Which American city lays claim to the richest concentration of high-quality municipal golf?
On the strength of Bethpage State Park alone, New York is an immediate contender. Boston has its share. Chicago and Philadelphia can point to several highlights. Los Angeles makes a credible contender with the likes of Rancho Park and Griffith Park.
But when you consider history, pedigree and just accessibility within the conurbation, another candidate rises to the top: San Francisco.
Don’t you agree?
Tom Hsieh might like the name.
Hsieh is a San Francisco native and readily acknowledges his hometown bias. His parents were immigrants who fled Maoist China. Both developed a deep love for the city. Hsieh’s father – also Tom – loved golf and passed that love on to his son.
The younger Hsieh learned the game at Gleneagles Golf Course, a nine-hole course nestled in the hills of South San Francisco, overlooking the bay. Designed by Jack Fleming, Alister Mackenzie’s former protégé who became San Francisco’s official golf guardian, Gleneagles, which opened in 1962, is defined by its unique challenges and attractions. Lee Trevino tried to win it twice, but failed. The fairways are slippery. The vegetation is defiant and the wind is unchanged from the nearby waters.
As for the clubhouse, it’s a time capsule. Some of the infrastructure is primitive as well; the course still depends on its original irrigation system. In the early 2000s, when Gleneagles’ longtime operator retired, the city put the course out to bid. There were no takers. Hsieh had no experience running a golf course. But he went in anyway, taking a lease to keep Gleneagles alive.
What followed was a wild ride, including a few of the course’s biggest obstacles. Like many courses, Glenages has benefited from the Covid boom. But its endurance owes much to Hsieh.
His background helps explain his success. A former political consultant who worked on the candidacy campaigns of former San Francisco mayor (and now California governor) Gavin Newsom, Hsieh understands the workings of the city and everything against muni golf, from tight budgets to progressive views about the game.
For all its popularity these days, golf still suffers from social blindspots. Strip away that blinker, Hsieh says, and it’s clear that San Francisco, a 7×7-mile metropolis, is sitting on some seriously overlooked recreational assets.
Under the parks and recreation entrance are six public buildings (technically, Sharp Park, the only beach muni designed by Alister Mackenzie, sits just south of the city limits, but is part of the wraparound). Over the past three decades, Hsieh notes, San Francisco voters have approved nearly a billion dollars in parks bond measures. Not a dollar of that money, he says, is earmarked for golf.
Hsieh hasn’t formally pitched the idea to city leaders, but he’d like to see San Francisco lean on what it already has and market itself as Golf City USA, a destination with premier public access golf as a draw.
Tourists are already flocking to the city. Why not give them another reason? Think of it, Hsieh suggests, as a Bandon Dunes version of muni golf, without being in the middle of one of the world’s biggest cities.
That will require strong investment to improve course conditions and facilities. But Hsiesh sees proof of concept at Harding Park and the Golden Gate Park Par-3 course, both of which have undergone renovations that have earned them national attention. The lesson is clear, Hsieh believes. Put some TLC on the courses, and the golfers will come.
He made the perfect case, while telling the story of Gleneagles and his life in the game, in a recent appearance on the Destination Golf podcast. You can listen to that episode here.
