The Olympic Club is an
athletic club and private social club in
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
.
First named the "San Francisco Olympic Club",
it is the oldest
athletic club in the United States. Established on May 6, 1860, its first officers were President, G.W. Bell, Secretary, E. Bonnell, Treasurer, H.G. Hanks, and Leader,
Arthur Nahl.
Its main "City Clubhouse" is located in San Francisco's
Union Square
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
district, and its three
golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...
s are in the southwestern corner of the city, at the border with
Daly City
Daly City () is the second most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with population of 104,901 according to the 2020 census. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and immediately south of San Francisco (sharing its ...
. The "Lakeside Clubhouse" is located just north of the Daly City border; the two clubhouses are separated by about .
The three golf courses are named Lake, Ocean, and Cliffs. Lake and Ocean are 18-hole
par-71 courses, and the Cliffs is a nine-hole par-3 course in the
bluffs overlooking the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...
. All three venues are lined with many
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s and offer views of the
Golden Gate Bridge and
Golden Gate Park. The
United States Golf Association
The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...
recognizes the Olympic Club as one of the first 100 golf clubs established in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
In November 2017, it was announced that Olympic Club would host the 2033 Ryder Cup.
History
![Nahl Bros](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Nahl_Bros._1855%2C_The_Olympic_Club.jpg)
First named the "San Francisco Olympic Club",
it is the oldest
athletic club in the United States. Established on May 6, 1860, its first officers were President, G.W. Bell, Secretary, E. Bonnell, Treasurer, H.G. Hanks, and Leader,
Arthur Nahl.
James J. Corbett, the
heavyweight boxing champion from 1892 to 1897, joined the club in 1884. He later went on to coach
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...
at the club for many years. On January 2, 1893 the club opened its first permanent clubhouse on Post Street. That building did not survive the
San Francisco earthquake
At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...
.
Women's Athletic Club
Women who could not join the men-only Olympic Club built their own modest athletic club a few doors down, named the Women's Athletic Club of San Francisco. Begun in 1912 and completed in 1917, it provided many of the same facilities as the Olympic Club. In 1966, the Club changed its name to the Metropolitan Club of San Francisco. It may be found on Sutter St., in back of the Olympic Club's parking garage.
Discrimination lawsuit
In 1987, San Francisco City Attorney Louise Renne filed suit against the Olympic Club for discrimination against women and (allegedly) against minorities. Renne contended that the Club's lease of City-owned land upon which fell one hole of the Lake Course and two holes of the Ocean Course required them to conform to the City's anti-discrimination policies. Rather than face a protracted legal case with an uncertain outcome, the board voted to accept women as members in 1990. The allegation involving minorities was withdrawn.
Golf club
In 1918, the club took over the Lakeside Golf Club, which had just opened in 1917 but was struggling financially. Lakeside had one 18-hole golf course designed by
Wilfrid Reid
Wilfrid Ewart "Wilfie" Reid (3 November 1884 – 24 November 1973) was an English professional golfer and golf course designer. Reid was born in Bulwell, Nottingham, England, and died in West Palm Beach, Florida, United States. He posted three ...
, but following additional land purchases the club decided to replace it with two courses. These were designed by Willie Watson, a well-known Scottish architect, and the Lake and Ocean courses opened in 1924. The Ocean course was shortly thereafter damaged by landslides, and Sam Whiting (who had constructed the two courses, and would remain as superintendent until 1954) remodeled and rebuilt both courses in 1927. In 1953, the Lake course was modified by
Robert Trent Jones
Robert Trent Jones Sr. (June 20, 1906 – June 14, 2000) was a British–American golf course architect who designed or re-designed more than 500 golf courses in 45 U.S. states and 35 countries. In reference to this, Jones took pride in sayi ...
in preparation for the 1955 U.S. Open. The Ocean course was altered several times over the years, and following heavy storm damage in 1996 was completely redesigned by
Tom Weiskopf
Thomas Daniel Weiskopf (November 9, 1942 – August 20, 2022) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. His most successful decade was the 1970s. He won 16 PGA Tour titles between 1968 and 1982, inclu ...
and reopened in 2000.
The Cliffs Course opened in 1994 with
Jay Morrish and
Tom Weiskopf
Thomas Daniel Weiskopf (November 9, 1942 – August 20, 2022) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. His most successful decade was the 1970s. He won 16 PGA Tour titles between 1968 and 1982, inclu ...
as the course architects.
The Olympic Club hosted the 2004
U.S. Junior Amateur (won by Sihwan Kim) and the
U.S. Amateur
The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...
in 1958 (won by
Charles Coe
Charles Robert Coe (October 26, 1923 – May 16, 2001) was an American amateur golfer who is considered by many to be one of the greatest American amateurs in history. A two-time U.S. Amateur winner, Coe never turned professional either becau ...
) and 1981 (won by
Nathaniel Crosby
Nathaniel Patrick Crosby (born October 29, 1961) is an American golfer. He won the 1981 U.S. Amateur and played on the winning 1982 Eisenhower Trophy and 1983 Walker Cup teams. He turned professional but had little success and was later reinst ...
, son of
Bing Crosby). The Lake and Ocean Courses were used for the 2007 U.S Amateur, won by
Colt Knost
Colt Knost (born June 26, 1985) is a retired American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour. Beginning in January 2022, he became a regular analyst and on-course commentator for PGA Tour events televised by CBS Sports.
Amateur career
Kn ...
, who earned a 2 and 1 victory over
Michael Thompson.
Competition
![Olympic natatorium by DD Stone](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Olympic_natatorium_by_DD_Stone.jpg)
In 1909, Olympian and club member
Ralph Rose
Ralph Waldo Rose (March 17, 1885 – October 16, 1913) was an American track and field athlete. He was born in Healdsburg, California.
Biography
Standing 6 ft 5.5 in (197 cm) and weighing 250 pounds (115 kg), Rose was the first shot putte ...
set a
world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
shot put throw of 51 feet.
In 1915, the club's
amateur basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
team won the
Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Basketball Championship. In 1934, club member
Fred Apostoli won the National Amateur Middleweight boxing title. In 1937, the Olympic Club
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
team won the Track and Field National Championships. In 1941, club member
Hank Luisetti
Angelo-Giuseppi "Hank" Luisetti (June 16, 1916 – December 17, 2002) was an American college men's basketball player. He is considered to be one of the great innovators of the sport. In an era that featured the traditional two-handed set shot, ...
helped lead the Olympic Club basketball team to win the AAU Basketball Championships again. In 1950, Olympic Club member
Arthur Larsen
Arthur David "Art" or "Tappy" Larsen (April 17, 1925 – December 7, 2012) was an American No. 1 male tennis player best remembered for his victory at the U.S. Championships in 1950 and for his eccentricities. He won the "Times" national sport ...
won the
U.S. Open of
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
in
Forest Hills, New York
Forest Hills is a mostly residential neighborhood in the central portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is adjacent to Corona to the north, Rego Park and Glendale to the west, Forest Park to the south, Kew Gardens to the southeas ...
. The Olympic Club
water polo
Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...
team won the 1959 Water Polo National Championship.
Cycling is one of the sports with the longest tradition at the Olympic Club. From 1893 to 1903, the Olympic Club Cycling Team was one of the club's premier teams. Although the sanctioned cycling team disbanded in 1903, many Olympians participated in cycling on an individual basis. The most illustrious of these was Ernest Ohrt. Ohrt capped his cycling career by being named coach of the United States Olympic Games cycling team in 1924.
Beginning in the mid-1990s, a revived Olympic Club cycling team supported several cyclists who went on to become professional road cyclists. Former Olympic Club cyclists who later turned professional include
Skyler Bishop,
Nick Kelez,
James Hibbard
James H. Hibbard (born October 19, 1981 in Palo Alto, California) is an American road racing cyclist who competed for the Shaklee and Health Net-Maxxis professional cycling Teams. He started racing at the Hellyer Park Velodrome in San Jose, ...
,
Jackson Stewart,
Mike Tillman and
Zach Walker.
In addition to being a springboard for aspiring professional cyclists, the modern cycling team also boasts some of the finest masters-age cyclists in the nation, including Brian McGuire, Hal Johnson, Cynthia Mommsen and Lisa Hunt.
Club member
Maureen O'Toole
Maureen "Mo" O'Toole (born March 24, 1961) is an accomplished American water polo player and coach. In over 30 years in the sport, she set multiple firsts for women in water polo, received all the top honors, and in her time was recognized as on ...
won a silver medal in water polo at the
2000 Olympic Games in
Sydney, Australia.
At least five Olympic Club members have won the
Dipsea Race
The Dipsea Race is a trail running event in California, United States. It is the oldest cross-country trail running event and one of the oldest foot races of any kind—in the United States. The 7.5 mile (12 km) long Dipsea Race has been ...
, which was founded by OC members: Oliver Millard in 1910 and 1913, Mason Hartwell in 1917,
Norman Bright in 1970, Joe King in 1995 and 1996, and
Shirley Matson in 1993.
In 1992, the Club set up the Winged "O" Foundation, which changed its name to The
Olympic Club Foundation in 2002. Its purpose is to fund youth sports programs which primarily target less advantaged youth who live in the
Bay Area.
Winged-O football and rugby
The Olympic Club fielded a
football team that played Bay Area colleges such as
Stanford,
Cal,
St. Mary's, and
Santa Clara. The team was formed in 1890. That year, the Olympic Club was accused by a rival club of enticing athletes to jump to its ranks with offers of jobs. An investigation by the
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...
ruled that the Olympics' practice was not actually professionalism but only a "semi" form of it, thus inventing the term "
semi-pro
''Semi-Pro'' is a 2008 American sports comedy film. The film was directed by Kent Alterman in his directorial debut, written by Scot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin and Maura Tier ...
". Although the Amateur Athletic Union didn't like the idea very much, it decided that clubs could indeed offer employment without losing their
amateur status or compromising the athlete. From 1891 through 1934, Olympic club had a 12-30-8 record against Stanford and a 6-49-5 record against Cal.
In 1926,
Percy Locey
Percy P. Locey (November 28, 1894 – August 1981) was an American football player, coach, and a college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Denver from 1932 to 1935. He was the athletic director the ...
played football at the Olympic Club. He was a member of the Olympic's "Winged-O" football eleven that handed the
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...
's "Wonder Team" their first loss in five seasons.
In 1928, Locey took over as the head football coach at the Olympic Club.
In his first year with the Olympic Club, his team posted an undefeated season, with wins over future
Pac-12 schools
Stanford and
1929 Rose Bowl
The 1929 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game and the 15th annual Rose Bowl Game. Played on January 1, 1929, the game saw the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (also known at the time as the Georgia Tech Golden Tornado) defeat the California Go ...
bound California. After the success of that season, Locey was promoted to head coach of all sports at the athletic club. He was named the coach of the West team in the annual
East–West Shrine Game in 1929, though his team was defeated that year, 19-7.
Olympic Club members played a major part in the first All-Star football game. E. Jack Spaulding, the founder of the Shrine East-West football classic played, coached and was football commissioner of the Olympic Club. In 1925 the first game was played in San Francisco. Spaulding served as managing director of the first two games. An award in his name is presented each year at the game. O.E. "Babe" Hollingbery played for the club and was coach in 1925. He headed the selection process for the West team and served as the first Coach of the West team which defeated the East by a score of 6-0. He later had a long distinguished career as coach of the Washington State football team and coached in 18 Shrine games.
Rugby
Olympic Club fields a rugby team that participates in the Pacific Rugby Premiership and formerly in USA D1 and in the
Rugby Super League. The Pacific Rugby Premiership (PRP) is the highest level domestic
rugby competition in the U.S. Several players from Olympic Club have played for the
U.S. national rugby team.
In 1913, the Olympic Club's
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
team played the touring the New Zealand
All Blacks
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...
, then as now the world top team in that sport. Olympic Club members later provided the core of the
U.S. national team that won gold medals in rugby at the
1920 and
1924 Summer Olympics, the last occasion the sport was part of the Olympic program.
City Clubhouse
![Olympic Club, San Francisco](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Olympic_Club%2C_San_Francisco.jpg)
The Olympic Club's City Clubhouse is a masonry building on Post Street, two blocks west of
Union Square
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
in San Francisco, next door to the
Bohemian Club and on the same block as the
Marines Memorial Club. A garage (shared by the Marines Memorial Club) and separate entrance are on Sutter Street, on the north side of the block. The current clubhouse was built in 1912, after the first one was destroyed in the
1906 San Francisco earthquake. The clubhouse contains a pub, a dining room, meeting rooms, banquet rooms, guestrooms, a fitness center, a cardio solarium, handball and squash courts, circuit training facilities, two basketball courts, two swimming pools, and a rooftop deck.
The courses
General course information
Bent grass covers the greens. The fairways are a rye and poa annua grass combination. The roughs also have a bit of bluegrass mixed in.
Setup for the 2007 U.S. Amateur Championship:
*The Lake Course played at 6,948 yards and par 35-35=70. The Ocean Course, which was used for the first two days of stroke play only, played at 6,786 yards and par 35-35=70.
*The Lake Course was set for green speeds of approximately 11 feet, 6 inches on the Stimpmeter. The primary rough was grown to 4 inches, with a strip of intermediate rough cut to 1½ inches in height.
*The Lake Course carried a USGA Course Rating of 74.8 and a USGA Slope Rating of 143. The Ocean Course carried a USGA Course Rating of 74.0 and a USGA Slope Rating of 136.
The Lake Course
![Olympic Club 18th hole lakeside](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Olympic_Club_18th_hole_lakeside.jpg)
The Lake Course has been recognized by ''
Golf Magazine
''Golf Magazine'' is a monthly golf magazine. It was started in April 1959 by Universal Publishing and Distributing, who sold it to Times Mirror in 1972. Time Inc. acquired it in 2000. It was acquired by Howard Milstein in 2018. It was the world ...
'' in its list of the Top 100 Courses in the U.S. It has also been recognized in ''
Golf Week'' category of "America's 100 Best Classical Courses." In ''
Golf Digests list of the U.S. 100 Greatest Courses for 2021-2022, the Lake Course was ranked 34. It is almost entirely within the borders of San Francisco.
The yardage of the Lake Course is 7,060
yard
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly ...
s from the new championship tees, with a
course rating
A golf handicap is a numerical measure of a golfer's potential that is used to enable players of varying abilities to compete against one another. Better players are those with the lowest handicaps.
Historically, rules relating to handicaps have v ...
of 75.7 and a
slope rating
The slope rating of a golf course is a measure of its relative difficulty for a bogey golfer compared to a scratch golfer. It is used by handicapping systems to equalize the field by accounting for the likelihood that, when playing on more diffic ...
of 143. From the next set of tees forward, the course measures 6,529 yards, and has a course rating of 72.3 and a slope rating of 132. From the next set of tees forward, the course measures 6,235 yards, and has a course rating of 70.9 and a slope rating of 129. From the front tees, the course measures 5,593 yards, and has a course rating of 68.6 and a slope rating of 122.
The Lake Course was lengthened to prepare for the 2007 U.S. Amateur and 2012 U.S. Open by architect Bill Love. Included in the improvements by Bill Love were new tees that have added significant length to the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 9th, 12th, 13th and 16th holes. In addition, drastic changes were made to the par-4 seventh and par-3 eighth holes as part of the greens replacement project. A new two-tiered green at the seventh replaces the old three-level green constructed in the 1970s. This green is located approximately 20 yards behind the old one. The most dramatic alterations were made at the par-3 8th. Previously just a short uphill pitch, a completely new hole has been built with a teeing area well back and to the right of the original, changing the angle of approach and pushing the length of the hole back to 200 yards. A new green has also been built at the par-3 15th. The controversial 18th green has also been changed further to reintroduce, in a more playable manner, the slope that was previously removed while at the same time creating more diversity in pin placements for the finishing hole. The new 7th and 8th holes opened for play in May 2009.
Scorecard
The Ocean Course
The Ocean Course has seen many changes over its history including a recent complete redesign and reconstruction in 2012 by architects Bill Love and Brian Kington. The Ocean Course's storied past includes winter El Niño storms in 1983, and 1997 that caused significant damage and required major changes to the course and layout. During the mid-1990s, the club built 4 holes west of Skyline Blvd. along the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Holes of par 4, par 3, par 5, and par 4 had dramatic views, but these holes were severely eroded and fell victim to the 1997 storm. Prior to the recent 2012 renovation project the course had been rebuilt in 1999.
The regular yardage for the Ocean Course is 6,925 yards from the Black Championship tees with a course rating of 73.6 and a slope rating of 136. From the Blue tees, the course measures 6,496 yards and has a course rating of 71.1 and a slope rating of 129. From White tees, the course measures 5,898 yards with a course rating of 68.8 and a slope rating of 121. From the Green tees, the course measures 5,386 yards with a course rating of 66.5 and a slope rating of 115.
In preparation for the 2007 U.S. Amateur, the 14th hole was changed, to allow the 15th hole and driving range to be lengthened. The Ocean Course recently hosted the U.S.G.A. Amateur Four-ball Championships in May 2015.
Scorecard
The Cliffs Course
The 9-hole, par 3 Cliffs Course is the windiest because it is set on the bluffs above the Pacific Ocean. Though it is short, it is very challenging. Designed by Jay Morrish and Tom Weiskopf, it is the most scenic of all three courses. It measures 1,800 yards.
The Tour Championship
The Olympic Club has hosted the
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...
's season-ending event,
The Tour Championship
The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 ...
, twice, in 1993 and 1994.
U.S. Opens
The Olympic Club has hosted five
U.S. Opens, in 1955, 1966, 1987, 1998 and 2012.
The 54-hole leader has failed to win every time the Open has been played at The Olympic Club.
Jack Fleck won in 1955, defeating
Ben Hogan
William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory an ...
in an 18-hole
playoff
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
after the two were tied at the end of 72 holes on 287.
Billy Casper
William Earl Casper Jr. (June 24, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American professional golfer. He was one of the most prolific tournament winners on the PGA Tour from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s.
In his youth, Casper started as a caddie a ...
defeated
Arnold Palmer
Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...
in a playoff to win in 1966 and in 1987
Scott Simpson won by one shot from
Tom Watson.
Lee Janzen
Lee McLeod Janzen (born August 28, 1964) is an American professional golfer who is best known for winning the U.S. Open twice in 1993 and 1998. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions, and was an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour.
Early yea ...
won at Olympic in 1998 with a score of 280 (even par, as the course played a par 70 for the U.S. Open). Players complained about the
pin
A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together.
Pin or PIN may also refer to:
Computers and technology
* Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system
** PIN pad, a PIN entry device
* PIN, a former Dutch ...
position at the 18th hole in the second round. The pin was set at the top of a ridge, and, many balls rolled on way past the cup.
Kirk Triplett
Kirk Alan Triplett (born March 29, 1962) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour, and PGA Tour Champions.
Early years
Born in Moses Lake, Washington, Triplett grew up on the Palouse in Pullman and gradu ...
incurred a two-stroke penalty when he used his
putter
A putter is a club used in the sport of golf to make relatively short and low-speed strokes with the intention of rolling the ball into the hole from a short distance away. It is differentiated from the other clubs (typically, irons and woods ...
to stop the ball from rolling.
Payne Stewart
William Payne Stewart (January 30, 1957 – October 25, 1999) was an American professional golfer who won eleven PGA Tour events, including three major championships, the last of which came just a few months before his death in an airplane acci ...
, the runner-up to Janzen, complained as he three-putted the hole. The green was flattened around 2000 as a result, but was given more slope in the recent renovation to the course.
The
2012 U.S. Open was won by
Webb Simpson
James Frederick Webb Simpson (born August 8, 1985) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour who won the 2012 U.S. Open and the 2018 Players Championship.
As an amateur, he was a member of the United States' victorious 2007 Walker Cup ...
when he made 4 birdies in the last 13 holes. This U.S. Open was part of three sports championships involving San Francisco that year, along with the
Giants
A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore.
Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to:
Mythology and religion
*Giants (Greek mythology)
*Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...
'
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
victory and the
49ers' sixth
Super Bowl appearance.
U.S. Women's Open
The Olympic Club has hosted one
U.S. Women's Open, in 2021.
U.S. Amateurs
The Olympic Club has hosted three
U.S. Amateur
The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...
s, in 1958, 1981, and 2007.
U.S. Women's Amateur
The USGA announced that The Olympic Club will host the 2030
U.S. Women's Amateur.
U.S. Junior Amateur
The Olympic Club has hosted one
U.S. Junior Amateur, in 2004.
Ryder Cup
In November 2017, it was announced by the
PGA of America
The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 men and women members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to establish ...
that The Olympic Club's Lake Course will be the host of the 2028
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...
also the 2033
Ryder Cup. It will be the first Ryder Cup held on the west coast since the
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
contest in
Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley. Incorporated in 1967, it lies in between the cities of Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 4,958.
The city hosts the sixt ...
and the first for SF Bay Area.
See also
*
List of American gentlemen's clubs
The following is a list of notable traditional gentlemen's clubs in the United States, including those that are now defunct. Historically, these clubs were exclusively for men, but most (though not all) now admit women.
On exclusivity and as ...
*
Olympic Club Foundation
References
External links
*
The Ocean Courseat golfcourse.com
The Lake Courseat golfcourse.com
The Cliffs Courseat golfcourse.com
{{coord, 37.709, -122.495, display=title
Clubs and societies in California
Sports organizations based in San Francisco
Athletics clubs in the United States
Golf clubs and courses in California
Soccer clubs in San Francisco
Swimming venues in San Francisco
Gentlemen's clubs in California
Sports venues in San Francisco
Sports clubs established in 1860
1860 establishments in California
Buildings and structures destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake