More often than not, when the world’s best players tee it up at a major championship, it’s on a course that’s not easily available for public play.
For example, this year’s other major venues, like Augusta National, home of the Masters, and Winged Foot, site of the U.S. Open, are about as exclusive and private as it gets. But that’s not the case with TPC Harding Park.
TPC Harding Park is public
This year’s PGA Championship venue, TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, is a municipal course, meaning it’s owned by the city and county of San Francisco. And unlike other publicly accessible major venues like Pebble Beach or Erin Hills, TPC Harding Park is as affordable as a top-tier course gets.
The course’s championship layout is located in a prime location on a San Francisco peninsula, surrounded by the pristine shoreline of Lake Merced. The course was originally designed by Willie Watson and Sam Whiting in 1925.
TPC Harding Park rates and greens fees
If you’re a San Francisco resident, you can claim the best deal of all when it comes to greens fees at TPC Harding Park. Morning tee times on weekdays start at only $80 per player, while non-residents will face a significantly steeper rate of $300. If you’re not a San Francisco resident but still live in a Bay Area city like Oakland, San Jose, or other surrounding cities, you can still get a bit of a break with a rate of $200 (proof of residency is required at check-in).
Beginning at 3 p.m., weekday rates drop to $63 for San Francisco residents but stay the same for others.
On weekends, San Francisco residents can expect to pay $97 until 3 p.m., when the price drops to $76. Non-city resident rates remain the same, at $200 and $300, respectively.
You also have to pay an extra $15 fee to book a tee time between eight and 30 days in advance, and renting a cart will set you back an additional $35 per player.
TPC Harding Park Fleming 9 rates
Did you know there’s also a short course at TPC Harding Park? The Fleming 9 was added in 1961 and is a 2,165-yard par-30 course that features six par-3s and three par-4s.
The course is home to the First Tee of San Francisco and can be played for a great price. The standard rate is $33 on weekdays and $38 on weekends. San Francisco residents get a break of $28 and $30, respectively, while senior resident rates are $22 and $27, and junior resident rates are $14 and $17.