Representative image Photo: Stuart Logan · CC BY-SA 2.0
The Olympic Club (Lake Course)
San Francisco, California, United States
18 Holes · Private club — no published green fee; play is by member invitation · Parkland
— About
About The Olympic Club (Lake Course)
The Olympic Club's Lake Course is a private 18-hole championship course in San Francisco, built on a steep hillside. Willie Watson designed it and Sam Whiting built it. Fairways slope hard and are lined with pines, cypress and cedar, so few lies are level and tee shots must be placed with care. Greens are small, tilt sharply forward and are guarded by deep bunkers.
- The Lake Course has hosted five U.S. Opens: 1955, 1966, 1987, 1998 and 2012, won in turn by Fleck, Casper, Scott Simpson, Janzen and Webb Simpson.
- In 1955 Jack Fleck, an Iowa municipal-course pro, beat Ben Hogan in an 18-hole playoff and denied him a fifth U.S. Open title.
- The club has been awarded the 2028 PGA Championship, its first, and the 2033 Ryder Cup.
- A San Francisco-themed Lombard Putting Course opened beside the Lake Course as part of the Hanse renovation.
History of The Olympic Club (Lake Course)
The San Francisco Olympic Club was founded on May 6, 1860, by 23 charter members. Its first Lake and Ocean courses were laid out by Willie Watson and built under Sam Whiting in 1924. Winter storms in 1925 and 1926 damaged both, and Whiting redesigned them for a 1927 reopening. Gil Hanse completed a year-long restoration in 2023 that enlarged greens by 35 percent, widened fairways by 25 percent and brought back fairway bunkers.
Signature holes at The Olympic Club (Lake Course)
The short par-4 18th finishes below the clubhouse and is widely regarded as one of the great short par 4s in golf, with a narrow, angled green. Hanse's renovation also re-routed the 7th, giving it a green complex closer to the 8th tee.
When to play The Olympic Club (Lake Course)
Olympic is private and has no public season, so the timing of a visit depends on a member's invitation.
Playing The Olympic Club (Lake Course): tips
A round at the Lake Course requires a member's invitation, and the club publishes no green fee. The golf is at the Lakeside clubhouse, while the club's City Clubhouse is downtown on Post Street, so confirm with your host which one you are meeting at. The club also has the Ocean and Cliffs courses on the same site.
Visit The Olympic Club (Lake Course)
599 Skyline Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94132
San Francisco, California, United States
— Facilities
Practical Information
— FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about The Olympic Club (Lake Course)
Can the public play the Olympic Club's Lake Course?
No. The Olympic Club is private, and play requires an invitation from a member. There is no public tee-time booking.
How many golf courses does the Olympic Club have?
Three: the Lake Course, the Ocean Course and the nine-hole Cliffs Course.
When did the Olympic Club first host a U.S. Women's Open?
In 2021, when the U.S. Women's Open was played on the Lake Course for the first time, decades after the club's first men's U.S. Open.