Green Hills Country Club, located in

Millbrae, California Millbrae is a city located in northern San Mateo County, California, United States. To its northeast is San Francisco International Airport, San Bruno is on its northwest, and Burlingame on its southeast. It is bordered by San Andreas Lake to ...

, is often referred to as the

San Francisco Peninsula The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Mountain View, south of Palo A ...

’s “hidden gem”. Green Hills is a private members-only country club located on the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

peninsula approximately 20 minutes south of the city. Green Hills was originally known as

the Union League Golf and Country Club The Union League Golf and Country Club of San Francisco (now called Green Hills Country Club) was constructed in 1929 (opening in 1930) in Millbrae, California, United States. It was one of the most ambitious golf and country club projects of its er ...

of San Francisco when it was built in 1929, opening to great fanfare in 1930. The Union League golf course was designed by famed architect

Alister MacKenzie Alister MacKenzie (30 August 1870 – 6 January 1934) was a golf course architect whose course designs span four continents. Originally trained as a surgeon, MacKenzie served as a civilian physician with the British Army during the Boer War ...

, who was responsible for

Cypress Point Cypress Point Club is a private golf club located in Pebble Beach, California, at the northern end of the Central Coast. Its single 18-hole course has been named as one of the finest in golf, best known for a series of dramatic holes along th ...

Augusta National Augusta National Golf Club, sometimes referred to as Augusta or the National, is a golf club in Augusta, Georgia, United States. Unlike most private clubs which operate as non-profits, Augusta National is a for-profit corporation, and it does no ...

and many others. The golf course was built upon a fertile hilly area that was used as nursery land to grow flowers and vegetables. Flowers grown on the property were used by famed horticulturist John McLaren, to decorate the 1915 Pan Pacific Exhibition, or

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

. In 1929, when MacKenzie was shaping the land into what is now Green Hills he said “When the Millbrae course is completed it will rank with the first three in the San Francisco district and will be one of the sportiest in the entire state. The natural topography has made it easy for us to plot the course, and with plenty of water for the tees and fairways, the new club will be one of the finest of its kind on the coast”. Green Hills Country Club has hosted a number of prestigious tournaments, including the U.S Open and Senior Open qualifying. For many decades, the club was host of the annual Professional Baseball Player-

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

Cancer Fund golf tournament with stars such as

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the las ...

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

Lefty O'Doul Francis Joseph "Lefty" O'Doul (March 4, 1897 – December 7, 1969) was an American Major League Baseball player who went on to become an extraordinarily successful manager in the minor leagues. He was also a vital figure in the establishmen ...

Leo Durocher Leo Ernest Durocher (French spelling Léo Ernest Durocher) (; July 27, 1905 – October 7, 1991), nicknamed "Leo the Lip" and "Lippy", was an American professional baseball player, manager (baseball), manager and coach (baseball), coach. He playe ...

and many others. Green Hills today is a proud representation of

at his finest. The picturesque golf course has survived the test of time and remains the not so “hidden gem” of Northern California. In 2007, the original clubhouse was demolished. A new clubhouse opened in 2009.

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{{coord, 37.6050, -122.4082 , format=dms , type:landmark_region:US-CA , display=title Golf clubs and courses in California Millbrae, California Sports venues in San Mateo County, California Golf clubs and courses designed by Alister MacKenzie 1930 establishments in California