The History of Golf in the Bay Area — From 1893 to Today

Golf arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 1890s — before the 1906 earthquake, before the Golden Gate Bridge, before California had paved highways. In the 130-plus years since, the region has produced the oldest continuously operating course in the American West, three designs by the architect of Augusta National, five U.S. Opens at one club alone, and a municipal course that hosted a PGA Championship. This is the story of how the Bay Area became one of the great golf regions in America — and where you can still play the history yourself.

The Pioneer Era: 1893–1900

The Bay Area’s first golfers were a mix of Scottish immigrants, railroad money, and society families copying the East Coast’s new obsession. Burlingame Country Club, founded in 1893 on the Peninsula, stands as the region’s oldest country club — golf was played there within a few years of the first American clubs anywhere.

In 1895, two institutions arrived that still shape Bay Area golf today. The San Francisco Golf Club was established as one of the city’s earliest private clubs, and U.S. Army officers laid out the first crude holes at the Presidio — a military course that would evolve, over a century, into one of the most historic public courses in America, now inside a national park.

Then came the big one. In 1897, the Hotel Del Monte in Monterey opened a resort course for its guests: Del Monte Golf Course. It has operated continuously ever since — making it the oldest golf course in continuous operation west of the Mississippi River. It’s not a museum piece, either: it remains a walkable, affordable public round and still hosts competitive events today. The Northern California Golf Association, founded in 1901, grew up alongside it.

Golf for Everyone: The Municipal Boom, 1902–1937

What makes Bay Area golf history different from, say, Long Island’s is how early the region committed to public golf. In 1902, San Francisco laid out holes atop the cliffs at Lands End — the beginnings of Lincoln Park Golf Course, which grew into the beloved 18-holer where golfers still play past Golden Gate Bridge views for municipal green fees. Across the bay, Claremont Country Club opened in the Oakland hills in 1903, bringing club golf to the East Bay.

The masterstroke came in 1925. San Francisco spent roughly $300,000 — a fortune at the time — to build Harding Park on a cypress-lined peninsula jutting into Lake Merced, designed by Willie Watson and Sam Whiting, the same duo behind the neighboring Olympic Club. The bet paid off for a century: Harding Park hosted its first significant professional events within years of opening, survived a stretch of neglect (it was famously used as a parking lot during the 1998 U.S. Open next door), was restored in 2002–03, and went on to host the 2009 Presidents Cup and the 2020 PGA Championship. It celebrated its 100th birthday in 2025 as one of only a handful of municipal courses ever to host a major.

The Depression didn’t stop the building. Sharp Park opened in Pacifica in 1932 — more on its famous architect below — and in 1937 the East Bay got Tilden Park, carved into the Berkeley hills with New Deal-era labor. That’s four historic municipal courses from this era you can still play for modest green fees today.

1919: Pebble Beach Changes Everything

In 1919, developer Samuel Morse opened a course on the Monterey coastline designed not by a famous architect but by two California amateur champions, Jack Neville and Douglas Grant. Their idea was simple: put as many holes as possible on the water. Pebble Beach Golf Links became arguably the most famous public-access course on earth.

Pebble has since hosted six U.S. Opens — 1972 (Jack Nicklaus), 1982 (Tom Watson’s chip-in), 1992 (Tom Kite), 2000 (Tiger Woods by a record 15 shots), 2010 (Graeme McDowell) and 2019 (Gary Woodland) — with a seventh coming in 2027. The annual AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, descended from Bing Crosby’s “Clambake,” has run on the Monterey Peninsula since the 1940s. And unlike nearly every other venue with this résumé, any golfer willing to book (and budget) can play it.

The MacKenzie Years: 1927–1934

No architect looms larger in Bay Area golf history than Dr. Alister MacKenzie — the Scottish-born designer who would go on to create Augusta National and Cypress Point. MacKenzie didn’t just pass through the Bay Area. He moved here, worked here, and died here. He left three courses you can trace his evolution through:

It’s worth pausing on how unusual this is: the architect of Augusta National spent his final years living beside a Santa Cruz fairway, and two of his Bay Area courses — Pasatiempo and Sharp Park — still welcome public play.

The Olympic Club and the Age of Upsets

San Francisco’s Olympic Club — the country’s oldest athletic club — built its Lakeside golf home in the 1920s, with Sam Whiting shaping the fog-shrouded, cypress-choked Lake Course into one of the most demanding parkland tests in championship golf. Beginning in 1955, it hosted five U.S. Opens — and earned a reputation as the “graveyard of champions”:

1955: Unknown club pro Jack Fleck beat the great Ben Hogan in an 18-hole playoff, one of the biggest upsets in golf history. 1966: Billy Casper erased Arnold Palmer’s seven-shot back-nine lead and won the playoff. 1987: Scott Simpson held off Tom Watson. 1998: Lee Janzen ran down Payne Stewart. 2012: Webb Simpson overtook Jim Furyk. Five Opens, five favorites denied. The club remains private, but its championship shadow hangs over all of San Francisco golf.

Homegrown Champions

The Bay Area’s public courses did more than host history — they produced it:

Ken Venturi grew up playing Harding Park, where his father ran the pro shop, and won the 1964 U.S. Open in brutal heat at Congressional. Tony “Champagne Tony” Lema came out of the San Leandro munis and caddie yards to win the 1964 Open Championship at St Andrews; after his death in a 1966 plane crash, the championship course at Monarch Bay was named in his honor. Johnny Miller, a San Francisco native, shot his legendary 63 to win the 1973 U.S. Open, added the 1976 Open Championship, and later designed courses across the region — including Eagle Vines in Napa. George Archer, another San Franciscan, won the 1969 Masters. And Juli Inkster, who grew up on Pasatiempo in Santa Cruz, won seven majors and a place in the World Golf Hall of Fame. Tiger Woods, meanwhile, sharpened his college game at the Stanford Golf Course (opened 1930) before turning professional.

The Modern Era: Restoration and Rebirth

The last 25 years of Bay Area golf history have been defined by restoration. Harding Park’s 2002–03 revival — championed by former USGA president Sandy Tatum — returned it to championship condition and brought Tiger Woods’ 2005 WGC playoff win over John Daly, the 2009 Presidents Cup, and Collin Morikawa’s breakthrough at the 2020 PGA Championship (see our full Harding Park tournament history).

The renewal keeps coming: Corica Park’s South Course in Alameda was rebuilt by Rees Jones’ team in 2018 into the East Bay’s best-value modern design. Poppy Ridge in Livermore reopened in 2025 after a full redesign (our review here). Pasatiempo completed a faithful MacKenzie restoration. Even loss has brought rebirth — Boulder Creek in the Santa Cruz Mountains returned as a 9-hole layout after the 2020 CZU fire. And the championships keep coming back: the 2027 U.S. Open returns to Pebble Beach, and the PGA TOUR Champions arrive at Silverado in Napa in 2027.

Today the Bay Area is home to 88 golf courses — public, municipal, resort and private — spread from Napa’s wine country to the Monterey Peninsula. Few places in America let you play this much history: an 1897 resort course, a 1902 clifftop muni, MacKenzie’s seaside municipal, and the site of a modern PGA Championship, all within a 90-minute drive.