- Olympic Club
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Olympic Club 
Club information Location San Francisco & Daly City California
United StatesEstablished 1860 Type Private Total holes 45 Tournaments hosted U.S. Open 1955, 1966, 1987, 1998
U.S. Amateur 1958, 1981, 2007
U.S. Junior Amateur 2004Website www.olyclub.com Lake Course Designed by Sam Whiting
Willie WatsonPar 71 Length 6,842 yards Course rating 73.9 Ocean Course Designed by Tom Weiskopf Length 6,925 yards Course rating 73.5 Cliffs Course Designed by Jay Morrish
Tom WeiskopfPar 27 Length 1,800 yards The Olympic Club is a San Francisco, California, athletic club and private social club with three golf courses located at San Francisco's border with Daly City, California. The club's main "City Clubhouse" is located in downtown San Francisco. The club's "Lakeside Clubhouse" is located just north of the city's border with Daly City. The two clubhouses are separated by about 10 miles. The three courses at the Olympic Club are the Cliffs, Lake and Ocean courses. The Lake and Ocean are 18-hole par-71 courses, and the Cliffs is a nine-hole par-3 course that is on the bluffs of the Pacific Ocean. All three courses are lined with many trees (almost 40,000 on the Lake course) and offer views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The United States Golf Association recognizes the Olympic Club as one of the first 100 golf clubs established in the United States.
The City Clubhouse is located at:
- 524 Post Street
- San Francisco, CA 94102
- +1 (415) 345-5100
The Lakeside Golf Facility is located at:
- 599 Skyline Boulevard
- San Francisco, CA 94132
- +1 (415) 404-4333
Contents
History
First named the "San Francisco Olympic Club",[1] 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.[1]
James J. Corbett, the heavyweight boxing champion from 1892 to 1897, joined the club in 1884. He later went on to coach boxing 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.
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, 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 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 and reopened in 2000.[2]
The Cliffs Course opened in 1994 with Jay Morrish and Tom Weiskopf as the course architects.
The Olympic Club hosted the 2004 U.S. Junior Amateur (won by Sihwan Kim) and the U.S. Amateur in 1958 (won by Charles Coe) and 1981 (won by Nathaniel Crosby, son of Bing Crosby). The Lake and Ocean Courses were used for the 2007 U.S. Amateur, which was won by Colt Knost of Dallas, Texas, who earned a 2-and-1 victory over Michael Thompson of Tucson, Arizona.
Competition
In 1909, Olympian and club member Ralph Rose set a world record shot put throw of 51 feet.
In 1915, the club's amateur basketball 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 team won the Track and Field National Championships. In 1941, club member Hank Luisetti helped lead the Olympic Club basketball team to win the AAU Basketball Championships again. In 1950, Olympic Club member Arthur Larsen won the U.S. Open of tennis in Forest Hills, New York. The Olympic Club water polo team won the 1959 Water Polo National Championship.
Cycling is one of the sports with the longest tradition at the Olympic Club. From 1893-1903 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, and 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 cyclist who went on to become professional road cyclists. Former Olympic Club cyclist who have later become professionals include Skyler Bishop, Nick Kelez, James Hibbard, 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 won a silver medal in water polo at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
Two Olympic Club members have won the Dipsea Race. They include Norman Bright in 1970 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.[3] The team was formed in 1890.[4] 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 ruled that the Olympics' practice was not actually professionalism but only a "semi" form of it, thus inventing the term "semi-pro". 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.[5] From 1891 through 1934, Olympic club had a 12-30-8 record against Stanford[6] and a 6-49-5 record against Cal.[7]
In 1913, the Olympic Club's top rugby union side held the All Blacks of New Zealand, then (as now) one of the world's top teams in that sport, to a draw. Olympic Club members would later form the core of the US national team that would win gold medals in rugby at the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics, the last two times the sport was part of the Olympic program.
In 1926, Percy Locey played football at the Olympic Club. He was a member of the Olympic's "Winged-O" football eleven that handed the University of California's "Wonder Team" their first loss in five seasons.[8] In 1928, Locey took over as the head football coach at the Olympic Club.[8] In his first year with the Olympic Club, his team posted an undefeated season, with wins over future Pac 10 schools Stanford and 1929 Rose Bowl 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.
The courses
General Course Information
Bent grass covers the greens. The fairways are a rye and poa annual grass combination. The roughs also have a bit of bluegrass mixed in.
SETUP for the 2007 U.S. Amateur Championship
PAR AND YARDAGE - 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.
COURSE SETUP – 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.
USGA SLOPE RATING AND COURSE RATING – 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
18th hole at the Lake Course
The Lake Course has been recognized by Golf Magazine in its list of the Top 100 Courses in the U.S. It has also been recognized in Golf Week's category of "America's 100 Best Classical Courses." In Golf Digest's list of the U.S. 100 Greatest Courses for 2007–2008, the Lake Course was ranked 23. It is almost entirely within the borders of San Francisco.
The yardage of the Lake Course is 7,060 yards from the new championship tees, with a course rating of 75.7 and a slope rating 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 has been lengthened in recent years to prepare for the 2007 U.S. Amateur and 2012 U.S. Open by architect Bill Love. Included in the on-going improvements by Bill Love are 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.
The Ocean Course
The Ocean Course has seen many changes over its history. Winter El Nino storms in 1983, and 1997 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. These holes were lost due to erosion in 1997. The current course was finished in 2000.
The regular yardage for the Ocean Course is 6,925 yards from the championship tees with a course rating of 73.6 and a slope rating of 136. From the next set of tees forward, the course measures 6,496 yards and has a course rating of 71.1 and a slope rating of 129. From the next set of tees forward, the course measures 5,898 yards with a course rating of 68.8 and a slope rating of 121. From the front 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 to be lengthened. The course is almost entirely within the borders of Daly City.
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 U.S. Opens
The Olympic Club has hosted four U.S. Open Championships in 1955, 1966, 1987, and 1998. It is scheduled to host the U.S. Open again in 2012.
Jack Fleck won the 1955 U.S. Open. He defeated Ben Hogan in an 18-hole playoff after the two had tied at the end of 72 holes with scores of 287. Billy Casper defeated Arnold Palmer in a playoff to win the 1966 U.S. Open. In 1987, Scott Simpson won the U.S. Open by one stroke over Tom Watson.
Lee Janzen won the most recent U.S. Open at Olympic in 1998 with a score of 280 (even par, as the course played a par 70 for the U.S. Open). In the 1998 U.S. Open, players complained about the pin position at the 18th hole in the second round. The pin was set at the top of a ridge, and, with the U.S. Open's knack for making hard, fast greens, many balls rolled on way past the cup. Kirk Triplett incurred a two-stroke penalty when he used his putter to stop the ball from rolling. Payne Stewart, the runner-up to Janzen, complained as he three-putted the hole. The putting green was flattened around 2000 as a result, but was given more slope in the recent renovation to the course. This decision was made by the club, not the USGA.
Major tournaments hosted
Year Tournament Winner 1955 U.S. Open Jack Fleck 1958 U.S. Amateur Charles Coe 1966 U.S. Open Billy Casper 1981 U.S. Amateur Nathaniel Crosby 1987 U.S. Open Scott Simpson 1998 U.S. Open Lee Janzen 2007 U.S. Amateur Colt Knost 2012 U.S. Open TBD - Bolded years indicate professional major championships.
- Bolded-Italics years were determined by 18-hole playoff.
See also
References
- ^ a b Janssen, Frederick William (1888). A history of American amateur athletics and aquatics: with the records (Digitized Mar 9, 2010 ed.). Outing Co.. pp. 131–132. http://books.google.com/books?id=7a5MAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA131&dq=%22Arthur+Nahl+%22&hl=en&ei=5lrnS4vIDJvOswObr73dCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CFEQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=%22Arthur%20Nahl%20%22&f=false.
- ^ "History of Olympic Club Golf". http://www.olyclub.com/html_members/golf/history.html.
- ^ Olympic Club at a glance, 2004
- ^ PFRA Research (1987). "When Did they Start?". Coffin Corner (Professional Football Researchers Association) 9: 1–5. http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/09-06-304.pdf.
- ^ PFRA Research. "Five Hundred Reasons". Coffin Corner (Professional Football Researchers Association): 1–6. http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Articles/Five_Hundred_Reasons.pdf.
- ^ Stanford Football Media guide (PDF copy available at www.gostanford.com)
- ^ California Golden Bears Football Media guide (PDF copy available at www.gobears.com)
- ^ a b "Carry Me Back". http://alumni.oregonstate.edu/eclips/carry/feb22_2002.html. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
External links
- Official website
- The Ocean Course at GOLFCOURSE.com
- The Lake Course at GOLFCOURSE.com
- The Cliffs Course at GOLFCOURSE.com
Coordinates: 37°42′36.36″N 122°29′53.56″W / 37.7101°N 122.4982111°W
Categories:- 1860 establishments
- Clubs and societies in the United States
- Golf clubs and courses in California
- Private clubs
- Sports in San Francisco, California
- Traditional gentlemen's clubs in the United States
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