The hardest golf courses in Palo Alto, California
The hardest 18-hole golf courses within about 25 miles of Palo Alto, California, ranked by USGA slope rating from each course's longest men's tees, with course rating as the tiebreaker. 22 courses have complete, verified tee data.
Also covers Sunnyvale, Stanford, Mountain View, Woodside, Menlo Park and 1 more nearby town.
Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club
Menlo Park, CA, USASlope rating 140, 73.9 course rating, Black tees, 6,863 yds
PrivateJack Fleming
Beautiful, some really interesting green surrounds but doesn’t rate for me. No cohesive flow to the routing and it plays extremely short with unfair results on many tee shots
Written by
@hammerinhank
- Driving range
- Restaurant
- Bar
TPC at Stonebrae
Hayward, CA, USASlope rating 138, 74.8 course rating, Tour tees, 7,188 yds
PrivateDavid McLay Kidd
- 4.0Conditions
- 4.5Layout
- 4.5Scenery
- NRFacilities
- Driving range
- Must play
- Hidden gem
Stanford University Golf Club
Stanford, CA, USASlope rating 138, 73.6 course rating, Cardinal tees, 6,727 yds
PrivateWilliam Francis Bell & William Park Bell Sr.
- 4.5Conditions
- 4.0Layout
- 4.3Scenery
- 4.3Facilities
- Driving range
- Grass range
- Mat range
Callippe Preserve Golf Club
Pleasanton, CA, USASlope rating 136, 73.0 course rating, Black tees, 6,748 yds
PublicBrian Costello
- 4.0Conditions
- 3.5Layout
- 4.0Value
- 3.5Scenery
- 3.4Facilities
- Driving range
- Fast greens
- Hidden gem
Green Hills Country Club
Millbrae, CA, USASlope rating 136, 71.1 course rating, Blue tees, 6,351 yds
PrivateAlister Mackenzie
- Driving range
- Restaurant
- Bar
Ruby Hill Golf Club
Pleasanton, CA, USA
Slope rating 135, 76.0 course rating, Nicklaus tees, 7,478 yds
(California of San Francisco) California Golf Club of San Francisco
South San Francisco, CA, USA
Slope rating 135, 74.7 course rating, Venturi tees, 7,216 yds
Sequoyah Country Club
Oakland, CA, USA
Slope rating 134, 71.3 course rating, Blue tees, 6,100 yds
The Peninsula Golf & Country Club
San Mateo, CA, USA
Slope rating 133, 72.2 course rating, Black tees, 6,538 yds
(Old) Half Moon Bay Golf Links
Half Moon Bay, CA, USA
Slope rating 132, 74.4 course rating, Black tees, 7,001 yds
Palo Alto Hills Golf & Country Club
Palo Alto, CA, USA
Slope rating 132, 72.1 course rating, Tee 4, 6,280 yds
Metropolitan Golf Links
Oakland, CA, USA
Slope rating 131, 73.9 course rating, Black tees, 6,959 yds
(Ocean) Half Moon Bay Golf Links
Half Moon Bay, CA, USA
Slope rating 131, 72.9 course rating, Black tees, 6,854 yds
Menlo Country Club
Woodside, CA, USA
Slope rating 130, 72.2 course rating, Black tees, 6,802 yds
(South) Corica Park Golf Club
Alameda, CA, USA
Slope rating 129, 73.2 course rating, Black tees, 6,874 yds
Crystal Springs Golf Course
Burlingame, CA, USA
Slope rating 127, 72.2 course rating, Blue tees, 6,628 yds
(Shoreline at Mountain View) Shoreline Golf Links at Mountain View
Mountain View, CA, USA
Slope rating 126, 72.3 course rating, Blue tees, 6,608 yds
Baylands Golf Links
Palo Alto, CA, USA
Slope rating 125, 72.2 course rating, Black tees, 6,680 yds
The Golf Club at Moffett Field
Sunnyvale, CA, USA
Slope rating 122, 71.6 course rating, Blue tees, 6,572 yds
(North) Corica Park Golf Club
Alameda, CA, USA
Slope rating 121, 70.4 course rating, Black tees, 6,339 yds
Sharp Park Golf Course
Pacifica, CA, USA
Slope rating 119, 71.2 course rating, Blue tees, 6,382 yds
(Regulation) Lake Chabot Municipal Golf Course
Oakland, CA, USA
Slope rating 119, 68.9 course rating, Blue tees, 6,004 yds
How we rank
This ranking uses published scorecard data from each course’s longest men’s tees, the same tee set for every course. Only 18-hole courses with a yardage for every hole, a total that matches the hole-by-hole sum, and a par between 54 and 80 are included, and the tees must carry a single slope rating (55–155) and course rating. Courses whose scorecard duplicates another course’s are left out until the data is fixed. Courses are ordered by slope rating, then course rating, then 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 Palo Alto, so nearby suburbs can appear. Rankings refresh about hourly.
FAQ
Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club is #1 on Course Vaults in and around Palo Alto, California at Slope 140 (73.9 course rating · Black tees · 6,863 yds). 22 courses qualify for this list.
This ranking uses published scorecard data from each course’s longest men’s tees, the same tee set for every course. Only 18-hole courses with a yardage for every hole, a total that matches the hole-by-hole sum, and a par between 54 and 80 are included, and the tees must carry a single slope rating (55–155) and course rating. Courses whose scorecard duplicates another course’s are left out until the data is fixed. Courses are ordered by slope rating, then course rating, then 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 Palo Alto, so nearby suburbs can appear. Rankings refresh about hourly.
Slope rating is the USGA measure of how much harder a course plays for a bogey golfer than for a scratch golfer, from 55 to 155 (113 is average). Course rating is the expected score for a scratch golfer from the same tees.
Yes. It includes qualifying courses within about 25 miles of Palo Alto, 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.
