Olympic Club Golf Course

Set in the fog and cypress above Lake Merced, the Lake Course opened in 1924 and was rebuilt by club superintendent Sam Whiting after winter storms wrecked the original layout, reopening in 1927. Whiting's tilted fairways, dense tree lines, and small greens have stayed remarkably intact, making the course famous for punishing accuracy over length. The Lake has hosted five U.S. Opens, each remembered for an upset: Jack Fleck's playoff shock of Ben Hogan in 1955, Billy Casper's rally past Arnold Palmer in 1966, Scott Simpson over Tom Watson in 1987, Lee Janzen in 1998, and Webb Simpson in 2012. Whiting served as superintendent into the 1950s, and Gil Hanse led a major restoration in 2023 ahead of future championships. The routing's sidehill lies and canted greens still frustrate the best players in the world.