Harding has its days in sun, and fog
It’s pretty fabulous when the best golfers in the world come to play Harding Park.
It’s like Buster Posey playing Wiffle ball in your backyard. Or Stephen Curry playing H-O-R-S-E in the driveway.
Sounds like a corny fantasy, but that’s how it felt with the PGA Tour coming to town for its annual Match Play Championship.
Most San Francisco duffers have played Harding Park at least once, if not dozens of times. It used to be a bit of a dog track before its miraculous makeover. But it was our dog track: the true home of city golf.
As Rory McIlroy and Jor
dan Spieth and Bubba Watson made their way around the course in the past week, local golfers could follow along with insider knowledge.
“That tree eats golf balls for breakfast. ...”
“That bunker was designed by the devil. ...”
Walking the course with the pros, you could look into the gallery and recognize the Harding faithful. A knowing nod when a ball disappeared into the cypress canopy. A wry smile when the fog-laced wind carried an approach shot into a green-side bunker. We’ve all been there.
Some of us more than others.
The most amazing shot to watch for San Francisco golfers was the tee shot on No. 14. It’s Harding’s signature shot, cutting the corner over Lake Merced and inviting golfers to brave a close shave with a series of towering cypress trees.
Normally, this is the finish for Harding Park golfers. It’s normally the drive on No. 18. But the PGA folks reconfigured the course, making the signature hole No. 14 so that it would come into play more. (Many matches are decided in fewer than 18 holes.)
So, we all got to watch the big boys hit a shot we know all too well. And did they ever. The intimidating stand of cypress trees that once guarded the fairway has been thinned out some over the years, mostly to give the pros a clear view of the landing area some 280 yards away.
But the trees didn’t faze these guys. They simply launch their tee shots up and over, playing a game I hardly recognized at times.
Overall, Harding stood up to the PGA pros admirably, giving them the same fits we’ve all experienced. Ever since the course was refurbished — under the watchful gaze of San Francisco golf’s patron saint,
Sandy Tatum, back in 200203 — the course can handle world class competition. We saw it during the Presidents Cup in 2009, when Tiger Woods starred. And the American Express tournament before that, when John Daly imploded.
TPC Harding Park is not a new phenomenon in this town. But every time the big show comes to the shores of Lake Merced, it sure is easy for San Francisco hackers to remember back to when this was unthinkable.
Who remembers the stone benches surrounding the first tee, where old-timers would sit and comment on your first shot of the day? How about the little clubhouse, tucked into a corner of the course on the turn, where nice old ladies would make those amazing turkey sandwiches?
I remember. And I’m guessing you do, too.
I’ve hit dozens of golf balls into Lake Merced over the years.
A few dozen more up in the bushy tree tops.
And I’ve birdied a few holes there, too. Which is as good as most of the pros can do.
So, I’ve got that going for me ... which is nice.
San Francisco golf: Defined
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. San Francisco offers the most distinctive golf experience of any major city in the world. The topography. The fog. The number of worldclass courses right here in the city (or nearby in Daly City). It all adds up to an extraordinary environment for the game, sidehill lies and all.
I had the opportunity to ask some of the best what they thought, and they concurred. Jim Furyk, Graeme McDowell and Lee Westwood gathered at Johnny Foley’s Irish House before the tournament started to help promote Game Golf, a wearable-technology device that lets amateur golfers track every shot.
The technology was cool, but the golfers were even cooler when it came to talking S.F. golf.
Furyk, who nearly won the 2012 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club, spoke of the creativity it takes to deal with all the various lies — above and below your feet. “You have to be creative. San Francisco rewards inventive golf.”
McDowell, who won the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, said he loves California golf in general. “I think I’ve won a third of my career earnings in this state.”
And Westwood, who won a masterful match against phenom Jordan Spieth on Friday, talked of innovation, an oh-so Bay Area concept: “You have to be inventive. You just have to.”
I can vouch for that ... usually on my second shot.