Presidio Golf Course
300 Finley Road
San Francisco, CA 94129
415.561.4661
Located within a national park, San Francisco’s Presidio Golf Course is renowned for its spectacular forest setting, as well as its challenging play. Once restricted to military officers and private club members, today the 18-hole course is open to the public. Presidio G.C. offers a full service restaurant, a driving range and practice facility, and an award winning golf shop that offers the latest in golf equipment and apparel. Presidio Golf Course is a contributing feature of the Presidio’s National Historic Landmark status. It is also notable for its environmentally sensitive management practices.
One of the oldest courses on the West coast, the Presidio Golf Course has a storied history. It was built in 1895 when Colonel William M. Graham, the Presidio’s commander at the time, allowed a group of businessmen known as the San Francisco Golf and Country Club to create a nine-hole course within the post. Greens fees were just 50 cents. The Presidio’s signature trees were at first absent, since the huge stands of eucalyptus and Monterey pine had not fully grown in.
Presidio Golf Course is built on a variety of terrains. Holes are constructed over a base of adobe clay, rock, sand, or a combination of all three. The early Presidio Golf Course was short, but challenging. Players were often shocked by the level of difficulty and natural obstacles. Lawson Little, stamped by Golf Magazine as the greatest match player in the game’s history, said, “I have played the best courses here and abroad, but none more enjoyable than my home course of Presidio. I learned how to strike the ball from every conceivable lie. Presidio demands accuracy, but being a long hitter, I also had to learn how to hook or fade around trees. I had the reputation of being a strong heavy-weather golfer; well, Presidio has powerful wind, rain, fog, sudden gusts, and sometimes all four on any given round.”