TPC Harding Park

Harding Park opened in 1925 as a straightforward municipal track named after President Warren G. Harding — useful, affordable, nothing flashy. For decades it was exactly that. Then in 2002, San Francisco native Sandy Tatum, a former USGA president who grew up playing the course, pushed through a multi-million dollar renovation that changed everything. Tatum restored the corridor-style routing Watson and Sam Whiting had originally laid out along Lake Merced, tightened the cypress tree lines, and rebuilt the greens to genuine championship speed. The PGA Tour noticed almost immediately.

What followed was a string of World Golf Championships, two Presidents Cups, and finally the 2020 PGA Championship — making Harding just the fifth municipal course in U.S. history to host a Major. Dustin Johnson won that week by three shots in an eerily quiet, spectator-free event, clinching his first Major on the 18th green in front of empty grandstands. Walk that same 18th fairway on a foggy Tuesday morning and it still carries a certain weight to it.

The course plays differently than it looks on paper. At just over 7,000 yards from the tips it seems manageable, but the marine layer and the afternoon westerly wind off the Pacific add at least one club to almost every approach. The tree-lined fairways leave almost no room to punch out sideways — miss the short grass here and you're chipping out. Greens are firm and quick, and most of them slope toward the lake, which means half the battle is just landing on the right tier. The par-3 17th, a long iron to a narrow, wind-exposed green with a deep bunker complex short, is where rounds unravel. Bring an extra club and take your medicine if the pin is back-left.

Weekend morning tee times go fast — booking a week out is smart, two weeks if you want a specific time. The Toptracer-equipped range is worth getting there early for, and twilight rates after 3pm bring the price down considerably if you can stomach the fog.