Metropolitan at Metropolitan Golf Links

Metropolitan Golf Links occupies a distinctive site in Oakland, California, where the course was designed by PGA Tour champion Johnny Miller in collaboration with Fred Bliss and opened in the late 1990s. The layout sits on former landfill property near the Oakland International Airport and the San Francisco Bay shoreline, giving it an unusual urban-industrial backdrop that contrasts with the manicured playing surfaces. The flat terrain and exposure to persistent Bay Area winds create a links-style character, though the setting differs markedly from traditional seaside links courses.

The design features wide fairways and large, undulating greens that reward strategic positioning and demand careful club selection in the wind. Water hazards come into play on several holes, and the bunkering style reflects a modern American interpretation of links architecture. The routing takes advantage of prevailing wind patterns, with holes playing in different directions to vary the challenge throughout the round.

Metropolitan serves as a public facility, making it accessible to a broad range of golfers in the East Bay area. The course provides views across the bay toward San Francisco and the surrounding hills, and its location within the urban fabric of Oakland gives it a utilitarian, no-frills atmosphere. The layout offers a test of wind play and ground-game strategy uncommon in the region, where tree-lined parkland courses predominate.