Not that easy fielding green

Greens - or greenways?

A spectacular vision for a botanical garden in the center of Charlottesville is being promoted by a local group. The proposed 40 acres of trees, flowers, shrubs and pathways would attract tourists and rival the famed Lewis Ginter gardens in Richmond, supporters say.

There’s just one problem: The gardens would replace the remainder of a nine-hole golf course at McIntire Park.

At least two holes of the course already have been sacrificed to other plans.

The Meadowcreek Parkway will slice through part of the park (and will provide easy tourist access to the gardens, by the way, if they are built).

City Council also has agreed to turn over parkland for construction of the new YMCA athletics center.

Loss of that land will deal a blow to the existing golf course. Can the course be reconfigured on the remaining land? Should it?

The value of the McIntire course is that it is a course for Everyman. No fancy greens fees here - players pay just $2. That makes it accessible to virtually everyone.

In a sport that has a reputation for elitism, deserved or not, and a city that sometimes suffers from the same, the egalitarian nature of the McIntire golf course is no small matter.

Garden backers point out, though, that gardens are even more accessible and egalitarian. More residents are likely to enjoy strolling trails through beautiful landscapes than are interested in playing golf.

Still, Charlottesville should make an effort to replace the golf course. The Charlottesville area is known as one of the country’s top golfing areas - and although tourists don’t come to play at McIntire, McIntire has nurtured golfers who go on to play bigger courses and has contributed to the area’s golfing reputation.

Did we say there was just one problem with all these plans?

Make that two.

Money may prove an obstacle - especially if the city wants to replace the golf course and build a stunning new garden.

Backers estimate it would cost $12 to $15 million just to build the infrastructure for the garden. By the time plants are added, the cost could be more than $50 million.

But the garden proponents envision this money coming from private donations. The city would lease the land for the garden, but not provide any funding.

Build-out could stretch over decades - not surprising to anyone who realizes how long it takes to really get a garden established.

These are indeed ambitious plans, for a spectacular vision.

But it’s one well worth pursuing - especially if Charlottesville goes for the win-win solution: relocating the golf course and creating the garden.