Best golf courses: Around San Francisco

Around San Francisco: the table below provides brief details about the top golf courses in this country or region. Each golf club has been visited and/or researched by Where2Golf. Click on the course name below to discover more. The course ratings below range from 5 highest, to 2 lowest. They attempt to provide an indication of the golfing experience you might expect at the course (based on its design, condition and surroundings). Hover your cursor above the Rating Key for the rating definitions.
4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
(Closed in 2014)
Modesto
Nicklaus & Sarazen

Visitors?

(Closed in 2014)

Nearest city

Modesto

Designer

Co-designed by Jack Nicklaus and Gene Sarazen

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
(Closed in 2015)
Modesto
Harbottle & Kelley

Visitors?

(Closed in 2015)

Nearest city

Modesto

Designer

John Harbottle III and owner George Kelley.

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
(Closed in 2016)
San Francisco
Poellet, J. Michael

Visitors?

(Closed in 2016)

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

J. Michael (Mike) Poellet

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
(Closed in 2018)
San Jose
O'Callaghan & Cadle

Visitors?

(Closed in 2018)

Nearest city

San Jose

Designer

Casey O'Callaghan & Wade Cadle

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
(Closed in 2019)
San Francisco
Raugust, Andy

Visitors?

(Closed in 2019)

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

Andy Raugust

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
(Closed in 2020)
Modesto
Griffiths, Denis

Visitors?

(Closed in 2020)

Nearest city

Modesto

Designer

Denis Griffiths

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
San Francisco
Watson & Whiting

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

Lake course: originally designed by William "Willie" Watson and built by Sam Whiting (1924); subsequently redesigned by Sam Whiting in 1925/6 after severe winter storm damage. Later modifications by Robert Trent Jones (1953) and Bill Love (2016).
Ocean course: originally designed by Willie Watson (1924); substantially remodelled by Sam Whiting (1927); completely redesigned by Tom Weiskopf (2000), and renovated by Bill Love (2012).
Cliffs course: 9-hole par-3 course designed by Tom Weiskopf & Jay Morrish (1994).

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
San Francisco
Macan, Arthur

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

Original layout at this location by Arthur Vernon "Mac" Macan and Willie Locke (1926). Modifications by Dr. Alister MacKenzie (1928), Robert Trent Jones Sr (1965) and Kyle Phillips (2005).

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
San Francisco
Tillinghast, A.W.

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

Albert W. Tillinghast

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
San Francisco
MacKenzie, Dr Alister

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

Dr Alister MacKenzie

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
San Francisco
Nicklaus, Jack

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

Jack Nicklaus

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
Rsrt guests only
San Francisco
Whiting, Sam

Visitors?

Rsrt guests only

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

Sam Whiting

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Rsrt guests only
San Francisco
Bell & Thomas

Visitors?

Rsrt guests only

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

Original design by George C. Thomas Jr and William Park "Billy" Bell (1930). Renovation by John Harbottle (2008).

5-star: Fabulous – courses don’t get much better than this.
Rsrt guests only
San Jose
Jones II, Robert Trent

Visitors?

Rsrt guests only

Nearest city

San Jose

Designer

Robert Trent Jones Jr.

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
San Jose
Nicklaus Design

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Jose

Designer

Original course redesigned by Nicklaus Design Co.

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
San Francisco
Johnstone, Robert

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

Originally designed Robert Wood Johnstone. Redesigned and lengthened by British course architect Herbert Fowler (1921).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
San Francisco
Miller, Johnny

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

Johnny Miller, Robert Muir Graves & Damian Pascuzzo.

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
Visitors welcome
San Francisco
Miller & Pulley

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

Johnny Miller & Jack Barry, with later revision to 18-holes by Algie Pulley.

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
San Francisco
Palmer & Duane

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

Original design by Arnold Palmer & Francis "Frank" Duane (1973); renovation by Arthur Hills (2005).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
San Jose
Couples & Bates

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Jose

Designer

Fred Couples & Gene Bates

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
Visitors welcome
San Francisco
Watson & Whiting

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

William "Willie" Watson & Sam Whiting (1925).

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
Visitors welcome
San Jose
Harbottle III, John

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Jose

Designer

John Harbottle III

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Modesto
Morrish, Carter

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Modesto

Designer

Carter Morrish

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
Visitors welcome
San Francisco
Hills, Arthur

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

Arthur Hills

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
Visitors welcome
San Jose
Jones, Rees

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Jose

Designer

Rees Jones

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
Visitors welcome
San Jose
Norman, Greg

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Jose

Designer

Greg Norman

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
San Francisco
Miller, Johnny

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

Johnny Miller & Fred Bliss

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Sacramento
Jones, RT Sr & RT Jr

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Sacramento

Designer

The last co-design by father/son team of Robert Trent Jones Sr and Robert Jr. With Robert Sr in his 90s at the time, it is assumed Robert Jr did most of the work!

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Sacramento
Foster, Keith

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Sacramento

Designer

Keith Foster

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
San Francisco
Miller, Johnny

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

Johnny Miller, Sandy Tatum, Jim Summers & Fred Bliss

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
San Jose
Miller, Johnny

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Jose

Designer

Johnny Miller, Ron Fream & David Dale

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
San Francisco
Jones II, Robert Trent

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

Original design (1977) and modifications (2008) by Robert Trent Jones Jr.

Unrated: Well regarded course not yet visited by the Where2Golf team.
Visitors welcome
San Jose
Costello, Brian

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Jose

Designer

Brian Costello

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Sacramento
Miller, Johnny

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Sacramento

Designer

Johnny Miller

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Sacramento
Bell, Brad

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Sacramento

Designer

Brad Bell

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
San Jose
Nicklaus, Jack

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Jose

Designer

A Jack Nicklaus Signature Course

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
Visitors welcome
San Francisco
Miller, Johnny

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

Johnny Miller

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
Visitors welcome
San Jose
MacKenzie, Dr Alister

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Jose

Designer

Original design by Dr Alister MacKenzie & Robert Hunter; modifications by Tom Doak (1998-2006).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
San Francisco
Baird, Gary Roger

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

Gary Roger Baird

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
San Francisco
Harmon & Jones Jr

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

Original design by Ben Harmon & John Dawson (1955); modifications by Robert Trent Jones Jr (1966) and Johnny Miller (2011).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
San Francisco
Jones II, Robert Trent

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

San Francisco

Designer

Original design by Robert Trent Jones Jr (1966); modifications by Johnny Miller (2011).

Find a course

Or

Tournaments

124th US Open: the No.2 Course at Pinehurst once again plays host to this most illustrious championship (June 13-16). Wyndham Clark defends his title, having won at Los Angeles CC in 2023.

79th Women’s US Open: the second women’s major championship of the season gets underway at Lancaster CC in Pennsylvania. It’s the second time the championship has been held here.
(May 30-June 2).

Who's Who

Nelly Korda: won the Mizuho Americas Open (May 16-19) at Liberty National GC, continuing her extraordinary form in LPGA events. This was her sixth win in seven starts in 2024.

Xander Schauffele: recorded his first major championship win, and second record-equalling low score of 62 in a major. Only he, Branden Grace, Rickie Fowler and Shane Lowry have achieved this feat in a men’s major championship.

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.

Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.

Prince's Golf Club, Kent (UK)

Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.

Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available

Popular videos

You can subscribe to the Where2Golf channel on YT if you like to see more video content. You'll find a "Subscribe" button on any of our YouTube videos. Or if you want a quick and direct access subscribe here. Once done, any new published videos will show up in your Subscriptions feed.

Whistling Straits (Wisconsin, US)

Hamburger GC - Falkenstein, Germany

Littlestone Golf Club (Kent, UK)