San Francisco Golf Club

What a joy to play. This may be the most old school clubhouse and locker room I have been in.

I think the newest picture on the wall was from the 1970s.

These greens were as smooth, true and fast I have ever played in California. They were perfect.

The course in many spots felt like Augusta National with its course-wide vistas, perfect white sand yawning fairway bunkers and wide playing corridors.

I really enjoyed the way Tillinghast routed these first few holes. He got ever ounce of natural contour out of each one of the first 8 holes.

A short history of SFGC
The 1920s were very fruitful for Tillinghast. He built some of the country’s best courses during that stretch: Quaker Ridge, Baltimore Country Club – Five Farms, and Bethpage Black.

Obviously at the end of the 1902s brought the Great Depression and brought golf course construction to a grinding halt for the most part.

At that point Tillinghast moved west to California. Once in California he start a partnership with Billy Bell. With Bell he worked on San Francisco Golf Club.

The front gate that allegedly closes at 7PM come hell or high water!

Orginal Routing by Tillinghast (restored recently by Tom Doak)

Panorama
Looking back toward the club house
*note clubhouse minus any shrubbery, can’t be bothered with trimming hedges!

Hole #3
Play back out of that same valley with a risk reward internal bunker challenging the golfers tee shot. The fairway sits up on a natural plateau which frames the hole very nicely.

Hole #7
Obviously the most famous hole on the course.

The club just renovated the right bunker so it would wrap around the entire right front of the green.

Hole #8
Similar to # 2 where the player has a great framed tee shot to a very up hill green

Hole #11
Great par 3 with a green almost completely surrounded by deep yawning bunkers.]

Hole #12

Hole #12
Look how cool this bunkering looks.
Reminds me of #13 at Cypress Point where the bunkers run up on to the framing hillside

Hole #13
World class par 3.

One of the best bunkered holes I have ever played.

Green slopes front to back with gaping bunkers all around.

Hole #14
A complete addition to the back side of the green. There is a weird fairway bunker about 75 yards from the green I would love to know why either Tillinghast or Doak put it there.

Hole #7
Back to the most famous hole.

Very good two tiered green set in a natural valley.

SFGC is a course I could play everyday and never get tired of…great tee ball strategy with fantastic fairway bunkering and greens just slick enough to make you think over every chip and putt. Walking and 3.5 hour rounds.

Very much like Wild Horse and Baltimore Country Club….understated, challenging, yet fun and simply a joy to play.

Why can’t all courses hit this perfect mix?