A Course With Fantastic Views
Written: Sep 15 '03 (Updated Sep 16 '03)
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Pros: Inexpensive with stunningly beautiful views on clear days
Cons: Badly run down and in need of renovation. Can be foggy.
The Bottom Line: Play it for the experience but look for another course for regular play.
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| tennis_player's Full Review: Lincoln Park Golf Course |
Lincoln Park is an old course. Upon entry to the clubhouse, a plaque indicates that it was built back in 1909. It was upgraded in the 1960's. It is located just off Geary Blvd on 34th Ave. Five of the holes are near the Legion of Honor, a museum and major tourist attraction. It is a municipal course and very affordable considering its location. There are absolutely stunning view of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge on clear days.
Their policy is to restrict the carts to the cart path, only. Unless, you are handicapped. In that case, show them your handicap plaque or the notice from DMV or your doctor and they will give you a red flag for your cart and allow you to go 90 deg. to the hole
THE GOOD STUFF:
As noted, the view from the course are truly beautiful. There are views of parts of the city and San Francisco Bay. The view from the 17th hole is gorgeous. You can see the Bay, the Marin Headlands and, of course, the Golden Gate Bridge. Adding to this ambiance is the constant blaring of the fog horn and the cries of Eagles and Osprey overhead as they hunt their prey.
Because the course is an old course with established Cypress, Monterey Pine and other old-growth trees, it gives the course a very serene and stately feeling. Combine this with the hilly terrain it makes for a very interesting course with narrow fairways, elevated tees or greens. A number of the greens are unsighted from the tee box because of the hilly terrain or trees blocking a direct view.
The trees are the biggest obstacles. They provide a good barrier between fairways but if you are off the narrow fairways, it can be very difficult to get back to the fairway or advance to the green. Fortunately, there are not that many bunkers guarding the greens. There are no water hazards at all.
It's a good course for those that don't hit long balls. There is only one par 5 and a number of the par 4 are relatively short.
THE BAD STUFF:
The course is in very bad shape, probably due to budget cuts mandated by Prop 13. The fairways are soft and mushy from just normal watering. The grass is not cut very short even in the fairways. Three times we saw the ball land in the fairway but when we arrived at the landing zones, we could not find them. They had plugged so deeply that they could not be seen or found. That's a tough way to take a penalty.
Signage/directions are very poor between holes. Finding the 10th tee is a real challenge. We got lost and it took a number of attempts to find it. And, the tee boxes are not posted with the hole number nor the yardage nor any layout images to provide the player with any clues of the hole location or any hazards.
The greens are really bad - threadbare with the grass worn in many spots and the ball does not roll true nor smoothly - it hops and plays similarly to a newly plugged/aerated/sanded green or a temporary green on other courses.
And, because it is on the Coast, the weather can be a real factor with strong, cold winds and heavy fogs. This can make playing the course somewhat of an endurance exercise. When the fog is in, it is not unlike playing in a light, constant rain.
The course winds its way among some city streets. One of them leads to the Legion of Honor and that means lots of tourists that watch the views and the golfers. They can be very loud and talk in many foreign tongues. This can be a major distraction during putting and approach shots. It is usually not a factor during tee-off as the tee boxes seem to be far enough away from those distractions. When crossing this street, extreme care must be taken as the vehicular traffic is not even aware of the fact that they are driving through a major golf course.
Another major arterial street runs through it on the Coast side with parked cars and the motorists drive fairly fast. Crossing the street in a golf cart can be thrilling. This is a prime example of "urban golf."
The gas-driven golf carts are in terrible shape. Some of them belch blue smoke. Some have poorly-adjust centrifugal clutches making it difficult to drive smoothly. One plus, however - all the carts have windshields and tops.
The Clubhouse is old and is badly in need of renovation. The Men's bathroom is downstairs. The door is propped open and there are no modesty panels for the urinals so anyone can look in at will. The basins are stained and dirty. The paper towel dispensers are broken with one almost falling off the wall since one of the mounting points had failed.
SUMMARY
Lincoln Park is a challenging short course (5146 yds, blue tees) that affords the player beautiful views of the Coast and the Golden Gate Bridge. It is inexpensive to play. But, it really needs work to bring it back up to a quality level that it deserves. Play it for the experience but it's not one you would want to play frequently.
Recommended:
No
Green Fees Paid (US$): 35 w/o cart
Speed of Play (typical weekend): 4 to 5 Hours
Look Out For: Trees
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Epinions.com ID:
tennis_player
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Member: James Quon
Location: Northern California
Reviews written: 345
Trusted by: 250 members
About Me:
A retired Professional from 40 years in technical Sales & Marketing.
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