The hardest golf courses in San Francisco, California
The hardest 18-hole golf courses within about 25 miles of San Francisco, California, ranked by USGA slope rating from each course's longest men's tees, with course rating as the tiebreaker. 25 courses have complete, verified tee data.
Also covers Burlingame, Half Moon Bay, South San Francisco, Daly City, Fairfax and 4 more nearby towns.
Lake Merced Golf Club
Daly City, CA, USASlope rating 140, 73.9 course rating, Plates tees, 6,915 yds
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
Lake
The Olympic Club
San Francisco, CA, USASlope rating 138, 74.7 course rating, Black tees, 6,934 yds
PrivateWilfrid Reid & Sam Whiting
- 4.6Conditions
- 4.6Layout
- 4.4Scenery
- 4.0Facilities
The Lake Course at Olympic Club is one of the best and most challenging layouts I’ve played. The course is known for its narrow, sloping fairways lined with towering cypress trees and small, fast greens that demand precision on every shot.
Written by
@Flopfather
- Challenging
- Pristine
- Must play
Green Hills Country Club
Millbrae, CA, USASlope rating 136, 71.1 course rating, Blue tees, 6,351 yds
PrivateAlister Mackenzie
- Driving range
- Restaurant
- Bar
California of San Francisco
California Golf Club of San Francisco
South San Francisco, CA, USASlope rating 135, 74.7 course rating, Venturi tees, 7,216 yds
PrivateAlister Mackenzie & Robert Hunter
- 4.9Conditions
- 4.9Layout
- 4.4Scenery
- 4.4Facilities
- Must play
- Pristine
- Challenging
Meadow Club
Fairfax, CA, USASlope rating 135, 72.6 course rating, Back tees, 6,708 yds
PrivateAlister Mackenzie & Mike DeVries
- 4.5Conditions
- 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
Presidio Golf Course
San Francisco, CA, USA
Slope rating 135, 72.6 course rating, Blue tees, 6,422 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
Orinda Country Club
Orinda, CA, USA
Slope rating 133, 71.2 course rating, Blue tees, 6,290 yds
(Old) Half Moon Bay Golf Links
Half Moon Bay, CA, USA
Slope rating 132, 74.4 course rating, Black tees, 7,001 yds
(Ocean) The Olympic Club
San Francisco, CA, USA
Slope rating 132, 72.4 course rating, Black tees, 6,852 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
San Francisco Golf Club
San Francisco, CA, USA
Slope rating 129, 73.0 course rating, Championship tees, 6,828 yds
Tilden Park Golf Course
Berkeley, CA, USA
Slope rating 128, 71.3 course rating, Back tees, 6,294 yds
Crystal Springs Golf Course
Burlingame, CA, USA
Slope rating 127, 72.2 course rating, Blue tees, 6,628 yds
TPC Harding Park
San Francisco, CA, USA
Slope rating 126, 72.8 course rating, Blue tees, 6,845 yds
Claremont Country Club
Oakland, CA, USA
Slope rating 124, 67.7 course rating, Blue tees, 5,495 yds
Peacock Gap Country Club
San Rafael, CA, USA
Slope rating 122, 70.0 course rating, Black tees, 6,261 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
Lincoln Park Golf Course
San Francisco, CA, USA
Slope rating 109, 66.0 course rating, Blue tees, 5,146 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 San Francisco, so nearby suburbs can appear. Rankings refresh about hourly.
FAQ
Lake Merced Golf Club is #1 on Course Vaults in and around San Francisco, California at Slope 140 (73.9 course rating · Plates tees · 6,915 yds). 25 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 San Francisco, 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 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.
