SDF and I played Olympic Club this morning on about the best weather you can hope for in San Francisco. We arrived early and took advantage of a nice breakfast then headed off to the range and pract... Continue »

SDF and I played Olympic Club this morning on about the best weather you can hope for in San Francisco. We arrived early and took advantage of a nice breakfast then headed off to the range and practice putting green. The range is on grass, though I will say it was fairly chewed up. seemed like the markers hadn’t been moved in a while. But no big deal. Practice green was super nice. Rolled extremely smooth and taught us to pay attention to the grain. On the practice green, downhill putts were slow and uphill putts were super fast. This helped later on out on the course.

The layout reminded me a lot of Lake Merced. Obviously being in the same general area it’s no surprise that the fairways are lined by the same cypress trees and it’s on a hill. No extreme elevation changes (except a downhill par 3) but enough to keep things interesting.

Overall course conditions were top notch as you would expect from a high end country club of this caliber. Tee boxes were fantastic and easily rated at a 9. . Fairways, were even better and rated a 10. Fairways had perfect lush dark green grass. They offered great roll out and still presented an excellent hitting surface. Only one fairways on the entire course had a couple thin areas. The rest were superb.

Greens were also in great shape. Not quite the over the top easily a perfect 10 like the practice green but definitely good enough to deserve a 10 rating. The rolled very predictable at a fast pace with the grain and a medium-fast pace against the grain. Greens had that perfect balance of size and undulations.

The layout is a parkland style track but you never really get the been there done that feeling. Fairways are modest in width but still have trouble lurking with cypress and pine trees lining all sides. Several of the holes had dog legs to really make shot placement a key for angle into the green with all the trees lining the course.

The entire course is built on hilly terrain (as is all of San Francisco) but the course is definitely walkable
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Bunkers are steep but have a nice amount of fluffy sand. Rough was only about 1.5-2 inches deep but it was thick.

Overall the conditions were top notch and the course was fun to play . My only criticism of the layout is the lack of a water hazard on the course. There are no water features on the course or any forced carries of any kind. Other than that it’s a great track. There are a number of great views of the City (Daly City) and water throughout the course. Great clubhouse and restaurant. Staff is excellent and the pro shop had a great selection of clothes.

Being that it was my turn to treat, it cost me a pretty penny but it was a fun day and enjoyable to experience a great course.