The
Fairmont San Francisco and Golf
The
best view in the world may well be from the rooms in the Fairmont Hotel in San
Francisco. From the left: The Golden Gate Bridge, The Palace of Fine Arts,
Sausalito, Russian Hill, Belvedere, Angel Island, Alcatraz, Coy Tower, Treasure
Island and the Transamerica Tower all in view from your stately hotel room. One
could spend a day or two just by the window gawking at all the scenery. San
Francisco has an abundance of scenic vistas, rich history and great charm. High
atop the mound on Nob Hill sits the Fairmont, the best place to stay in the
best city to visit. Next year will be the centennial for the hotel where Tony
Bennett first sang, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” in the Venetian Room.
San
Francisco has great golf options, which are getting better each year. On the
private club side, San Francisco Golf Club is similar to the club in the
Valley. A great test of golf designed by the famed Albert Warren Tillinghast
who also designed Winged Foot. This is a very exclusive course, which does not
get a lot of attention by design. It is a reasonably tough course with mature
trees, large bunkers and undulating putting surfaces. They host the second
stage of the United States Open qualifying most every year. I had one of my
greatest golf feats here in a practice round, making consecutive eagles, a 2
and then a 1 on holes 6 and 7.
The
Olympic Club gets most of the attention being part of the US Open rotation. The
Olympic Club has 36 holes, The Lake and The Ocean courses, both are excellent.
The Lake course is the one used in The US Open, but The Ocean is a great test
also. Olympic also has a nine-hole, par-three course running along the bluffs
overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Just
across Lake Merced is the recently remodeled Harding Park Course. It is open to
the public and is where Tiger Woods beat John Daly just last fall in an epic
battle. Lake Merced Country Club is also a great track and a little closer to
town is Lincoln Park, which will be undergoing renovations in the near future.
Presidio
Golf Club is the closest to the Nob Hill area where the Fairmont sits. Presidio
used to be a private military golf club but is now open to the public and under
management by The Arnold Palmer Company. The Presidio course is an excellent
layout carved out of tall Cypress Pines and rolling terrain, its many holes
offer great views of the Bay with many sharp doglegs and very tricky greens.
For more on this course visit www.presidiogolf.com.
A
couple suggestions about golfing in San Francisco
Dress
warmly, especially in the early morning and late afternoon. That is when the
temperatures are at their lowest and sometimes quite chilly. Make certain to
always have a sweater available. The best weather is in the fall, especially in
late September and October. The only real bad month for golf is probably
February when it is cold and rainy. Most of the courses are walkable and are
framed by the Cypress Pines. The unique thing about these pines is that balls
that are hit into them often do not come down. Do not waste a lot of time
looking for errant shots hit into these monsters of nature. If you do, I find
the best bet is to go back to the fairway the way you came out. These are very
unforgiving trees.
The
Fairmont Hotel is centrally located between the Fisherman’s Wharf, Union Square
and the financial district, which are all just a cable car ride away. The cars
can be boarded adjacent to the hotel. Chinatown is just a couple of blocks away,
but wear comfortable shoes as the hills are rather steep. (I actually like to
get my workout in San Francisco by just walking up its hilly roads).
The
Fairmont features the Tonga Room and the Laurel Court Restaurants. The Tonga
Room is where we ate and offers a Pacific Rim Asian Cusine. The atmosphere is
very tropical and it even rains every 20 minutes or so. Long ago, the Tonga
Room was the hotel’s indoor poolroom. The Laurel Court is just in from the
Lobby area, which is famous due to having been used in many movies and the
popular “Hotel” television show. The famed lobby area is the work of Julia
Morgan who was hired to redo the hotel after the great San Francisco earthquake
and fire of 1906. After her success at the Fairmont, she went on to design
Hearst Castle. The history of this great property adorns the walls of many of
its halls and more detailed information is available from the front desk.
The
Fairmonts President’s Club is well worth joining. Members receive complimentary
internet access and health club privaledges. Sets of tailor made golf clubs are
available as well for those who do not wish to lug their own set through our
increasingly difficult airports. For more information visit www.Fairmont.com or call the hotel
directly at 1-415-772-5000.