Top 10 Public Golf Courses Named for U.S. Presidents

Since the term of William Howard Taft (1909–13), nearly every U.S. President has played golf. However, a much smaller number of Commanders-in-Chief have been feted by having a course named for them.

Excluding the current Head of State, who had a roster of courses named for him prior to his becoming the 45th President, here are the top 10 courses named for U.S. Presidents after their presidency.

TPC Harding Park—San Francisco, Calif.

This venerable muni sports fairways hemmed in by frequent fog and cypress trees, lush rough, and a wild closer—a 475-yard par four that opens with a bite-off-as-much-as-you-can-chew drive over a lake, followed by an uphill smash to a rollicking three-tier green. At the hotly contested 2020 PGA Championship, eventual winner Collin Morikawa hit the shot of the year, driving the green at the 336-yard par-four 16th, when bunkers, trees, and Lake Merced lurking to the left could have wrecked his chances. Designed in 1925 for the princely sum of $300 by William Watson and Sam Whiting—the same duo that had crafted the courses for its next-door neighbor, the Olympic Club—Harding Park was originally set to be named Lake Merced Municipal Links, for the large lake that abuts the course’s western boundary. However, civic leaders chose instead to honor the late President Warren G. Harding, an avid golfer who died while visiting San Francisco in 1923.

Industry Hills Golf Club (Eisenhower)—City of Industry, Calif.

Industrious types will use every tool in their arsenal to make pars or birdies at one of California’s toughest public courses, a 1979 Billy Bell Jr. design 25 miles east of downtown L.A. that’s known by locals as “The Ike.” A 2006 makeover yielded improved drainage, cleaned-out rough areas, and revamped bunkering, but it remains a par-72 brute, with a slope of 145. Ike loved golf, but I’m not sure if his modest skills would have conquered these formidable hills and hazards. Tiger Woods, on the other hand, appreciated the test that the Ike provided. “Growing up in Southern California and being able to play on so many courses as a junior was such a highlight for me, and a great learning experience,” said Woods in 2007. “Looking back, I think that probably the toughest course I played was at Industry Hills, the Eisenhower course. From the tips it’s 7,211 yards, and that was plenty.”

Grover Cleveland Golf Course—Amherst, N.Y.

Named for the first man to serve two non-consecutive terms as president, Grover Cleveland today is a modest par-69 layout of approximately 5,600 yards in a northeastern suburb of Buffalo. However, it once enjoyed a much higher profile, having hosted the 1912 U.S. Open, back when it was known as the Country Club of Buffalo. On that occasion, John McDermott defended his title, on a par-74, 6,326-yard spread. The 1902 layout was designed by club member Ganson Depew, then stiffened considerably in 1910, especially on the greens, by Walter Travis. In 1925, the club relocated, opting for a new course designed by Donald Ross. The facility was sold to the city of Buffalo and renamed Grover Cleveland Park, Cleveland also being a former Mayor of Buffalo. In 1947, the course lost three-and-a-half original holes when the land they sat on was donated for use as a Veterans Hospital. Holes 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 13 remain from the 1912 U.S. Open course. Today, the modestly treed, gently undulating layout is owned by Erie County, and during the week wows with an $18 green fee.

Wilson Golf Course at Griffith Park—Los Angeles, Calif.

Named for Woodrow Wilson, the nation’s 28th president, the Wilson at Griffith Park in Los Angeles is the longer and stronger of the two city-owned courses at this Golden Age facility. Wilson boasts an original 1927 design by George Thomas, who is perhaps more famous for his other L.A. classics Riviera, Bel-Air, and Los Angeles Country Club (North). Not much Thomas remains, but the moderately rolling, well-wooded par-72, 7,002-yard layout was considered strong enough that it would have hosted the Olympic golf event, had Los Angeles earned the bid for 2024. Instead, the Olympics are coming in 2028, and Riviera will host. Wilson did serve as the venue for the 1937–39 Los Angeles Opens; Jimmy Demaret, a three-time Masters champ, won the 1939 edition.

The Preserve at Eisenhower Golf Course—Crownsville, Md.

In 1969, Maryland’s most prolific architect, Ed Ault, crafted the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Golf Course 20 miles south of Baltimore and just a few miles west of Annapolis. Always burly for its time, the 6,662-yard layout rolled through 220 acres of undulating woodland. From 2018–21, restoration specialist Andrew Green turned it on its head. When the course reopened on May 1, 2021, its name was now The Preserve at Eisenhower, it was bunkerless, and it was an environmental triumph. Green worked with the Anne Arundel County watershed protection and restoration program on a stream restoration and storm water management project. The final version stretches to par-71, 7,164 yards, and boasts 13 acres of additional wetlands than what graced its predecessor.

Harding Golf Course at Griffith Park—Los Angeles, Calif.

With similar bloodlines to its Wilson sibling, the Griffith Park course named for President Warren G. Harding dates to 1923 and was designed by George Thomas. Shorter than the Wilson, at 6,714 yards, par 72 and somewhat narrower, Harding was co-host for the first two Los Angeles Open rounds in 1937–39. History was made in 1938 here, when Babe Didrikson (later Zaharias) became the first woman to tee it up in an official PGA Tour event. Of Griffith Park’s 36 holes, perhaps the most distinctive is Harding’s 400-yard par-four 18th, which parallels the Los Angeles Zoo, so expect some unusual sights and sounds here as you conclude the round.

Eisenhower Park Golf Course (Red)—East Meadow, N.Y.

Situated on Long Island’s North Shore, Eisenhower Red was known as Salisbury Golf Club’s No. 4 course when it played host to the 1926 PGA Championship, where Walter Hagen beat Leo Diegel in the final, 5 and 3. Designed by Devereux Emmet in 1914, the course and club were taken over by Nassau County in 1944 and eventually became Eisenhower Park in 1969. The Red played host to the PGA Tour Champions as recently as 18 years ago and although the 7,100-yard layout has witnessed numerous changes since it debuted more than a century ago, no less than architecture savant Ben Crenshaw praised Emmet’s work, noting the green designs at the par-four 10th and at two par threes, the 13th and the 16th.

Kennedy Golf Course—Denver, Colo.

This city-owned facility sports 27 holes of championship golf and a 9-hole par-3 course. It opened in 1962 as Cherry Creek Public Golf Course and was renamed for the late President Kennedy in April 1964. Henry B. Hughes, whose father Henry T. Hughes was Donald Ross’s construction superintendent at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, crafted the first two nines and added the par-3 course in 1967–69. Today his championship nines are known as the par-36 West and the par-36 Babe Lind. The third championship nine is the par-35 Creek, designed by Rick Phelps in 1993–94. The West/Babe Lind combo is longest, at more than 7,000 yards, yet Babe Lind/Creek at 6,884 yards is slightly tougher, with more water and tree trouble lurking.

Bill Wright Golf Complex at Jefferson Park—Seattle, Wash.

In 1898, Seattle’s city fathers assumed ownership of previously state-owned land just south of downtown and called it Beacon Hill Park. The legendary Olmsted Brothers of New York’s Central Park fame master-planned the park, which in 1908 was renamed in honor of Thomas Jefferson, the third U.S. president. An 18-hole golf course, designed by Seattle Golf Club pro Robert Johnstone, opened in 1915. Walter Hagen sang its praises after a November 1922 visit and Fred Couples, the 1992 Masters champ, learned the game here. With plenty of elevation change and mature trees framing most fairways, the 5,906-yard, par-69 layout plays tougher than the scorecard would indicate. City skyline views and vistas of Mount Ranier are highlights. In 2024, the facility was renamed Bill Wright Golf Complex at Jefferson Park, to honor the man who grew up playing here, and who in 1959 became the first African American to win a USGA national championship, when he triumphed at the 1959 U.S. Public Links Championship.

Lincoln Park Golf Course—San Francisco, Calif.

A 100-acre park that had previously been the Golden Gate Cemetery was repurposed in 1909 and dedicated to Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. A plethora of acclaimed architects built early holes, added to them or refined them. They include Tom Bendelow, Herbert Fowler, Jack Neville, William Watson, Harold Sampson, and Jack Fleming. This hilly 5,146-yard, par-68 romp is city-owned, so don’t expect country club conditions, but when the fog lifts, there’s no course in the Bay Area that offers such camera-worthy views of downtown San Francisco. Unforgettable is the 240-yard par-three 17th with the Golden Gate Bridge in high-def splendor to the left and cypress trees behind the green.