An Insider's Look at The LPGA's New Venue Sharon Heights

MENLO PARK, Ca. — When Commissioner of the LPGA Craig Kessler first announced his maiden LPGA schedule for the 2026 season, he was steadfast in creating some semblance of a west coast swing, similar to the PGA TOUR.

"The schedule in many ways is the backbone of our product. It's where we are and how we show up," Kessler told Skratch in November. Here we are, just a few months later on site at the Founders Cup which has a new home at Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club, minutes away from the Stanford University campus.

"The West Coast Swing is key to what we're trying to do. There are golf fans, like you wouldn't believe on the West Coast, and for us to bring the Founder's Cup to Sharon Heights...What a home run."

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But what makes this course in particular a "home run"?

The first impressions of Sharon Heights are striking. Each fairway has a perfect, pin straight "50-50" pattern down the middle. Massive redwoods stand guard across the full 18 holes. And the undulation of the course and its greens are both mesmerizing and frightening.

Image credits Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club/Fortinet Founders Cup X.

To the eye, it's quite aesthetically pleasing. But looking at a course and playing it are two very different things.

When I asked a handful of players their impressions of the golf course, there were a few varying opinions of the course and its layout. Some players were singing its praises, complimenting the nature beauty and its trickiness, while others were detailing its difficulty especially with how hilly it is.

World No. 2 Nelly Korda said ahead of the first round, "I think it's pretty just demanding overall. Greens are softer...But pretty demanding off the tee. There is no first cut so it's either fairway or rough and it's pretty tight. The bunkers are pretty penal. So, yeah, just going to be a very demanding off the tee."

Fresh of a renovation in 2024, Sharon Heights has revamped itself, adding changes to the tees, fairways, bunkers and greens, as well as a significant tree management program, which allowed more sunlight and opened up playing corridors. Tee to green you'll notice some heavy, thick rough—especially the eyebrows around the bunkers (that overhanging lip of fescue or rough over sand traps).

Players will certainly have their work cut out for them this week, as their course management and shot placement skills will be substantially tested.

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Skratch On Site At Founders Cup