Harding Park Golf Club

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Club Information
Harding Park Golf Club

Location:	San Francisco, California, United States
Established:	1925
Type:	public
Operated by:	KemperSports Management, Inc.
Total holes:	18 holes
Tournaments hosted:	American Express Golf Championship
Website:	Harding home page
Designed by:	Sam Whiting Willie Watson
Par:	70
Length:	7,086 yards

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The Harding Park Golf Club (commonly known as Harding Park) is a municipal golf course owned by the city and county of San Francisco.^[1] It sits in the southwest corner of San Francisco, California - west of San Francisco State University and surrounded by Lake Merced on the other three side. The entrance is at Harding Road, which connects to Skyline Boulevard on the east.

The golf course is located at:

99 Harding Road

San Francisco, CA 94132

+1 (415) 664-4690

[edit] History

The Harding Park was opened on July 18, 1925 ^[2], named after US President Warren G. Harding, an avid golfer, who died while visiting San Francisco two years earlier. This 163 acre course was designed by Willie Watson and Sam Whiting, who own the nearby golf course Olympic Club, for a price of $300.

Harding Park

The golf course quickly attracted national attention when the park hosted a number of golfing tournaments. The prestigious U.S. Public Links Championship was held at Harding in 1937 and again in 1956. In the 1960s, Harding became a regular stop for tours and produced many big-time golfers like native Ken Venturi, Gary Player, and Billy Casper. But by the end of the decade, after the San Francisco Open in 1969, we saw the downturn of the park as the PGA Tour left Harding due to deteriorating condition and antiquated facilities. The condition only worsened during 1970s and 1980s as the city cut down budget for upkeep and maintenance. The low point came in 1998 when Harding was used as a parking lot during the US Open in the nearby Olympic Club.

Finally, a turning point for the park, when Sandy Tatum, a long time San Francisco lawyer and a golfer, led the crusade to restore glory to Harding. He eventually got the approval from former mayor Willie Brown to allow Arnold Palmer Golf Management, a Florida company, to renovate and operate the park. In 2001, however, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, namely former District 7 Supervisor Tony Hall, opposed the project sharing fear that Arnold Palmer's involvement in the project represents privatization to municipal golf course. As opposition outgrew, Arnold Palmer backed out from the project due to financial problems.

When the hope to renovate Harding seemed unrealistic, Sean Elsbernd, Hall's staff who later succeed Hall, helped to revive the project. He and Tatum convinced Hall that the renovation can possibly bring in big money golfing tournaments like PGA Tour back to town. They also addressed funding concerns since the state granted money from Proposition 12, a measure passed in 2000 to fund parks across California, can help fund the project. But advocacy groups like the Neighborhood Parks Council continued to oppose the project, claiming that renovating golf course is not a priority for the city and that those state grants can help improve other recreation facilities across town. Nevertheless, because of possible revenue for the city if golf tournaments come to San Francisco, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed the resolution to use Prop. 12 money unanimously in 2001.

Renovation finally began in the spring of 2002. This 15 month long project would expand the course from 6,743 to 7,200 yards and upgrade driving range and clubhouse to PGA standard.^[3] On August 22, 2003, the Harding Park was officially reopened. ^[4] On October 6, 2005, Harding hosted the American Express Golf Championship, its first PGA Tour since 1969, drawing top golfers like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson from around the world. ^[5] For the next 15 years, five more PGA tournaments are expected to host in Harding according to the agreement between the city and the tour.