Olympic Club, Private golf course in San Francisco, United States
The Olympic Club is a private athletic and social club with a City Clubhouse at 665 Post Street near Union Square and a Lakeside Clubhouse about 10 miles away, near the Daly City border. Its golf complex has three courses: Lake and Ocean, both 18-hole par-71 layouts, and Cliffs, a nine-hole par-3 course on bluffs above the Pacific. The courses are lined with trees and look toward the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park.
Founded on 6 May 1860 as the San Francisco Olympic Club, it is the oldest athletic club in the United States; its first officers included president G.W. Bell and leader Arthur Nahl. Boxer James J. Corbett joined in 1884. The club took over the Lakeside Golf Club in 1918, and its Lake and Ocean courses, designed by Willie Watson, opened in 1924. The Lake course hosted the U.S. Open in 1955, 1966, 1987, 1998 and 2012.
The name comes from the club's founding on May 6, 1860, when cycling was the first sport its members won honours in; Ernest Ohrt later coached the U.S. Olympic cycling team in 1924. The Dipsea Race was founded by club members, and at least five of them have won it, including Shirley Matson in 1993.
The City Clubhouse stands at 665 Post Street near Union Square, with its parking garage on Sutter Street; the golf courses and their own Lakeside Clubhouse lie about 10 miles (16 km) away at the Daly City border. Both are private: only members and their guests may enter, so arrange any visit through a member in advance.
The Dipsea Race, the oldest cross-country trail race in the United States, was founded by Olympic Club members, and at least five of them have won it, among them Oliver Millard in 1910 and 1913 and Shirley Matson in 1993. The club also set up the Winged "O" Foundation in 1992, renamed The Olympic Club Foundation in 2002.
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