Stern Grove Horseshoe Pits

Location: Stern Grove Park
On Sloat Blvd near 19th Ave. next to the tennis courts. It is the last park gate before you reach the residential houses.
Pits: 8 total; 2 clay & 6 sand
Parking: Lots of street parking; street sweeping/No Parking on Sloat Weds 8 AM to 10 AM, park on side streets.
Amenities: Drinking fountain, benches, pit covers, Stern Grove, restrooms inside park (not at the courts), no built in bbq's.
Hours: Daylight, no gate
Map: Stern Grove Map
When: Friday afternoons between 4:00-7:00 PM is the time I've most often seen other people there. Also weekday mornings.
Comments: These pits get some use and are the most likely to find players on. These pits have also been know as Clancy's Bocce Ball & Horseshoe Pits, after the late Clancy Steinhoff. The courts also have a sign (see photo) calling them the HUMM???_Horseshoe Pits, but part of the sign is broken off and lost. This missing words are Humming Bird.
The Stern Grove Park maintenance manager has recently agreed to help maintain the pits and has already started doing a great job! Thanks Hector! Also thanks to Half Moon Bay HPC member Don Reip who has been a volunteer steward of the pits for years.

Stern Grove Pits	Stern Grove Pits
Stern Grove Pits	Clancy's bocce Ball & Horseshoe Pits
HUMMingbird Horseshoe Pits

Golden Gate Park Horseshoe Pits

Location: Golden Gate Park
Northeast corner of Golden Gate Park where the Pan Handle begins. Corner of Fulton St and Stanyan St. Accessible off of Conservatory Drive within the park.
Pits: 16 total; sand/loam mix
Parking: Park on Conservatory Dr. and walk up the stone steps to the pits.
Amenities: Beautiful setting. Restrooms are closed. Drinking fountain within a short walk. No built-in public BBQ's.
Hours: Daylight, no gate; Not recommened at night.
Map: Golden Gate Park Map
Comments: This place is amazing now!!
My original comments:
<<These pits could use some general clean up. There is broken glass and litter that needs to be picked up. The other problem is that it looks like all but two or three of the pits haven't been used for a long time. Sand and dirt has blown into piles between and on the pitching platforms. A shovel and rake would do a lot of good. The couple of times I've practiced here several people have stopped to watch as they walked by. If people played here more frequently it could be a popular spot. >>

San Francisco's Golden Gate Park: A Thousand and Seventeen Acres of Stories by Chris Pollack & Erica Katz mentions the courts construction in 1926 and the Golden Gate Horseshoe Club that tended the courts. The concrete bas-relief entitled "The Horseshoe Pitcher" is by "Vet" Anderson, who was a member of the Golden Gate Horseshoe Club.

The Horseshoe Pitcher: concrete bas-relief	The Horse: concrete bas-relief
The Steps from Conservatory Drive to the pits	Entrance to the GG Park Horseshoe Pits