After 15 years, the game is over for driving range

From today's Chronicle, "The last ball will fly off the tee Tuesday at San Francisco's only lighted driving range. After that, the Mission Bay Golf Center will once again be what it was 15 years ago -- an empty lot awaiting development."

"The driving range opened in the early 1990s on six formerly junk-strewn acres next to Interstate 280. At the time, the neighborhood was nothing more than a collection of warehouses and railroad tracks. But then came the Giants ballpark and the Mission Bay development, and now the area is hot. So the driving range's landlord, Mission Bay developer ProLogis, has ordered the property cleared to make way for scores of new offices and condos."

"Over the years, some 3 million buckets of balls were chipped, swatted or pounded down the driving range, Scott says. Regulars included several newsies, including TV anchor Pete Wilson, who a few years back made a habit of showing up between his 6 p.m. and late-night broadcasts. [Operator Jack] Scott also ran a free junior golf program for kids in the Western Addition, and provided free sessions for San Francisco's high school golf teams. Nonetheless, everything must go -- from the double-deck tee structure to the poles, nets, pathways, irrigation system, grass and 800 truckloads of dirt."

"And while time is running out for the faithful golfers at Mission Bay, Scott is hoping to drive another long shot -- he's approached the San Francisco Port about moving his driving range to the southern waterfront."