San Francisco treats: the City by the Bay has a history of quality public golf, but lately it has gone from good to great

Golf Digest, June, 2004 by Matthew Rudy

Spend one day in San Francisco and you'll ask yourself two questions: How could any sane person want to live anywhere else, and how can the people who do live here possibly afford it? Even with the soft economy and dot-com bust in nearby Silicon Valley, San Francisco sets the gold standard for real estate, and it's easy to see why. This is one of the world's most beautiful cities, from the sweeping views of the bay and the Marin headlands to the multimillion-dollar mansions balanced precariously on the sloped streets of Pacific Heights.

Everything from the setting to the weather makes you want to spend as much time outside as possible. That's a popular notion. The city is crammed with bike trails, running paths, parks, beach walks and, yes, golf courses to satisfy this thirst for activity.

San Francisco was one of the first cities to build a comprehensive municipal-golf program, beginning in the early 1900s. Thanks to that head start, its courses benefit from remarkable locations--both in terms of convenience and geography. With all of the exciting and varied terrain and views, it isn't any mystery why top designers have been busy here. You can stick your tee firmly into several different eras over a long weekend, from the turn-of-the-previous-century Harding Park and Presidio courses to the remarkable Ocean Course at Half Moon Bay, 20 miles south of town. That is, if you can tear yourself away from the city itself.

TRAVEL ADVISORY

Mark Twain's worn-out quote about his coldest winter being the summer he spent in San Francisco is an exaggeration, but not much of one. Pockets of fog reliably sock in certain neighborhoods every morning, while sun worshippers bake on the beach a mile away. That makes packing for a trip here a challenge in any season. Late summer and early fall are the best times to find relatively consistent weather, but pack a jacket--and sunblock--just in case. Oh, yeah, and don't forget your ATM card. San Francisco is the only city in the U.S. more expensive than New York. A room at the Marriott Fisherman's Wharf can run you up to $369, and an oceanside room at the Ritz-Carlton--a half-hour outside of town--starts at $375. The rock-bottom price for a downtown room at a national chain is $169.

PEBBLE ON A BUDGET

Half Moon Bay G. Links

**** Ocean Cse.

**** Old Cse., Half Moon Bay (650-726-4438, $125-$145). The original Arnold Palmer-designed Links Course (now the Old Course) was always perfectly acceptable--a linksy layout with scrub trees, views and a spectacular 18th hole set on a cliff overlooking the Pacific. But Arthur Hills got an even better piece of land to work with for the companion course. His Ocean Course is just that--waves of rolling terrain on a hillside overlooking the ocean. Holes 16 through 18 are as good as any at Pebble Beach, and not just for their views. Bite off as much of the sea grass (and ocean) on the left as you can to get the right angle into the 387-yard 16th. On the 186-yard 17th, you have plenty of room to miss long and right, but what's the fun in that? Play it along the edge of the cliff and let the ocean breeze take it back to the flag. The 512-yard 18th unspools over the crest of a hill, curves along the edge of the ocean and finishes under the shadow of the massive Ritz-Carlton hotel--the setting for the movie "American Wedding." A few years ago Hills did a creditable redesign of the Old Course, but one can only imagine what a composite course with the waterfront from both might have looked like. Then again, when you can play either course for $90 after 2 p.m., does it really matter?

BEST OF THE REST

**1/2 Harding Park G. Cse., San Francisco (415-661-1865, $33-$88). Don't let the star-rating shown here fool you. Harding Park is a truly memorable playing experience.

The jewel of San Francisco's golf system since it opened in 1925, Harding started to show its age in the 1990s. Mature trees clogged priceless views of Lake Merced and starved the turf of sun, making any wet weekend round a muddy six-hour marathon. After extracting a pledge from the PGA Tour to play a big event there every three years (starting with the Tour Championship in 2006), the city closed Harding in 2002 for a $16 million renovation.

The results are sensational. The regulars who haunted Harding's back room and front tees barely recognized their old place when it opened last August. Once a sedate, 6,700-yard walk, it's now a 7,150-yard, par-70 monster with major-championship ambition and a legitimate challenger to San Francisco Golf Club for the title of best course in the city. The peak green fee has climbed to $88, up from $31, but it's worth every penny.

***1/2 Presidio G. Cse., San Francisco (415-561-4661, $42-$77). Once exclusively used by officers at the Presidio army base, the golf club opened to the public when the base was decommissioned in 1995. Management has been able to increase green fees and get the course in the best shape it has ever been. The downside is that you'll get at least 512 hours to appreciate it. Still, the 140-yard No. 4 ranks with the best in the city, if not the state.