The Richmond Golf Club is a former four-time PGA Tour stop and the first in America to invite African Americans to play in professional tournaments. They joined the likes of Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead who won the 1945 Richmond Open with a 72-hole winning score of 283.
In the early 1950’s Richmond Golf Club hosted the women’s professional tour with the best players of the era. 'Babe' Didrikson Zaharias won the first Richmond Ladies Open with a score of 224 after three rounds. Patty Berg won the second Women's Open in 1952, shooting 8-under par from the men’s tees and set a women’s course record that stands to this day.
We began in 1924 as the Carquinez Golf Club. Our original ProShop was less than ten feet wide and twenty feet long. By 1927, we had grown to 300 members and built a clubhouse which still stands today. Some of those early members flew their private planes to the golf course and used the 9th fairway as a runway.
In 1938 the Richmond Golf Club hired Pat Markovich, the Assistant Golf Pro at San Francisco Golf Club, as Richmond Golf Club's ProShop Manager. It was Pat Markovich who changed our name from Carquinez Golf Club to Richmond Golf Club. Pat Markovich also attracted the professional tournaments, helping the Richmond Golf Club become one of the bay area's elite private clubs. A painting of Pat Markovich hangs in the clubhouse to commemorate and celebrate his contribution to the Richmond Golf Club.
Pat Markovich: The Creator of Richmond Golf Club Club History 1924-1978
By Robert Fuller with assistance from RCC GM Ron Svien, Rick Jetter & Paul Wilcox
Now, as Richmond approaches its 100th anniversary, we welcome members from all over the bay area. We’re low-key, without pretense and we love our golf course with our views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Bay Bridge and Mount Tamalpais.
