Presidio Golf Course, San Francisco

Revisiting a course I may have judged too harshly.

It’s not the easiest thing to admit, but public golf in the Bay Area has its problems. For one, it’s the Bay Area so nothing is cheap. While there are indeed some decent to good courses you can play for $50 or so, especially with discounted or twilight rates, more often than not you’re paying much more than that for often very average courses

The short par-5 2nd hole has a tough green to get to, and is one of many holes with terrific views on a cloudless day.

Another issue is, of course, how long it can take to get to a course. One of those cheaper options is Blue Rock Springs in Vallejo, which has two 18-hole courses that are really enjoyable. But to drive there can and often does take over an hour from most spots in the Bay Area. Even discounting how the cost of gasoline and various tolls makes that course less affordable than the greens fees suggest, that can mean a round of golf taking you seven hours door to door. That’s just problematic for too many of us.

In San Francisco, there are actually a number of courses. There are municipal courses like Lincoln Park and Golden Gate Park GC (par-3). There are other scruffier courses like Gleneagles, and of course premium courses like TPC Harding Park and Presidio GC. (There’s also, of course, many world class private courses within the boundaries of the city, but that’s a separate conversation.)

The view from the green on the par-5 9th hole. The tee box starts back left out of sight, as you dogleg your way to the green. On the right side is the par-5 10th hole. These two holes are fantastic, back-to-back.

I have plenty of things to say about Harding Park, some of them not so praiseworthy, but instead here I want to discuss Presidio Golf Course. This is a course I’ve long disregarded for a few reasons - it’s not cheap (weekend rates are about $125, which includes a mandatory cart.) Given that it’s in the city, it is often ensconced in fog and chilly conditions, which makes it a much longer course. The tees are only about 6,100 yards but the marshal will tell you they play about 6,500 yards and that’s on a sunny, low wind day. That’s not a crazy distance, but when you add in wet turf and high winds? That starts to get out of my comfort zone.

The holes are great at Presidio GC, but so are the views.

But my prior feelings about how relatively not fun the course is needs to be re-evaluated. I played it last weekend in fairly ideal conditions - it’s finally been a few weeks since it rained (though despite this, there’s still a non-intentional pond on the 12th hole that is so large ducks have taken up residence) so the ground is firm. There were gusts of wind throughout the day but it was much calmer than it can get. And man, the course just shined.

One of the more memorable holes is the par-3 4th, a “simple” wedge that better hit the green, otherwise it’s dead. And like most greens, even hitting it is just Step 1.

One thing that drives me crazy is playing a golf course where too many holes feel the same. (Yes, Harding Park, I’m talking about you.) Even critics of Presidio wouldn’t argue this is the case here. There are short par-4’s uphill, short and long par-3’s, doglegs to the right and left, and accessible par-5’s that even a guy like me can attempt to reach in two. The greens are super tough and the bunkers are ever present, but they’re both in excellent conditions which matters a great deal.

The main critiques I hear aside from the price are about the 17th hole and the way there is long grass around the bunkers, as shown below. This latter criticism is an odd one for me. A hazard is a hazard, and I guess folks would rather be sitting pretty on that little grass island there, but honestly you shouldn’t be there at all.

The 17th hole is an uphill par-4 with a green that hugs the right side of the fairway. The problem is that so do scores of eucalyptus trees with massive branches, which means that unless you are on the left side of the fairway, you don’t really have a strong chance of getting to the green if you can’t shape the ball very well. That’s fine - but it’s hard (and an uphill hole is already adding some difficulty). I managed a reasonably easy bogey and had a makable par putt, so I’m not here to say it’s an impossible hole, just a pretty tough one. That said, if it feels tough to have such a hard hole as the 17th, the 18th is a wonderful par-5 where you can have a go at the green in two. It’s one of the better public finishing holes in the Bay Area.

I played the course in a tournament, and apparently the greenskeeper decided to make it tough on us, with some remarkably hard pin placements. I had four three-putts on the front nine alone. With slightly softer greens and easier pins, I could have posted a decent score and I’m sure that adds to my enjoyment and thoughts on the course.

The facilities themselves at Presidio leave something to be desired - the driving range is pretty laughable, and its existence means that the first hole is a weird dogleg that is one of the worst holes on the property. The putting green seems to be completely packed, and I’d guess many of the folks there aren’t playing golf that day - I’m all for that, but they could expand it a bit and should. The food and beverage is excellent and they were exceptionally accommodating for us.

I know it’s not everyone’s favorite, and for a long time I’ve been in that group - but I’m here to say that Presidio GC deserves the reputation it has as one of the better public golf courses in the Bay Area. Give it a shot.