Lake Merced Golf Country Club
Daly City, California · 18 holes · par 72 · Private. Designed by Gil Hanse, opened 1923.
A caddie's yardage book for every hole: plays-like distance from USGS lidar elevation, reach and carry numbers for every bunker and water hazard, green front, middle and back, which way each green falls, and the lay-up zone on par 5s. Distances are from the back tees along the mapped hole; for a shorter tee, take off the scorecard difference.
Course profile
- At about 150 ft the ball carries about 0% farther than at sea level, so a 150-yard shot plays like about 150. Golfers visiting from low elevation should expect to club down.
- Biggest climb: hole 17, where the green sits 82 ft above the tee and plays about 27 yards longer.
- Biggest drop: hole 12, where the green sits 50 ft below the tee and plays about 17 yards shorter.
- 16 greens tilt 2% or more. Each hole below says which side of the hole leaves an uphill putt.
Maps: tee at the bottom, green at the top. The dashed line is the mapped hole; the gold band is the lay-up zone; the arrow on the green points downhill.
Scorecard
Tees
| Tee | Yards | Rating | Slope | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plates | Male | 6933 | 74.3 | 142 |
| I | Male | 6584 | 72.6 | 136 |
| I-II | Male | 6393 | 71.8 | 134 |
| II | Male | 6188 | 70.8 | 132 |
| II | Female | 6188 | 76.2 | 137 |
| II-III | Male | 5936 | 69.7 | 131 |
| II-III | Female | 5936 | 75.1 | 134 |
| III | Male | 5673 | 68.2 | 129 |
| III | Female | 5673 | 73.6 | 131 |
| III-IV | Male | 5246 | 65.9 | 122 |
| III-IV | Female | 5246 | 70.7 | 126 |
| IV | Female | 4865 | 68.7 | 122 |
| IV | Male | 4865 | 64 | 115 |
Hole 1 · Par 4
- Plays like
- 371-22 ft
- Green
- 363 · 378 · 393front · middle · back
- Green size
- 32 × 34yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 40 ydswide at 230
- Green slope
- 5%falls to the front-right
In play
- Bunker left: 326 to reach, 335 to carry
- Bunker right: 329 to reach, 339 to carry
- Bunker front-left of the green
- Bunker right of the green
Playing notes
- Plays about 7 yards shorter: the green sits 22 ft below the tee.
- No hazards mapped in the driving zone (180 to 300 yards).
- The fairway is about 40 yards wide at 230 and narrows to 33 at 200.
- Hazards guard both sides of the green; aim for the middle.
- The green falls from back-left to front-right, about 5%. Finish on the front-right side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Hole 2 · Par 4
- Plays like
- 372-21 ft
- Green
- 362 · 379 · 393front · middle · back
- Green size
- 32 × 24yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 43 ydswide at 230
- Green slope
- 3%falls to the front-left
In play
- 2 bunkers right: 257 to reach, 302 to carry
- Bunker right of the green
Playing notes
- Plays about 7 yards shorter: the green sits 21 ft below the tee.
- Fairway bunkers on the right: 257 to reach, 302 to carry. Drives that finish short of 257 stay clear; otherwise the left side is the safer line off the tee.
- The fairway is about 43 yards wide at 230.
- The green is guarded on the right by bunkers; miss left.
- The green falls from back-right to front-left, about 3%. Finish on the front-left side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Hole 3 · Par 3
- Plays like
- 133+6 ft
- Green
- 117 · 131 · 147front · middle · back
- Green size
- 30 × 23yards deep × wide
- Green slope
- 2%falls to the front
In play
- Bunker front-left of the green
- 2 bunkers across the hole in front of the green: 107 to carry
Playing notes
- Plays about 2 yards longer: the green sits 6 ft above the tee.
- The green is guarded on the left by bunkers; miss right.
- Bunkers short of the green; take enough club to carry it.
- The green falls from back to front, about 2%. Finish on the front side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Holes 4 to 18
4 · Par 45 · Par 46 · Par 47 · Par 38 · Par 59 · Par 510 · Par 411 · Par 412 · Par 413 · Par 314 · Par 515 · Par 416 · Par 317 · Par 418 · Par 5
The rest of this guide has the same caddie detail for every hole:
- 15 plays-like yardages
- 58 hazards with reach and carry
- 13 green slope reads
- 3 par-5 lay-up zones
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Hole maps, hazards and playing notes come from mapped course data and USGS 3DEP elevation (public domain), not a visit. Plays-like numbers use the Skitty caddie's rule of one yard per 3 ft of rise, from the longest tee; altitude uses 1.16% of carry per 1,000 ft. Tees, hazards and conditions change; check with the course before you play. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0) via OpenGolfAPI. Scorecard yardages and ratings as published. See a mistake? Email [email protected].