Burlingame Country Club, in the wealthy enclave of Hillsborough on the San Francisco Peninsula, is one of the oldest golf and social clubs in California. Founded in 1893, it is widely regarded by historians as one of the first country clubs established in the western United States. Today it is a private members' club offering an 18-hole championship course laid out across rolling, tree-lined terrain, along with an elegant clubhouse, fine dining, and social facilities. The par-70 layout rewards precision and strategic play over raw length, providing an engaging and memorable test for golfers of all abilities in a refined and historic setting.

Quick Facts

Detail	Information
Established	1893
Architect	Willie Watson (early-1920s redesign); later work by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Douglas Nickels (1999)
Type	Private
Holes / Par	18 / 70
Yardage	6,305 yards
Course Rating / Slope	71.9 / 125
Grass	Ryegrass
Location	Hillsborough, CA

Course History

Burlingame Country Club traces its origins to 1893, making it one of the earliest country clubs founded in the American West and one of the oldest continuously operating clubs in California. It was established by prominent San Francisco Peninsula families and takes its name from the town of Burlingame, though the course today sits within the neighboring community of Hillsborough. The club earned an enduring place in the region's social history well before organized golf took firm root on the West Coast.

The 18-hole golf course as it is broadly known today took shape in the early twentieth century, with Scottish-born architect Willie Watson credited with reworking the links in the early 1920s. In the decades since, the layout has been refined through renovation work associated with architects including Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Douglas Nickels, whose 1999 project is among the more recent chapters in the course's long evolution.

The Design & Architecture

The course is a classic, traditional parkland layout that follows the natural contours of Hillsborough's rolling, hilly terrain. Mature trees frame many of the fairways, and elevation changes combine with strategically placed bunkering to place a premium on shot placement rather than sheer distance. At roughly 6,305 yards to a par of 70, it is a shot-maker's course where positioning off the tee and precise approach play into well-guarded greens are rewarded, all set against attractive Peninsula scenery.

Signature Holes

As a strictly private club, Burlingame publishes little about its individual holes, but a few are well documented. The best known is the 9th, a tiny par 3 of just over 100 yards that plays across the club's entrance road to a green set beside the clubhouse — an old-fashioned quirk of the routing that regulars describe as one of the most enjoyable moments of the round. The course's most distinctive design feature is a short par 4 with a remarkably narrow, figure-eight-shaped green; contributors to the golf-architecture forum Golf Club Atlas rate it among the two or three most interesting holes on the property, because finding the correct lobe of the putting surface decides the hole.

The scorecard adds further variety. From the members' white tees the 11th measures well under 300 yards, dangling a genuine birdie chance for aggressive drivers, while the one-shot holes span the 124-yard 13th to the 186-yard 3rd, and the 433-yard 12th stands as the sternest of the two-shotters on the par-70 card.

Playing the Course

With a course rating of 71.9 and a slope of 125, Burlingame offers a fair but engaging test for a range of abilities. The par-70 routing favors accuracy over power, asking players to work the ball around doglegs, navigate elevation changes, and manage approaches into greens protected by bunkers and slope. Ryegrass fairways and greens provide firm, consistent playing surfaces, and the compact yardage keeps the emphasis on strategy and precision throughout the round.

Know Before You Go

Private club: access is generally limited to members and their accompanied guests.
Located at 80 New Place Rd, Hillsborough, CA 94010, on the San Francisco Peninsula.
Founded in 1893, it is one of the oldest country clubs in California, with a full clubhouse and social amenities alongside golf.
The course favors accuracy over length, so club selection and course management matter more than raw distance.