Olympic was originally called the Lakeside Golf Club since it is located by Lake Merced. Originally it was out in the country and today still is on the far side of San Francisco. I heard it would take 20-25 minutes to drive there from downtown.
Olympic is part of a larger athletic club with thousands of members. It as a result is a happening place with a lot of people there. It had a younger, more diverse vibe than many places I've seen.
Because we were meeting our host Dave, we got there about 10:30 a.m. It was a very short drive from the airport area. We met up with Dave, and decided to walk.
We headed to the Cliffs which is a par 3 course. It was not your typical par 3 with most of the holes being full length holes. Only 1 could be looked at as just a wedge. Living up to its name it was right on the coast and on the cliffs. As a result it was quite a challenge. If Torrey Pines were all par 3s it might look like this.
A highlight was the "Burger Dog" that we had at the snack hut. This concession was run by a local burger stand that used to be so popular that the golfers would go across the street for the burgers. Kind of like how the golfers used to go across Lake Austin Blvd. to the old
Sigmor station for a beer run on the second hole at Lions Municipal, or the liquor store by the 15th tee there. The burger was a classic drugstore burger: Ed would love it.
Our tee time on the Lake Course was 1:40 and we headed out, picking up a 4th in a cart, Billy. He was quite interesting, 6'7" and a fine player. He could really hit the driver. I enjoyed riding some in the cart with him.
One reason I enjoyed riding was that... Olympic is an long, uphill-all-the-way course! Now that may be an exaggeration, but in general, each of the greens rise up from the fairway to add a club'[s distance to just about every second/third shot. Plus, the greens are heavily bunkered and generally small.
The first hole started off somewhat tame, but then they warned me that 2 through 6 were difficult. That is when the long, uphilll-all-the-way pattern began. Not impossible, just quite challenging. Two separate holes I hit a good driver, only to leave a 3 wood to the green. And I never thought of myself as a short hitter.
Seven was a short par 4 that was a nice break, but the green was quite a challenge. 8 was a straight (but uphill) par 3.
After losing a ball on # 10, something must have finally clicked, for I figured out how to play the course:
Hit a good drive in the fairway
Take an extra club into the green
Fly it directly at the pin
That at least led to some improvement. I did have the highlight of fininshing strong with pars on 15 ( par 3) and 16 and 17 (par 5's). Here's a photo of # 17 which is quite typical of the greens:
On the famous 18th, the (perceived) hole of Ben Hogan's collapse, it was hard to shake that ghost. Not a long hole, but everything said "Put this in the fairway". Even that was not enough, as the tree on the right comes into play and it is a long shot uphill to a tiny, blind green. It should make for a tough finish in June.
Upon reflection it is no surprise that Olympic is a hard course. The USGA does select challenging places for their golf, even at the local level. A friend of mine who qualified for the US Amateur at Oakmont shot a 90 there, after going through local and sectional qualifying. So that should tell you how hard these courses can be.
Overall, the 27 holes there were as good as anywhere. And they've got another 18 holes there, the Ocean Course. A great spot for golf - well deserving of its high praise.
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