Courtesy of Evan Schiller
Courtesy of Evan Schiller
Courtesy of Evan Schiller
Courtesy of Evan Schiller
Courtesy of Evan Schiller
California Golf Club: Cal Club
South San Francisco, CA•Private
Awards
Panelists Score
California Golf Club: Cal Club
844 W Orange Ave
South San Francisco, CA 94080-3125
United States
Overview
For a course that featured Alister MacKenzie bunkers (added just two years after it first opened), Cal Club was never considered the equal of its near neighbors, No. 35 Olympic Club (Lake) or No. 33 San Francisco Golf Club. That’s partly because it was so claustrophobic, not just from dense trees, but from its truncated front nine reworked in the 60s by Robert Trent Jones after road expansion took two holes. Architect Kyle Phillips resolved the problem in 2007 by clearing trees and creating five new holes, including a new par-4 second in the old practice range and a new dogleg-right par-4 seventh atop a previously unused mesa in the middle of the course. Best of all, he reintroduced MacKenzie’s glamorous bunkers. Cal Club is now much closer to its top-ranked neighbors and continues its meteoric rise up the charts, jumping to its highest position to date.
About
Golf Digest Panelists
Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists
100 Greatest / Best In State Scores
Shot Options
Character
Challenge
Layout Variety
Fun
Aesthetics
Conditioning
Reviews
Review
“California Golf Club of San Francisco is one of my favorite golf courses and a terrific example of classic, strategic golf architecture. The Kyle Phillips restoration has created an exceptional layout with outstanding routing, tremendous variety, and a wonderful balance of challenge and playability. What I particularly appreciate is the firm-and-fast conditioning, which makes the course play exactly as I believe great golf should. You have to control your golf ball, think carefully about angles, and execute a variety of shots. The movement in the terrain, strategic bunkering, and interesting green complexes create a demanding but fair test that rewards thoughtful play. The routing is outstanding, with a great variety of holes that continually challenge different aspects of your game. The course has tremendous character, and the architecture is both visually appealing and intellectually engaging. There is a wonderful combination of strategy, shotmaking, and fun that makes every round interesting. Cal Club is a course I could play repeatedly without tiring of it. It has virtually everything I look for in a great golf course: exceptional architecture, memorable holes, outstanding conditioning, strategic challenge, and tremendous character. One of my absolute favorites."
Read More2026
Review
“Classic bunkering by Alister MacKenzie that was restored to give width and enhanced golf holes by Kyle Phillips. Firm and fast conditions dictate a lot of fun and focus around the greens. The course features generous fairways and limited thick rough, requiring thoughtful play with correct angles into the greens. The front nine sits down in lower-lying terrain, while the back nine offers elevated views of San Francisco."
Read More2026
Review
“Cal Club felt like an enormous ball park. The course was long in length but didn’t play long as it was extremely fast and firm with great change in undulation given its location. The course was wide open with massive trees providing great aiming points but as well as boundaries. Not all was open as some of the course was tucked away in the woods. While I played it was extremely windy and I was told that it is quite normal for it to gust near 30mph a day making it difficult even with forgiving fairways. The routing felt natural and provided great views while you were challenged from tee to green. The variety in the lies you drew showed how great the course was routed amongst the terrain. This course was one you would enjoy again and again."
Read More2025
Review
“Beautiful vistas and exeptional land movement gives the play a need to play off sidehills, uphill, and downhill shots. Plenty of risk and reward on approaches and off tee shots. Serene site with firm and fast turf. There are plenty of thought provoking moments on nearly every tee where a golfer can pick how much risk they'd like to take as it pertains to false fronts/bunkers/ravines."
Read More2025
Review
“Incredible place with views and beautiful flowing holes. Greens are mostly small, nice undulations and add to the challenge. Great variety of hole shapes. Bunkers in wonderful shape and good strategy placement. The last renovation really opened up the course. Can hit multiple tee shot shapes on holes and several holes give options for attack into the greens."
Read More2025
Review
“Incredible place with views and beautiful flowing holes. Greens are mostly small, nice undulations and add to the challenge. Great variety of hole shapes. Bunkers in wonderful shape and good strategy placement. The last renovation really opened up the course. Can hit multiple tee shot shapes on holes and several holes give options for attack into the greens."
Read More2025
Review
“Terrific old school design that completely takes advantage of a rolling piece of land. Great conditioning with the best greens in the area and fast bouncy fairways. The course changes character on the holes added by various designers, but holds together well as a whole. There is remarkable variety in holes, terrain, and shots required. You will truly use every club in the bag."
Read More2024
Review
“One of the best courses in the US and not just NorCal. Conditioning is fantastic and allows for different shots off the tee and into greens. Each hole presents a new challenge and truly keeps the golfer engaged."
Read More2024
Review
“Golden age design that has firm and fast fairways with beautiful bunking throughout. Hilly piece of property that is actually an easy walk due to its excellent routing. Beautiful clubhouse that contains many historical items. Staff and membership were most welcoming. Definitely play here if offered the opportunity."
Read More2024
Review
“Cal Club has quietly (or not so quietly) become the darling of the San Francisco golf scene, both for its well renovated course and its laid-back club atmosphere. The course is wide and strategic. Its first two holes are the dominant memory for me, with connected fairways and a ridge that keeps the first time player slightly unsettled. Decent shot options tee through green exist here. If anything, its layout variety causes a few holes to blend together and making parts of the course less memorable. The course has just enough quirk and fun to make it one of the more enjoyable courses among the San Francisco elite courses."
Read More2024
