On July 18, 2025, the famed TPC Harding Park will be celebrating its 100th birthday. This facility has a long and storied history in the game of golf including being the first course in the PGA TOUR’s TPC Network to host a major championship.
This gorgeous layout embodies so much of what is right with the great municipal golf courses around the country as the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department helps to ensure that this world-class venue remains accessible to San Franciscans through policies such as significantly discounted resident rates and inclusive public programming.
Named after former U.S. President, and diehard golfer, Warren Harding, Harding Park Golf Course opened on July 18, 1925, along the shores of Lake Merced, Calif., in San Francisco’s southwest corner.
The only city-owned public course in the PGA TOUR’s TPC Network, TPC Harding Park features 27 holes of championship golf that have hosted marquee events including the 2020 PGA Championship won by Collin Morikawa, as well as the 2009 Presidents Cup when the United States Team beat the International Team, 19.5 to 14.5.
The course is a wonderful test of golf, and finding the short grass off the tee becomes very evident when you begin your round here as the rough is extremely thick and penal. Accuracy from tee to green is an absolute must if you plan on going low.
With a collection of holes that play along Lake Merced just a stone’s throw away from the famed Olympic Club, this course provides a beautiful test of golf for all to enjoy. We’ve taken the pleasure of droning the whole course for you here (see above!) so you can see the beauty of this design for yourself.
A who’s-who of champions
Through decades of memorable moments, Harding Park has crowned some of golf’s greatest champions, including legends like Billy Casper, Byron Nelson, Gary Player, Rory McIlroy, and Tiger Woods.
“Celebrating 100 years of Harding Park is a remarkable milestone and a testament to the rich history, enduring traditions and resilience of this course and surrounding community,” said Tom Smith, TPC Harding Park General Manager. “Through every chapter, TPC Harding Park has remained a special place for golfers of all generations, and we’re honored to carry that legacy forward into the next century.”
William Watson and Sam Whiting were the designers of the original 18-hole, 163-acre course. Harding Park began hosting major amateur tournaments soon after they opened their doors with events such as the 1937 and 1956 U.S. Public Links Championships, as well as the San Francisco City Championship beginning in 1925, one of the oldest consecutively played golf competitions in the world.
Harding Park began hosting PGA TOUR events in 1944 starting with The San Francisco Open, establishing its position as one of the top golf courses on the West Coast. The course became a regular stop on the PGA TOUR, hosting the Lucky International Open in the 1960s that saw players like Billy Casper, Gary Player, Gene Littler, and Chi-Chi Rodriguez be crowned as winners of the event.
TPC Harding Park
A rebirth for Harding Park
The course fell on some tough times around the turn of the century, and at one point things were so bleak that they temporarily repurposed the land to serve as a parking lot during the 1998 U.S. Open at The Olympic Club.
In 2002, a comprehensive renovation began to restore the course to its past glory.
Sandy Tatum, former USGA president and California native, was instrumental in the revitalization of Harding Park. Tatum’s vision helped secure the political and financial backing needed to restore the municipal course, and the effort was made possible through a public-private partnership between the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, the PGA TOUR, and local civic leaders.
The project preserved the character and integrity of the original layout while incorporating modern design elements and infrastructure to accommodate the skills of today’s golfers.
“Looking back, I’m so glad Sandy Tatum convinced me to get the TOUR involved. To see a historic course reclaim its former glory and become part of the TPC Network was such a satisfying result,” said former PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. “Then to bring world-class tournaments to TPC Harding Park, allowing Bay Area golf fans the opportunity to see the game’s best players on a legendary venue, just reinforced Sandy’s commitment and his vision of what the course could be.”
Since the renovation, the course has returned to prominence as a premier championship venue, hosting several PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions events such as the World Golf Championships-American Express Championship, the Presidents Cup, the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, and the WGC-Cadillac Match Play.
TPC Harding Park joined the TPC Network in 2010, becoming the only municipal course in the network. This resurgence culminated in the 2020 PGA Championship which made TPC Harding Park only the fifth municipal course to ever host a major in more than 120 years of American championship golf, joining the likes of other municipal icons such as Bethpage Black and the Torrey Pines South Course.
The facility also includes the Fleming 9, a scenic nine-hole layout named in honor of former city golf caretaker Jack Fleming. Added in 1961, the course runs along the interior of the Harding Park course and serves as the home of First Tee – San Francisco.
“With its serene landscape and sweeping views of Lake Merced, TPC Harding Park has long stood as one of San Francisco’s most treasured golf courses — a place where seniors, youth and neighborhood players share the fairways with the legends of the game,” said Phil Ginsburg, San Francisco Rec and Park general manager. “What makes Harding Park truly special is its ability to balance world-class quality with public accessibility, offering an exceptional experience.