nurseries, and there have been many deliveries by a semi-truck.”
In addition to trips to local stores, in order to make the course a reality, Swartz had to coordinate getting his putting green to the Palisades from Palm Springs.
Swartz has been playing golf since he was 6 years old. He attended the Village School, and will be a freshman at Crossroads this year. He won the Middle School Golf Championship there last season.
He explained that he wanted to share his passion with his neighbors and “beautify the space with a fun course.”
Swartz has garnered ample community support.
“My neighbors are all behind me and my adventure,” he shared.
Some of the challenges Swartz faced while constructing the course include that his measurements needed to be correct and that the maintenance is ongoing.
“I also had to deal with the heat and raccoons … both damaged the course a bit.”
Swartz is planning a grand opening and ribbon-cutting for the course on Sept. 3. The course will be free of charge to play, but Swartz asked that players rake the sand trap and fix their divots.
“I will be giving a chipping lesson to anyone that would like one,” Swartz said. “It is open daily and it can be your first official hole
in one.”
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