1901 East Valley Rd,
Santa Barbara, California 93108
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Lisa Price (Head Professional)The Course:
18 holes. Tree-lined & open parkland. Undulating terrain - a few slopes to climb.
Surroundings:
Residential setting.
Designer:
Original design by Dr Alister MacKenzie & Robert Hunter (1929); modifications by Tom Doak (2018).
34.432673
-119.615286
6 miles E of downtown Santa Barbara.
Valley Club of Montecito
The Valley Club of Montecito: this private golf club is home to one of California's finest golf courses ... many would say an excellent example of Alister MacKenzie's less dramatic and understated designs. However, there's nothing undramatic about the layout's impressive mountain backdrop. And there's nothing understated about the size and quantity of the course's ever-threatening bunkering.
MacKenzie's out-and-back design occupies a charmingly peaceful environment, complemented by a stunning backdrop provided by the Santa Ynes Mountains. The design is elegant, but also deceptively testing. Your full repertoire of shots will be called on to score well. On many occasions a high-flighted approach is required to clear the greenside bunkers; only that will bring you safely onto the fast, true and subtly sloping putting surfaces.
Predominantly flanked by woodland (rather than the multi-million dollar mansions of the adjoining Birnam Wood Golf Club), The Valley Club retains a pleasantly natural feel throughout.
Limited access: this is a private course generally playable only by members and their invited guests.
Private club; guests may only play if hosted by a member.
Non-metal spike facility. Walking permitted at all times. Golf carts available to rent.
Limited
Directly to the north of The Valley Club is the also private Birnam Wood Golf Club, a par-70, 6000-yard layout designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. Many of Birnam Wood's fairways are flanked by opulently large real estate ... unlike those of The Valley Club.
World: formerly ranked world's 97th best course (GOLF magazine, 2011; not in subsequent editions of this ranking).
USA: 86th best course in the USA (Golf Digest, 2019/20).
State: 11th best course in California (Golf Digest, 2019/20).
Tournaments:
European Tour: 2021 marks the 50th and last season of the world renowned European Tour, launched in April 1972 at the Spanish Open. From 2022 the Tour will be sponsored by Dubai-based global supply chain and ports operator DP World, and will be known as the DP World Tour.
South African Open: December 2021 events in South Africa have again been impacted by the Covid pandemic. The South African Open (Dec 2-5) will no longer be played as a DP World Tour event, and the Alfred Dunhill Championship (Dec 9-12) has been cancelled.
Who's Who:
Bernhard Langer: at age 64, Langer collected a record sixth Charles Schwab Cup, the only player to have won the season-long points chase more than twice. He also topped the PGA Tour Champions money-list for the 11th time out of a possible 13 since 2008.
Carlota Ciganda: the five-time Solheim Cup star was delighted to record a fourth Ladies European Tour win in her home national championship, the Ladies Spanish Open.
Lee Elder: Trailblazer, Ryder Cup player, four-time PGA Tour winner and eight-time Senior PGA Tour winner, Lee Elder died on November 28, aged 87. In 1975 he became the first African American golfer to play in the Masters tournament, and in so doing provided one of the pivotal moments in the history of professional golf.
Golf World Top 100: Best Golf Courses in Europe. From France to Spain to the Netherlands and Norway, the Golf World Top 100 panel reveals the places you have to play (published 20 October 2021).
New 27-hole golf complex to be built in southern Belgium
A new golf complex in southern Belgium, close to the border with Luxembourg, will start construction in June 2021.
Marco Simone Golf & Country Club "makes its tournament debut with the hosting of the Italian Open on the European Tour" by Richard Humphreys
Gamble Sands opens short course:
David McLay Kidd’s 14-hole QuickSands short course has opened for play at Gamble Sands in Brewster, Washington.
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