I had always wanted to photograph The California Golf Club, also known as The Cal Club in San Francisco. I got my chance in January and it did not disappoint. I even had the opportunity to play one day with a very good friend of mine.
As luck or divine intervention would have it, I decided to stay one extra morning and it turned out to be one of the most amazing I’ve ever had at any golf course. Low lying fog/mist engulfed part of the golf course which made for a surreal scene.
As the sun was rising I was able to capture some iconic photos as well as aerial video. I wished it would never end.
Willie Locke and A. Vernon Macan were enlisted by the members to help design the original routing which opened on May 26th, 1926. Later, Alister MacKenzie would redesign the bunkering and at least two of the greens, just prior to his work at Cypress Point Club.
In 2007-2008, Kyle Phillips restored the golf course to its “golden age” design and grandeur. Kyle Phillips’s restoration called for the use of fine fescue grass and the course is unique in Northern California for its fast and firm playing conditions.
For those of you golf historians out there and remember the US Open won by Francis Ouimet at The Country Club in Massachusetts…well, the young boy who was his caddy, Eddie Lowery, became a member and eventually president of The Cal Club some years later.
Evan
All of Evan Schiller’s beautiful golf course photography on WomensGolf.com
