Sold-Out Shandin Hills Fundraiser Raises $50,000 for San Bernardino Golf Course Revival

A sold-out tournament drew 128 golfers to Shandin Hills Golf Club on Saturday, July 25, raising about $50,000 in cash and in-kind contributions for a community-led effort to restore the aging public course.

The inaugural Shandin Hills Revival Classic & Community Picnic featured a shotgun start, golf clinic, awards ceremony, food and community vendors. Organizers said 130 people registered — far more than the roughly 80 they initially expected.

Mayor Pro Tem Kim Knaus said the turnout reflected both the public’s concern about the course and its willingness to help revive it.

“We sold out,” Knaus said. “We had to rent golf carts because there were not enough to accommodate all the golfers.”

The fundraiser was organized through the Shandin Hills Golf Project with support from Knaus, We Are The Change San Bernardino, the Blair Park Neighborhood Association and the Verdemont Revitalization Project. Councilmembers Theodore Sanchez and Fred Shorett also participated in the tournament.

Knaus said the campaign generated about $50,000 within 45 days, including tournament proceeds and a $25,000 in-kind donation from Jason Valenzuela of UCC Fence. Valenzuela, a former Cajon High School golfer, donated labor and materials to replace approximately 600 feet of deteriorated fencing near the course entrance.

“That fence was literally dilapidated and falling down,” Knaus said. “He had his team out here, and within two days, we did the fencing.”

Knaus credited residents, neighborhood organizations and businesses with bringing the fundraiser together so quickly.

“This is a community-led effort,” she said. “It really shows what can be done when we choose to unite. We move mountains.”

A participant practices his swing during a golf workshop offered as part of the Shandin Hills Revival Classic. Photo by Manny Sandoval
San Bernardino Mayor Pro Tem Kim Knaus poses beside the sponsor display during the inaugural Shandin Hills Revival Classic. Photo by Shandin Hills Golf Project
Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement representatives share community resources with a young visitor during the event’s picnic. Photo by Manny Sandoval

The fundraiser followed growing public frustration over the condition of the city-owned course. More than a dozen residents addressed the San Bernardino City Council on June 3, urging officials to give the property greater attention. At the same meeting, the council recognized the Cajon High School boys and girls golf teams and approved repairs to the course’s driving range netting.

Residents noted the contrast between honoring successful student golfers and the deteriorated condition of the neighborhood course where they could otherwise practice.

Knaus said the property needs extensive work, including repairs to its roof and banquet hall, replacement of outdated irrigation and improvements to the exterior. The banquet facility is currently red-tagged and closed, she said, although the golf course remains open daily.

“This golf course needs a lot of work,” Knaus said. “It just needs some TLC`. When you look at the facade, you’ll see the wood rot. We need to give it a little bit of a facelift.”

For Knaus, the course also carries personal significance. She said she took golf lessons there when she was 8 and remembers a busier, greener facility. Unlike nearby private clubs, she said, Shandin Hills became a place where the wider community could play, celebrate milestones and gather.

“This was a golf course where everyone was welcome,” Knaus said.

She said residents have memories connected to the property dating back decades, including weddings, birthday celebrations and childhood golf lessons.

Loida Crestville of the Blair Park Neighborhood Association said the fundraiser gave residents a direct role in protecting an important neighborhood asset.

“We love our golf course,” Crestville said. “We want to keep it. We want to revitalize it and do anything that we can to make that happen for our community.”

Blair Park Neighborhood Association members gather at their booth in support of efforts to preserve and revitalize the public golf course. Photo by Manny Sandoval

Crestville described the course as a neighborhood “gem” valued even by residents who do not play golf. Lilia Garcia, a Blair Park resident and real estate agent with Dynasty Real Estate, said the course influenced her decision to live in the area and remains tied to the neighborhood’s identity and property values.

The community picnic included a food truck from Jovi’s Diner and booths from the VA Loma Linda Healthcare System, Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement and Rep. Pete Aguilar’s office, among others.

Knaus said the golfers represented only part of the turnout, with residents, vendors and community groups contributing to an atmosphere the course had not experienced in years.

“We haven’t seen this much activity on this golf course in years,” Knaus said.

Organizers plan to make the revival classic an annual event. Contributions to the restoration campaign can be made through the Shandin Hills Golf Project website.

Shandin Hills Golf Club is located at 3380 Little Mountain Drive in San Bernardino. The course is open daily from 6 AM to 5:30 PM.