Mountain View is getting ready to pull the plug on the Twilight membership at Shoreline Golf Links on July 1, cutting off a low-cost plan that let players lock in weekend tee times until dusk. The move has longtime regulars crying foul, saying the Twilight deal is one of the few truly affordable ways to play and a weekend social scene they are not eager to give up.
On Shoreline's posted membership schedule, the Twilight plan currently runs $124 per month for Mountain View residents and $135 for non-residents, alongside Gold, Silver and Senior tiers. According to Shoreline Golf Links, Twilight members get advance booking privileges and discounted rates compared with non-members. The course is operated by KemperSports, which lists Shoreline among its managed properties, according to KemperSports.
City staff told members that the Twilight program will be phased out on July 1, that the Gold tier will be removed, and that Senior and Silver memberships will be limited to weekdays, according to Mountain View Voice. Hormazd Romer, a Sunnyvale member who said he was blocked from renewing, told the Voice, "It was very sudden and out of the blue." Members argue the changes were rolled out with little warning and say the shift will leave many of them priced out of weekend play or shut out entirely.
City fund and budget background
Shoreline Golf Links operates inside the city's Shoreline Regional Park Community fund, a dedicated pot of money the city uses to run the park and build up reserves for the area and the course. City financial reports and fee schedules spell out those reserve policies and show the Shoreline fund has been tapped in past budgets to cover operations and support park maintenance, according to the City of Mountain View.
Projected revenue and membership math
City projections cited by the Mountain View Voice put Shoreline's operating costs at about $3.07 million this year, rising to roughly $3.44 million next year. Current-year revenue is estimated at about $3.44 million, and the city expects membership and fee changes to push that figure to around $3.83 million. That would leave more than $350,000 in excess, which staff plan to use to transfer $150,000 annually to the general fund and seed a financial reserve. Twilight membership fees brought in about $139,404 last fiscal year, and the city says ending that program could bring in roughly $309,988 by selling those weekend tee times at market rates.
Players say this is more than golf
For Twilight members, the program is not just a bargain; it is a lifeline to a standing weekend community. Players told reporters the membership regularly pulled together retirees, evening-shift workers, Special Olympics athletes and families who depend on flexible weekend tee times. They worry that losing those hours will scatter a group that has been built up over years and will be tough to reassemble anywhere else.
What comes next
The city says it will publish the new fee schedule in early June and put the changes into effect on July 1. If those rates stick, golfers and residents alike will be watching to see whether the projected revenue bump actually shows up and whether Mountain View keeps its reputation for offering an affordable municipal course in the heart of the South Bay, or whether that era quietly slips past sunset too.
