Heading to San Fran in March

BrooklynGolfer · February 23, 2012

Where to play (Is Harding Park worth it?)

Hey guys, I'm heading to the left coast in the 2nd week of march. I'm staying in San Fran and do not have access to a car, but I'm bringing my clubs.
As I don't have a car, I have a choice of Sharp, Harding or Lincoln Parks (possibly others?)
I know Harding is the best, but is it worth $170? I could play 3 rounds at Lincoln Park for the same price.
How hard to they check the San Fran ID cards at Harding? I'm staying with a San Fran Resident who doesn't play golf, but could use his card?
If anyone's around on March 9th (Friday) I'll be trying to play all day!
Thanks in advance!

scotchblade · February 25, 2012

I personally don't think it's worth $170. Fantastic deal for city residents. But if your friend doesn't play golf, then I doubt he has the required card. They are on to all the tricks in the pro shop, best to drop the idea. Lincoln is scenic, but run down. The locals don't call it Stinkin' Lincoln for nothing. Presidio is another option.

Namanny · February 25, 2012

In the same boat but I'll be there the end of March. Would like help choosing best course for the money in the bay area.

ryancjordan · February 27, 2012

Yeah I play harding about once a month for 61 because I'm a SF resident, but there is no way I would pay 170 for it. For that price you could play Peacock Gap and one of the Half Moon Bay Courses (if you get deals online) for the same price or both HMB courses for slightly more, which would be one of the best days of your life. Harding is nice, but I only play it as much as I do because it is cheap for locals.

mctrees02 · February 27, 2012

Either play Presidio or head out to Half Moon Baty and grab a discounted rate on GolfNow.

ronsully · February 27, 2012

I visited this past summer and played both half moon bay courses. Very very nice courses at a decent rate (golf now prices).

BrooklynGolfer · March 7, 2012

Awesome advice guys. I would have wasted $170 at Harding Park. I'm going to rent a car for the day (or steal my host's car!) and take a drive down to Half Moon Bay. I'm going to play both courses for less than 1 round at Harding. Only downside is that the Ocean course greens are being aerated. But my putting sucks anyway

robinsf · March 7, 2012

Definitely agree with the others.

I'd rank the SF courses like this:

TPC Harding
Presidio (very windy, lots of weather changes)
Sharp (best value, mostly flat and easy to walk)
Lincoln (stinks, but nice views)

Totally like the idea of renting a car and driving out to HMB and getting a golfnow deal. Very worth it. Monterey is just a little further away from HMB and they have some terrific value courses (Pacific Grove and golfnow deal with Bayonet (this year's PGA championship). Try to play at Sharp, its designed by Alister MacKenzie and is considered by some locals a very very very very poor man's pebble beach.

You can't get away with trying to fool the pro-shops with the $90 golf-specific resident card, it would have your picture on it and you have to get it from City Hall.

Have fun this weekend!

CoopaLoopa · March 7, 2012

I played Presidio last weekend and I must say it is in great shape! They are in the process of making a couple greens smaller and adding new sand to the bunkers throughout the course. Also, I'm not sure what kind of rates golfnow has on HMB but if you go to their site and sign up for their 'e-club', they send you an email with a link to to view their special rates. If you play before 8 you can get out for about $80 on either course. Also, keep in mind that that the two courses are very different. Ocean is a typical links course that is pretty wide open with some nice elevation changes and couple nice finishing holes. The Old Course, on the other hand, runs between homes for the majority of the round before finishing with the last two (breathtaking) holes along the ocean.

ryancjordan · March 8, 2012

Play Peacock Gap, Half Moon Bay or Pasatiempo instead.

SurfinTurf · March 8, 2012

[quote name='robinsf' timestamp='1331137267' post='4455275']
Definitely agree with the others.

I'd rank the SF courses like this:

TPC Harding
Presidio (very windy, lots of weather changes)
Sharp (best value, mostly flat and easy to walk)
Lincoln (stinks, but nice views)

Totally like the idea of renting a car and driving out to HMB and getting a golfnow deal. Very worth it. Monterey is just a little further away from HMB and they have some terrific value courses (Pacific Grove and golfnow deal with Bayonet (this year's PGA championship). [b]Try to play at Sharp, its designed by Alister MacKenzie and is considered by some locals a very very very very poor man's pebble beach[/b].

You can't get away with trying to fool the pro-shops with the $90 golf-specific resident card, it would have your picture on it and you have to get it from City Hall.

Have fun this weekend!
[/quote]

I can confirm this and I play at the original poor mans Pebble, namely Pacific Grove Muni.

Sharp Park is a[b] very very very very[/b] poor man's Pebble. Not much beach to speak of actually. Damn seawall...

CoopaLoopa · March 9, 2012

Can I add 5 more "very's" to SurfinTurf's description? Just because Sharp is in Northern Ca and close to the ocean does not warrant any kind of assimilation with it and PB.

SurfinTurf · March 9, 2012

[quote name='CoopaLoopa' timestamp='1331273224' post='4467847']
Can I add 5 more "very's" to SurfinTurf's description? Just because Sharp is in Northern Ca and close to the ocean does not warrant any kind of assimilation with it and PB.
[/quote]
Alister MacKenzie is the Man!!!!

And you can pay for your tee time with foods stamps!!

ryancjordan · March 9, 2012

Sharp Park is an interesting case. I have friends who call it their favorite course in the area and I have friends who refuse to play there. The layout and surroundings are fantastic. It is clear to anyone who has played some MacKenzie courses that this is a MacKenzie classic. Unfortunately, it is not well taken care of at all. The fairways are bumpy and muddy, the greens are often covered in sand after dying (4th green ALWAYS seems messed up) and the people who play there tend to play VERY slow and never let you play through because it's "their" course. Also had some pretty lol experiences with the Marshalls. That being said, easily the best value course in the area. I think with my players card its 29 dollars to play a MacKenzie course in northern california. Definition of a steal imo.

scotchblade · March 9, 2012

I played Sharp Park alot in the 70s, stopping off at the McDonalds off the freeway on the way home. I played there about a year ago and it was a most enjoyable round. My buddy and I were paired with a couple of local regulars, an older Filipino gentleman and a middle aged Irishman named Mick. It was perfect. Even though it's a tired old course with incredibly slow greens and in poor condition, I loved it. The clubhouse was the same and loaded with character and characters. If the walls could talk!

But I'd likely feel otherwise if not taking a trip down memory lane, so proceed with caution.

CoopaLoopa · March 9, 2012

A bit off topic but I played (if you can call it that) Lincoln Park today because I never had. What a joke that course is. Beautiful views with greens like a shag carpet.

I now know that playing down to your competition is a very, very real thing. :wacko:

Coop

BrooklynGolfer · March 20, 2012

Ok Guys, I'm back and I'd like to thank you all for the recommendations. I played Half moon Bay Ocean course on Thursday. By far the nicest course I've played. Especially the last 3 holes. It was so awesome, I went back the next day and played the Old course.
The staff at the place are amazing, the course is very well maintained and I managed to play for $60 each round (usually at least $180).
the 2 courses are so different from eachother. The old course heads inland and is a much harder course (IMO) but the ocean course is just beautiful, I would play it every week if I was within 50 miles!
Again, thanks for the recommendations!

robinsf · March 20, 2012

hey brooklyn golfer! i had to come back to this thread to see what you had to say! i'm glad you had an amazing time, especially stealing $60 rounds at HMB!! how'd you pull that off? nicely done!
[quote name='BrooklynGolfer' timestamp='1332257442' post='4542830']
Ok Guys, I'm back and I'd like to thank you all for the recommendations. I played Half moon Bay Ocean course on Thursday. By far the nicest course I've played. Especially the last 3 holes. It was so awesome, I went back the next day and played the Old course.
The staff at the place are amazing, the course is very well maintained and I managed to play for $60 each round (usually at least $180).
the 2 courses are so different from eachother. The old course heads inland and is a much harder course (IMO) but the ocean course is just beautiful, I would play it every week if I was within 50 miles!
Again, thanks for the recommendations!

[/quote]

BrooklynGolfer · March 20, 2012

Thanks Robinsf. Golfnow had deals. there were about 2 tee times per day with 60%+ off. Being that I was on vacation, I played whenever the round was cheap. Best golf of my life so far. I'm heading to Mexico in August and I'm going to play Mayakoba, can't wait to see how it compares.
You Left Coasters are lucky people! Back to the NYC public courses (at least I have Bethpage!)

scotchblade · March 20, 2012

[quote name='BrooklynGolfer' timestamp='1332263329' post='4543632']
Thanks Robinsf. Golfnow had deals. there were about 2 tee times per day with 60%+ off. Being that I was on vacation, I played whenever the round was cheap. Best golf of my life so far. I'm heading to Mexico in August and I'm going to play Mayakoba, can't wait to see how it compares.
You Left Coasters are lucky people! Back to the NYC public courses (at least I have Bethpage!)
[/quote]
Thanks for coming back to follow up. Glad you had a great time!