The Olympic Club Press & Media


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Unique History


Established on May 6, 1860, The Olympic Club enjoys the distinction of being America’s oldest athletic club. Long a west coast powerhouse in amateur sports, the Club is the home of many local, regional, national and international champions.


View of the Lakeside Clubhouse taken in 1924 (image H-2)
  

Membership & Facilities


Since 1860, our membership has grown from the original 23 charter members to over 5,000 men and women, as well as 800 junior members. Olympians compete in over 19 sports and enjoy two historic clubhouses in San Francisco: the City Club, near Union Square, and Lakeside, at the Pacific Ocean.

Our members also support the Olympic Club Foundation that grants funds and supports programs that share the belief that participation in organized athletics enriches young lives and develops future community leaders.  For more information, please visit the Foundation website, http://www.olyclubfdn.org.



The Natatorium Pool at City Clubhouse (image CC-1)

City Clubhouse


The Club built the City Clubhouse in 1912, after the 1906 earthquake and fire destroyed the original building, and it was restored in 2006 to its original glory. The clubhouse features a fitness center, cardio solarium, hotel facilities, handball and squash courts, circuit training facilities, two basketball courts and two swimming pools.
 
 

Golf at The Olympic Club


By 1922, the Club had acquired enough acreage to replace the original golf course with two 18-hole golf courses. Willie Watson and course superintendent Sam Whiting designed the first Lake and Ocean courses in 1924. Unfortunately, storm damage led Sam Whiting to redesign both courses again in 1927.

The Lake Course remains true to the 1927 design with minimal renovations in the intervening years. Prior to the 1955 U.S. Open, the Club brought the USGA’s official course architect, Robert Trent Jones, Sr., to toughen the Lake Course for competition. Most recently, the Club completed the Lake Course Greens Replacement project. Conversion from poa annua to bent-grass greens was the primary objective of the project, but the crew also rebuilt and renovated greens. The new 8th hole, the first routing change to the course since 1927, was sculpted into the surrounding hillside with views of the clubhouse. It will play as a 200-yard par 3. Additional alterations are still under construction for the 2012 U.S. Open Championship.		  

Lakeside Clubhouse



View of the Lakeside Clubhouse from the Lake Course, 8th hole (image LC-6)

In 1918, the Club assumed operations of the Lakeside Golf Club, including an 18-hole golf course. Famed architect Arthur Brown, Jr., designer of the San Francisco City Hall, designed the Lakeside clubhouse, which officially opened in 1925. The clubhouse features spectacular dining and banquet facilities, meeting rooms, locker rooms, an exercise center, massage services and a swimming pool. The Golf Shop was completely renovated in spring 2011.

 
   

Quick Facts


  • “Gentleman Jim” Corbett became Heavyweight Champion of the World in 1892
  • 23 Olympians (22 athletes) represented the United States at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, the largest delegation from a Club. The U.S. rugby team, made up of mostly Bay Area and OC players, won gold for the second time in row.
  • The OC football team celebrated undefeated seasons in 1925 and 1928, even with schedules that included games against such college teams as UC Berkeley, Stanford, and St. Mary’s. In 1925, the Club gave Cal its first defeat since 1919.  
  • In 1964, three former winners of The Olympic Club golf championship dominated USGA events: Ken Venturi won the U.S. Open Championship; Bill Higgins, the U.S. Senior; and Johnny Miller, the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.
 



The U.S. Open at Lakeside


The Club began hosting tournaments in the 1930s, including the San Francisco National Match Play Open in 1930, 1932 and 1939. We went on to host the 1946 San Francisco Open (won by Byron Nelson), the 1948 Women’s Western Amateur Championship, the 1958 America’s Cup, the 1971, 1975, 1980, 1984, 1989, 2000 & 2006 Pacific Coast Amateur Championships, as well as the PGA Tour Championships in 1993 and 1994.

The Club has also hosted more USGA events than just the U.S. Open Championship, including the 1958, 1981 and 2007 U.S. Amateur Championships and the 2004 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.

The Lake Course challenges professionals and amateurs alike with its narrow, tree-lined fairways and small, well-bunkered greens.
  • The Club hosted its first U.S. Open Championship in 1955, when Jack Fleck, a relative unknown from Iowa, defeated the favorite, Ben Hogan, in a playoff. Of the seven rounds under par for the tournament, Fleck put up three.
  • During the next U.S. Open Championship in 1966, Arnold Palmer dominated, leading by seven strokes with only nine holes left to play. Billy Casper tied him and then won the playoff.
  • In 1987, nine players went into Sunday within three strokes of the lead. The favorite, Tom Watson, was defeated, as Scott Simpson took the day, without the need for a play-off.
  • In 1998, Payne Stewart went into Sunday with a four stroke lead but the legacy of Hogan, Palmer and Watson loomed before him. He too would falter, allowing Lee Janzen to make his way to the top. No player broke par for the tournament and only Janzen equaled it.
We here at The Olympic Club, members and staff, look forward to witnessing the journey in June 2012 when the Lake Course again has its say about who is the best golfer in the country.

  

Images - images
 

The Olympic Club – Lakeside Clubhouse
   
 

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View of the Lakeside Clubhouse from Lake Course, 18th Hole
 Patio of the Lakeside Clubhouse
 View of the front of the Lakeside Clubhouse
 The Main Dining Room of the Lakeside Clubhouse
 The Living Room of the Lakeside Clubhouse
 
 
 

 
 
 

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The Golf Pro Shop at Lakeside
  View of the Lakeside Clubhouse from Lake Course, 8th Hole
        Aerial Photograph of Lakeside    Lake Course - 9th Hole    Lake Course - 17th Hole
  
                     
 

The Olympic Club – City Clubhouse

  
 


 
 

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  The Natatorium Pool at City Clubhouse
   The Grill Room and Bar at the City Clubhouse
   The Main Dining Room at the City Clubhouse
   City Clubhouse, Post Street view
   City Clubhouse, Sutter Street view
  
                     
 

The Olympic Club – Historical

          
                     
 

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  Front of the CIty Clubhouse ca 1960
   Overview of the Lakeside property ca 1925
   1913 Dipsea - Oliver Millard Wins Time and Place (Crossing The Finish Line)   Lakeside Clubhouse ca 1920
   Lee Janzen, winner of the 1998 U.S. Open hosted at The Olympic Club