Originally designed by Willie Watson and Sam Whiting in 1925- the same pairing behind the Olympic Club’s famous Lake Course just across the water – Harding Park spent decades in decline before a $16 million restoration in 2002-03 brought it back to championship standard. It now stretches to 7,169 yards, par 72, on a gently rolling peninsula ringed by Lake Merced. Towering Monterey Cypress trees frame nearly every hole, the fairways are tighter than you’d expect for a muni, and the rough can be punishing when it’s grown out for tournament weeks. The front nine eases you in through tree-lined corridors; the back nine is where the course earns its reputation. From the 14th onward, holes hug the lake, the wind picks up, and the closing stretch – the drivable 16th, the exposed par-3 17th, and the spectacular dogleg-left 18th along the water – ranks among the best finishes in public golf.

Conditioning is generally very good, though greens can occasionally run inconsistent given the volume of play. Pace tends to sit around 4½ hours, sometimes longer at weekends, partly because it’s cart-path only year-round. It slots neatly into any Bay Area itinerary alongside Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, and Pasatiempo – the urban counterpoint to the coastal heavyweights, and considerably easier on the wallet.