Harding Park Golf Course
I have played Harding Park many times over the past 15 years. Years ago it was a total dog track. It was a great layout and everything it is today, except the city of San Francisco had no money to put towards it. Hence, it was in terrible condition.
But in 1998 the US Open was played at The Olympic Club right across the lake. And during The Open, they used Harding Park as a parking lot for spectators. The USGA rented it out and in return gave a huge chunk of money to the course to renovate it. They also did this with the idea of making it worthy of professional events.
Harding Park Golf Course, Holes 16, 17 and 18
Today it is completely renovated and hosts either a PGA, LPGA or Senior event every year. They rotate between the three. This year in October will be the Presidents Cup with the US team competing against an International team.
Here is the satellite map of Harding Park
If you zoom out the map a few clicks you can see the Olympic Club and the San Francisco Golf Club. Both of which are private and I’ve sadly never played.
If you’re going to play Harding Park here are a few things to consider. First, if you get a cart, its cart path only. This pretty much defeats the purpose of having a cart in my book. Second, they have really narrowed the fairways and started growing up the rough. So although the fairways are wide between the trees, the actual mowed fairways are quite narrow. Third, the course is lined with giant cypress trees. Incidentally cypress trees are my favorite, the look like giant bonzi trees. And finally, tee times are being limited as they get closer to the Presidents Cup.
Harding Park is also a little pricy and tee times can be difficult to get. They offer San Francisco residents a residence card for $45 which you have to buy at city hall. This cuts the rate to about $65 prime time. They have a Bay Area rate of about $95 and finally a out of area rate of around $125. Once you have a residence card you can then use the automated telephone system to get a tee time, but you’ll need to book about two weeks out to secure a decent time.