Goat Hill Park, the scrappy par-3 municipal course wedged between Interstate 5 and Oceanside Boulevard, is trading its usual laid-back weekend crowd for a $125,000 golf tournament featuring professionals and amateurs this weekend. The Grass League's Summer Grind returns to Oceanside for the second straight year, bringing 11 team franchises, live Golf Channel coverage, and a Saturday night contest with a $100,000 hole-in-one jackpot to a course locals still call the People's Park.
A Muni Course Built for Spectacle
Competition runs Saturday from 2:00-3:00 p.m. PT and Sunday from 3:30-6:30 p.m. PT, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune, with 11 franchises fielding five two-player teams apiece for a field of 110 golfers competing in a 36-hole aggregate scramble format, per Grass League. Friday's action opens with a practice round and a $10,000 winner-take-all 18-hole shootout showcase, according to MyGolfSpy. Saturday night shifts to the 18th hole for the Ace Race, where a hole-in-one pays out $100,000 and closest-to-the-pin carries a $40,000 prize, the outlet reports.
The tournament's final round airs live on Golf Channel Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET, following YouTube streams of Saturday's opening round and the evening Ace Race, according to Golf Channel. That broadcast reach lands on a course that spans just 4,454 yards over a par-65, 18-hole layout carved into 75 acres of coastal terrain with severe elevation changes and Pacific Ocean views, per Golf Digest. The 18th green sits at the bottom of a grass bowl, according to Tixr.
From Redevelopment Threat to People's Park
Goat Hill Park opened in 1952, per the Union-Tribune, but the course was nearly closed for redevelopment before residents rallied to save it. Apparel designer John Ashworth led the campaign to save the course, and community response afterward gave Goat Hill Park its lasting nickname, the People's Park, the Union-Tribune reports. In 2014, Ashworth's group received the lease for the neglected municipal course, according to KPBS.
The Oceanside City Council followed in October 2016 with a 30-year lease extension for Goat Hill Partners LLC, crediting more than $3.6 million in course renovations made by Ashworth and his partners, according to The Coast News Group. Those upgrades included a reclaimed water irrigation system, part of the investment that turned a neglected muni into a course capable of hosting a national tour stop.
Local Ties on the Leaderboard
Several players in the field have direct ties to San Diego. Colin Featherstone, an Oceanside resident and University of San Diego alumnus who also played on the Korn Ferry Tour after attending San Diego State, represents the New York Blue Birds franchise alongside Alex Chiarella, a fellow USD alumnus and Goat Hill member, the Union-Tribune reports. Featherstone told the paper that Goat Hill welcomes golfers of all experience levels, a sentiment that captures the course's working-class identity even as it hosts a six-figure purse.
Ricky Romano, a Murrieta native who caddies for Rickie Fowler, represents the San Diego Munis franchise, according to the Union-Tribune. Also in the field is Ryan Ruffels, a content creator and co-host of the LADS YouTube channel who made his professional debut at Torrey Pines in 2016. The event's projected reach extends well beyond the gallery at Goat Hill: creators and social media influencers competing this year carry a combined digital audience exceeding 30 million followers, according to The Vista Press.
A League Born on Lighted Fairways
The Grass League was founded in 2023 by brothers Jake and Jimmy Hoselton, who live in the Phoenix area, per the Union-Tribune. The league's format, which uses shorter par-3 courses to create a festive atmosphere, drew inspiration from TPC Scottsdale, the paper reports. Its flagship home venue is Grass Clippings Rolling Hills in Tempe, Arizona, which reopened in 2023 as Arizona's first fully illuminated 18-hole golf course, according to Grass League.
Michael Prindiville, president of Grass League, said Goat Hill aligns with the league's positioning, per the Union-Tribune. The Summer Grind brings golf influencers to North County for a second consecutive year, and the league describes itself as a high-stakes par-3 league featuring both amateurs and professionals. Last year's inaugural Summer Grind at Goat Hill Park was won by the Michigan Auto Aces, who finished six strokes ahead of the field with a cumulative franchise total of 64 under par, according to Grass League's event page.
