The best-conditioned golf courses in San Francisco, California

The golf courses within about 25 miles of San Francisco, California that Course Vaults golfers rate highest for conditions: greens, fairways, tee boxes, and bunkers. Each course needs conditions ratings from at least 5 different golfers who played it; 10 courses qualify.

Also covers Burlingame, Oakland, Half Moon Bay, South San Francisco, Alameda and 10 more nearby towns.

  1. San Francisco

    San Francisco Golf Club

    San Francisco, CA, USA
    9.1

    Conditions 4.6 out of 5 from 18 golfers

    PrivateA .W. Tillinghast & Jack Neville

    • 4.6Conditions
    • 4.6Layout
    • 4.0Scenery
    • 4.2Facilities

    Loved the use of short grass throughout the course while still keeping it fairly tight off the tee. Tons of elevation change, and even though there aren't many trees and you can see groups playing on other holes, the trees around the perimeter make you feel surprisingly secluded.

    Written by

    @jensencastle

    • Must play
    • Pristine
    • Walkable
  2. California of San Francisco

    California of San Francisco

    California Golf Club of San Francisco

    South San Francisco, CA, USA
    9.1

    Conditions 4.5 out of 5 from 22 golfers

    PrivateAlister Mackenzie & Robert Hunter

    • 4.5Conditions
    • 4.9Layout
    • 4.4Scenery
    • 4.4Facilities
    • Must play
    • Pristine
    • Challenging
  3. Meadow

    Meadow Club

    Fairfax, CA, USA
    8.9

    Conditions 4.4 out of 5 from 8 golfers

    PrivateAlister Mackenzie & Mike DeVries

    • 4.4Conditions
    • 4.6Layout
    • 4.4Scenery
    • 4.1Facilities

    Played during a horrific drought so they couldn’t water the fairways just greens tees and aprons so it wasn’t t as good as it could have been but I hear it’s much improved. Great layout like all MacKenzie’s and beautiful setting. Thought the 18th hole was kinda funky.

    Written by

    @GRaleigh 77

    • Views
    • Walkable
    • Driving range
  4. Lake Merced

    Lake Merced Golf Club

    Daly City, CA, USA
    8.5

    Conditions 4.3 out of 5 from 9 golfers

    PrivateAlister Mackenzie & Rees Jones

    • 4.3Conditions
    • 4.4Layout
    • 4.1Scenery
    • NRFacilities

    Incredible routing framed nicely by great bunkering and very clever green complexes. Loved the Instagram holes on the NW corner of the property. Such an awesome reveal as you crest the hill on 12. Not a hard course by any means, but incredibly fun.

    Written by

    @shahbaz-hashmi

    • Pristine
    • Views
    • Must play
  5. Ocean

    Ocean

    The Olympic Club

    San Francisco, CA, USA
    8.2

    Conditions 4.2 out of 5 from 6 golfers

    PrivateSam Whiting & Willie Watson

    • 4.2Conditions
    • 4.0Layout
    • 4.6Scenery
    • 4.5Facilities

    Olympic Club… respectfully, this one just isn’t my favorite. I think it’s a pretty overrated golf course, and the rough always seems to be incredibly thick, which makes an already difficult course even more challenging. The setting is undeniably cool.

    Written by

    @jensencastle

    • Driving range
    • Putting area
    • Challenging
  6. (Lake) The Olympic Club

    San Francisco, CA, USA

    Conditions 4.2 out of 5 from 15 golfers

    8.8
  7. (Ocean) Half Moon Bay Golf Links

    Half Moon Bay, CA, USA

    Conditions 3.6 out of 5 from 9 golfers

    7.9
  8. (Old) Half Moon Bay Golf Links

    Half Moon Bay, CA, USA

    Conditions 3.5 out of 5 from 5 golfers

    7.4
  9. Presidio Golf Course

    San Francisco, CA, USA

    Conditions 3.4 out of 5 from 11 golfers

    7.8
  10. TPC Harding Park

    San Francisco, CA, USA

    Conditions 3.4 out of 5 from 16 golfers

    7.6

How we rank

This ranking uses each golfer’s conditions rating, on a 0.5–5 scale. Conditions is the golfer’s overall conditions score, or the average of their greens, fairways, tee box, and bunker scores when no overall was given. Every golfer counts once per course: repeat rounds are averaged first, then the course score is the average across golfers. A course needs conditions ratings from at least 5 different golfers. Ties go to the course with more golfers, then the higher Course Vaults score. Only open courses with a published Course Vaults score (at least 5 explicit ratings) are eligible, and a page is published only when at least 5 courses qualify. City pages include courses within about 25 miles of San Francisco, so nearby suburbs can appear. Rankings refresh about hourly.

FAQ

San Francisco Golf Club is #1 on Course Vaults in and around San Francisco, California at Conditions 4.6/5 (18 golfers). 10 courses qualify for this list.

This ranking uses each golfer’s conditions rating, on a 0.5–5 scale. Conditions is the golfer’s overall conditions score, or the average of their greens, fairways, tee box, and bunker scores when no overall was given. Every golfer counts once per course: repeat rounds are averaged first, then the course score is the average across golfers. A course needs conditions ratings from at least 5 different golfers. Ties go to the course with more golfers, then the higher Course Vaults score. Only open courses with a published Course Vaults score (at least 5 explicit ratings) are eligible, and a page is published only when at least 5 courses qualify. City pages include courses within about 25 miles of San Francisco, so nearby suburbs can appear. Rankings refresh about hourly.

A course appears once at least 5 different golfers have rated its conditions on Course Vaults. Log your round and rate it in the app to help it qualify.

Yes. It includes qualifying courses within about 25 miles of San Francisco, not only courses whose address is in the city.

This page was last generated Nov 12, 2026, 4:00 AM EST. Scores and eligibility are recomputed about every hour.

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