TPC Harding Park
Hole
18

Holes

Print Booklet

Location:
99 Harding Rd,
San Francisco,
CA,
94132,
US
(GPS):
Holes:
18
Established:
1925
Website:
Rates:

$65/$250

Tee Times:
Designers:
Access:
Municipal
Owner:
City of San Francisco
Operater:
PGA Tour Golf Course Properties
Fairway Grass:
Poa annua, bentgrass, ryegrass
Greens Grass:
Bentgrass
Courses Nearby:
Fleming 9 Course
Olympic Club: Lake Course
Olympic Club: Cliffs Course
View Discussion

Harding Park is a popular 18 hole, municipal golf course in San Francisco, California. The course has hosted many tournaments throughout it's history. The back nine wraps around Lake Merced, with views of the Olympic Club across the water. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, players start on the back nine.

Harding Park Golf Course opened 97 years ago on July 18, 1925. It is named after President Warren G. Harding, an avid golfer, who had died in office while visiting San Francisco two years earlier. The course covers 163-acre along the shores of Lake Merced, in the city's southwest corner. Willie Watson and Sam Whiting, who also designed the nearby Olympic Club's Lake Course, drew up a design plan for a course at Harding Park for a price of $300.

The golf course attracted national attention, hosting a number of important tournaments, including The U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in 1937 and again in 1956. In the 1960s, Harding Park became a regular stop for the PGA Tour at the Lucky International Open. The PGA Tour left Harding Park after the San Francisco Open Invitational in 1969, due to deteriorating conditions and antiquated facilities. Course conditions worsened during the 1970s and 1980s, as the city budget cuts wreaked havoc on course maintenance. The low point came in 1998, when Harding was used as a parking lot during the U.S. Open at the nearby Lake Course of the Olympic Club.

Around the turn of the century, Sandy Tatum, a prominent San Francisco attorney, champion golfer, and former United States Golf Association president, led a campaign to restore Harding Park to its former glory. He eventually got approval from former mayor Willie Brown to allow Arnold Palmer Golf Management, a Florida-based company, to renovate and operate the park. In 2001, however, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, namely former District 7 Supervisor Tony Hall, opposed the project based on fear that Arnold Palmer's involvement in the project represented privatization of a municipally-owned golf course. As opposition grew, Arnold Palmer backed out, primarily over concern about revenue estimates. Palmer Golf and the city could not agree on a greens fee schedule. The city's proposed management contract, at the urging of the Harding Park Men's Club, specified a percentage of tee times that would be held for city residents at a greatly reduced rate, albeit an increase over the previous rate.

When all hopes to renovate Harding Park seemed unrealistic and far fetched, Sean Elsbernd, Tony Hall's Chief of Staff helped to revive the project. He was the one who later succeeded Hall. He and Tatum convinced Hall that the renovation could be a significant revenue producer for the city, by attracting the PGA Tour back to town. They thought it would provide the adequate stimulus for the city to move forward. They also addressed funding concerns by tapping grant money from Proposition 12, a measure passed in 2000 to fund parks across California. But advocacy groups such as the Neighborhood Parks Council continued to oppose the project, claiming that renovating the golf course was not a priority for the city, and that those state grants should be used to help improve other recreation facilities across town. Despite opposition, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the resolution to use Prop. 12 money in 2001, citing potential revenue for the city, should Harding become a regular host of professional golf events. Harding Park Golf Course, winter 2006

Renovation finally began in the spring of 2002. The 15-month-long project expanded the course from 6,743 yards (6,166 m) to nearly 7,200 yards (6,580 m) in length, and upgraded the driving range and clubhouse to PGA Tour standards. The course property remained under the ownership of the city and county of San Francisco. The city's parks and recreation department is responsible for course maintenance, which remains an ongoing concern, for everyday players as well as for PGA Tour officials looking to conduct future events at the course.

Before the 2010 deal with the PGA Tour that made Harding Park a member of the TPC network, Kemper Sports operated the course, including the pro shop and tee-time reservations. Following the deal, which lasted through the spring of 2010, the course is now operated by the tour's Golf Course Properties arm for no management fee. Facilities have become world class and include a modern clubhouse and restaurant capable of hosting special events, and a full-sized practice range. The renovation budget also covered the park's picturesque and challenging nine-hole layout, The Fleming 9, named for John Fleming, the long-time San Francisco Parks' superintendent. The fee schedule includes a substantial discount for San Francisco city residents, and a smaller discount for residents of Bay Area counties.

On August 22, 2003, the Harding Park Golf Course was officially reopened. Since the renovation's completion, Harding Park has hosted several men's professional golf tournaments.

Course history via Harding Park on Wikipedia



TPC Network:

Public:

Private:

Hole
Championship
Blue
White
Red
Men's HCP
 
 
 
 
Men's Par
 
 
Ladies' Par
Ladies' HCP
Rating / Slope
Out
Int
In
Total
74.3 / 129
395
449
183
606
429
344
344
230
525
3634
 
562
200
494
428
467
405
336
175
468
3535
7169
72.9 / 126
395
430
165
580
395
335
335
200
495
3435
 
550
185
480
405
440
405
330
175
440
3410
6845
70.5 / 121
375
400
155
540
365
325
325
190
475
3215
 
530
155
450
375
410
375
310
165
420
3190
6405
Men: 68.1 / 116
Ladies: 73.4 / 126
345
360
135
500
335
305
305
170
455
2955
 
500
125
410
365
370
345
280
125
400
2920
5875
 
13
3
9
1
15
5
11
7
17
 
 
4
12
16
14
6
10
8
18
2
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4
4
3
5
4
4
4
3
5
36
 
5
3
5
4
4
4
4
3
4
36
72
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4
4
3
5
4
4
4
3
5
36
 
5
3
5
4
4
4
4
3
5
37
73
 
17
3
15
1
11
9
13
5
7
 
 
2
8
16
6
10
12
14
18
4