Skyline’s golf classes have recently been moved from the San Bruno Golf Center to the Cypress Golf course due to San Bruno Golf Center’s recent entering into a contract with Bay Area Golf Academy.

According to Dan Schoenthaler, general manager at the San Bruno Golf Center, this year- long contract has been in effect at the San Bruno Golf Center since Feb.1, 2006.

The contract essentially states that the Bay Area Golf Academy (BAGA) has exclusive teaching rights at the San Bruno Golf Center, and as a result, some changes in how Skyline College uses San Bruno Golf Center’s facilities had to be made.

In the past, approximately 10 years that Skyline has been using the San Bruno Golf Center, the center would always let Skyline College use their facilities at no cost and would charge half the usual price for range balls. Normally, the San Bruno Golf Center would be able to make some money off of outside instructors such as Jan Fosberg, Skyline’s golf instructor, but the San Bruno Golf Center wasn’t making any money from Skyline College.

“Jan Fosberg got such a good deal on range balls, [BAGA] wanted to make this work by charging a lab fee,” Schoenthaler said.

The proposal from BAGA was a $5.00 fee per student per visit, and the San Bruno Golf Center also wanted to offer some assistance in instructing the classes.

The $5.00 lab fee would cover some of the wear that the field gets from the approximately 60 students Fosberg brings in every week. BAGA wanted to help teach the classes to let their presence be known.

“There’s so many [Skyline] students coming through, we want them to think of us too.” Professional golf instructor at the San Bruno Golf Center, Mark Emmons said.

Jan Fosberg understands where the San Bruno Golf Center is coming from and at the $26.00 price per unit plus range balls, she recognizes how much of a good deal she has to offer compared to the more expensive one on one rates the center offers.

Fosberg still feels however that the amount is too much to ask of her students, who on top of tuition also had to pay for golf balls.

“We really tried to work it out and I understand their point of view,” she said. “We’re offering too good of a product to compete with.”

Skyline golfing student Lynn Kern said she was a little disappointed in the San Bruno Golf Center for charging the extra money.

“I sort of felt they could have let us finish the class,” she said.

Fellow student Lap Cheung feels similarly to Kern, although he feels the quality of the two golfing ranges are similar.

“It’s a pity that they changed the policy like that,” he said.

The management at the San Bruno Golf Center was sad to see her go.

“We wanted this to work,” Schoenthaler said. “Why wouldn’t we want this to work?”

Fosberg however says she is very satisfied with the Cypress Golf Course.

“Cypress has been very cooperative and very supportive,” Fosberg said. “So far they’re not charging us anything.”