You will find one of the crown jewels of municipal golf in the United States just 20 minutes from San Francisco’s financial district, at the TPC Harding Park Golf Course. The historic venue shares a rich history with it’s neighbor The Olympic Club. Both Harding Park and the famed Lake Course at Olympic Club — which has played host to 5 US Opens — were designed by Sam Whiting, who also served as superintendent of The Olympic Club for a number of years. (Whiting also designed the wonderful Sonoma Golf Club.)
And while it’s not directly golf related, the story of Olympic Club’s legendary “Hot Dog Bills” hamburger on a hot dog bun started with the Olympic Club golfers sending their caddies to Hot Dog Bills (then located near Harding Park) to pick up the delicacies. Hot Dog Bills later moved on site at The Olympic Club, and the readers of Golf Digest recently voted the burger-dog No. 1 in the “Best Club Grub” category.
TPC Harding Park has 27 holes of championship golf – the 18-hole Harding Park Course and the 9-hole Fleming Course. Most out-of-town visitors play the 18-hole course, which should be on any golfer’s San Francisco itinerary. But the Fleming Course is a lot of fun, having also been renovated as part of the 2002-2003 makeover initiated by former USGA president Sandy Tatum.
ACCOLADES:
TPC Harding Park has been honored as “#13 Municipal Golf Course in the United States,” as well as the “#24 Best Course to Play in California,” by Golfweek Magazine. Golf Digest Magazine has also named it in, “Best Places to Play,” ranking it a 4.5 star golf course.
NOTE: This is an informational site about Harding Park and the TPC Harding Park Golf Course in San Francisco. It is not affiliated with the TPC Network, The First Tee, or the City of San Francisco.