A Pictorial: The Olympic Club - Cliffs Course!!!

[Kyle Henderson]

1433 Yards, par 27

Routing


Ocean View


1st green to tee.


2nd


3rd


4th


5th


5th (near)  and 7th green


5th (near) and 3rd flags


6th


7th


8th


9th

[Mac Plumart]

WOW!!  Does it play as good as it looks?

[Peter Ferlicca]

I just played their on Tuesday, it plays really hard IMO.  Compared to the 5 mph breeze on the Lake course, once you step out to the Cliffs course it was blowing about 20 mph.  #5 is something like 190 yards dead into the wind, I hit a 3 iron and was still well short.  It is a true par 3 course, they are all legitimate par 3's.  If I was a member at Olympic I would spend every afternoon on the Cliffs Course.  The routing of getting from #6 to #7 is a little weird, but an enjoyable walk. 

[David_Tepper]

Kyle -

Nice job!

DT

[Matthew Petersen]

Looks absolutely amazing.

[Kyle Henderson]

I just played their on Tuesday, it plays really hard IMO.  Compared to the 5 mph breeze on the Lake course, once you step out to the Cliffs course it was blowing about 20 mph.  #5 is something like 190 yards dead into the wind, I hit a 3 iron and was still well short.  It is a true par 3 course, they are all legitimate par 3's.  If I was a member at Olympic I would spend every afternoon on the Cliffs Course.  The routing of getting from #6 to #7 is a little weird, but an enjoyable walk. 

PF,
I was there Thursday and #5 was downwind (~10mph), playing about 160. Fortunately, I was hitting solid shots, but those greens are pretty small aside from #5/7, so it could certainly be a tough test trying to shoot par in a gale.

Thanks, DT!

[Scott Warren]

If my club had a course like this I don't think I'd ever go to the range to hit balls!

Looks awesome.

[Mike Sweeney]

David Tepper took me on a tour one day before a wedding that I was attending in SF. We did not have time to play. It was an October day and 72 degrees and sun. The Cliffs course was the one where I started thinking "okay I can move my business to SF, get Gib and the crew to backdoor me into Olympic....." It really is that spectacular.

I should have skipped the wedding and gone to the reception!

[Kevin Pallier]

I should have skipped the wedding and gone to the reception!

Mike

Sounds like my story there as well....my host was adamant that I spend some time over there to have a look whilst I was at the Club.

I wish I had gotten a later flight.....

Kyle - thanks for the pics

[Andrew Summerell]

Does it get much use by the members? I know of a few clubs that have 9 hole par 3 courses (or similar) to compliment their full length 18 hole course(s) & the par 3 course rarely gets used.

I would hope the Cliffs course gets used, as it looks like a lot of fun.

[Scott Warren]

I didn't notice the bunker in the middle of the 5th/7th green when I looked through the pics earlier, but just saw it on GoogleMaps and came back to go through again and sure enough, there it is.

Are pins ever cut near it to bring it into play? Or does it largely serve as a border between the two greens, with the pins kept a long way away?

[JLahrman]

David took me around the course a couple of years ago as well...it is really fun and challenging, and if scenery were to be played up in rankings criteria this course would be a squatter in the top 10.  Only drawback is a nervous feeling that the wind might decide to pick you up and toss you a couple of hundred feet down to the beach.

[David_Tepper]

Andrew Summerell -

The Cliffs Course has been open for about 12-14 years. It is certainly getting more play now than it used to. On Friday & Sunday afternoons, it can get full, with groups on every hole.  Yet, there are still times when you can pretty much have the place to yourself and play 2 or 3 balls on each hole without holding anyone up or getting in anyone's way. 

DT

[Carl Nichols]

The last time I was at Olympic, on a 65 degree sunny day, we played the Lake course around 10, grabbed lunch, and then spent the late afternoon (the day was fairly short) on the Ocean Course. I haven't given much thought to whether the holes are well-designed; all I know is that it's an amazing location and the holes are tons of fun.  Wish I had a nine-holer like this at my club!

[Kyle Henderson]

David took me around the course a couple of years ago as well...it is really fun and challenging, and if scenery were to be played up in rankings criteria this course would be a squatter in the top 10.  Only drawback is a nervous feeling that the wind might decide to pick you up and toss you a couple of hundred feet down to the beach.

Hence the adjacent hang glider launching grounds... Perhaps a hybrid sport is in order?

[cary lichtenstein]

Absolutely magnificient!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mike Benham]

#5 is something like 190 yards dead into the wind, I hit a 3 iron and was still well short.  

You must have played on a day with the storm wind pattern, coming out of the south as the prevailing wind comes off the ocean, or right to left on #5 ...

It is a challenging par-3 course but unfortunately, I think the architects missed badly on the original intent of the course, assuming I know what the intent was.
 
As many have noted, the Lake course is very challenging and many of the members are reluctant to play it.  They choose to play the Ocean instead but it is not a piece of cake, an equally as challenging walk.

With over 5,000 total members, hundreds of golf members, I believe the club was looking for a "sporty par-3 course" that could accommodate all golfers, from youngsters to beginners, elderly to duffers.

Unfortunately, the Cliffs course was designed with many forced carries, deep bunkers and not a single hole that someone, who can't get the ball airborne, can run the ball onto the green (it is never firm enough for this to happen even if it was designed as such).

[Nick Asbrock]

Is this course only open to members of the club?

[David_Tepper]

Nick Asbrock -

This course is open to all 5,000+ members of the Olympic Club & their guests.

DT

[JLahrman]

Hence the adjacent hang glider launching grounds... Perhaps a hybrid sport is in order?

Adjacent Fort Funston is known for two things - hang gliders and its dog-friendly beach.  I do not partake in the former, but I do take my mutts there for an occasional treat.

[Raphael_Larson]

I was fortunate to start my SF golf tour at the Cliffs course last fall.  I landed at SFO in the late afternoon, took a cab directly to the club, and played the Cliffs course with my buddy/host.  We had a blast!  It was a great warm up for SFGC, Olympic (Lake), and Cal Club the next two days.  If you get the opportunity to play the Cliffs, don't pass it up. 

[Joel_Stewart]

Does it get much use by the members? I know of a few clubs that have 9 hole par 3 courses (or similar) to compliment their full length 18 hole course(s) & the par 3 course rarely gets used.

I would hope the Cliffs course gets used, as it looks like a lot of fun.

It's used by the younger members.  One of the problems is it's walking only and the older membership won't play it because of such.  Furthermore Olympic is one of the few clubs left that doesn't allow pull carts.   Regardless it was a huge blunder in the planning process since it's intent was to take pressure off the big courses.

[Joel_Stewart]

This is not the original hole.  That green was left and back but slid down the hill.

The truth is this was the hole that started the demise of the club as the superintendent brought in his friend who is an architect and rebuilt this hole.  From there they gave him the keys to the kingdom and let him work on the Ocean course and then Lake course.  Possibly the biggest mistake the Olympic Club has ever made.

You can see the large round bunker in the front is out of place with the bunkers in the back of the green.  

One of my favorite memories is going out there during the planning process and suggesting they extend the front mound around to the left and build a punchbowl green since it only 100 yards and very short.  This person who calls himself an architect and the superintendent had no idea what a punchbowl green was.

[Jeff Spittel]

The Olympic members are a lucky bunch. The Cliffs is a great way to spend the early evening after getting beaten up on the Lake. For those of us normally confied to the flatlands of south east Texas, it was a special treat.

[MHiserman]

This great set of nine, one-shotters is the best lunch break in the business!

The pro shop team would always cover you for a quick escape.

Remember to call Patricia with an order for the "burger-dog," so you can take lunch over for the round.

Three and sometimes five tees make the course as tough as you would ever want or a great quick walk.

The views and dodging hang-gliders are so uniquely Olympic Club.

When and if you make it to The Olympic Club, make certain you open the day or stay to close it out, over at The Cliffs Course.