We spoke with Devin McDonald, concierge at the famed Fairmont San Francisco, to find out a few of his favorite urban golf experiences in the city. One initial tip: Don’t wait to call your concierge. “Guests will try on their own to make the reservations,” he says, “but it can be quite competitive.”
The host course of the 2020 PGA Championship (main image) is “absolutely my top choice for guests who want to play in San Francisco,” McDonald says. “It’s owned by the city but managed by the PGA Tour and was originally designed by William Watson and Sam Whiting—the same designers who did the Olympic Club.” Harding Park plays through cypress groves along Lake Merced, offering “a beautiful 18 holes and a great experience. The premier public course in San Francisco.”
McDonald can help guests get into this historic private club, which opened in 1922 and was redesigned by Alister MacKenzie in 1928. Gil Hanse led the most recent update to the course, in 2022, which retains its air of exclusivity. “Just about any time I’ve reserved here, the guests come back and say, ‘We were the only ones there!’ It’s a private course, and they keep it very, very private.”
“Even more difficult” to get into than Lake Merced Golf Club, the legendary Olympic Club features two 18-hole courses and a nine-hole executive track, all in a stunning setting between Lake Merced and the Pacific Ocean. “It’s gorgeous, but it can get windy in that part of the city.” No matter the weather, if you have an opportunity to play at the Olympic Club, you take it.
A “very historic” course in “one of the nicest parts of the city,” near the Golden Gate Bridge. “It dates back to 1895 and is one of the oldest courses on the West Coast.” Though it’s “on the shorter side,” at about 6,500 yards from the tips, the setting within a former Army base—now a national park—is “gorgeous, with great views, and the wind doesn’t whip you as much as it does at the Olympic Club or Lake Merced.”
“My ace in the hole” when Harding Park is booked up and guests want more of a championship course experience than the Presidio offers. “It’s about a 35-minute drive from the hotel, across the Bay Bridge into the East Bay. There’s a Greg Norman golf course and a beautiful winery there. Guests love the experience.”
The rapidly expanding experiential golf company opened in Burlingame, just south of the city, in late 2024. “I’ve been to Topgolf in Arizona and Las Vegas, and who would think Topgolf could compete with all the things there are to do in Vegas? It’s a great activity and a huge hit here with the view of the bay in Burlingame. Fun for all ages.”
Best known as the home of the San Francisco Giants, Oracle Park transforms once a year (typically for a few days in the fall) into a one-of-a-kind nine-hole golf course. “Oracle Park is one of the top baseball parks in the country, and to be able to turn it into a golfing event and to tee off facing the bay, it’s a really fun experience. I wish they did it more often!” —B.W.
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