The Valley Club of Montecito

Overview: The Valley Club of Montecito occupies the land between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific, where Alister MacKenzie and Robert Hunter shaped a parkland course around hills, creeks, oaks, sycamores, and firm playing surfaces. The routing rewards angle and placement, with the landscape doing much of the visual work.

History: The club was founded in 1928, MacKenzie and Hunter laid out the course in 1929, and the Valley Club opened on December 30 of that year. Tom Doak later oversaw a renovation that studied the original landform and design relationships.

Did You Know? The Valley Club’s course is organized around three hills, a feature that Tom Doak highlighted when describing the property and its routing.