Golf courses in Santa Cruz, CA.

Santa Cruz, CA

Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, California, opened in 1929 and is one of the few Alister MacKenzie courses in the country where non-members can get a tee time. It was founded by Marion Hollins, the 1921 U.S. Women's Amateur champion, who also brought MacKenzie to Cypress Point. MacKenzie liked the course enough to build a house alongside the sixth fairway and lived there until his death in 1934, and he called it his finest design. A barranca cuts through the property and shapes much of the strategy, crossing several holes and forcing decisions from the tee. The greens are large and steeply contoured, and the back nine is generally considered the stronger half. The par-3 16th, playing across a deep ravine to a narrow green, is the most talked-about hole on the course. Jim Urbina led a long restoration effort returning bunkers and green edges to MacKenzie's drawings, with the greens rebuilt and the work completed in 2024. Pasatiempo hosts the Western Intercollegiate, one of the oldest college tournaments in the country. Pasatiempo is a semi-private club. Members have priority, but public tee times are released in advance and outside golfers can book online.