Eagle Ridge Golf Club opened in 2000 on a rolling site in the oak-studded foothills above Gilroy, the self-styled Garlic Capital of the World about an hour south of San Francisco. The 18-hole, par-72 layout was designed by Ron Fream and David Dale of the Santa Rosa firm Golfplan, with Hall of Fame broadcaster and former U.S. Open champion Johnny Miller credited as a co-designer in several third-party listings, including Golf Digest and GolfNow.

On the course

The course stretches to 7,005 yards from the back tees and drops to roughly 5,102 from the forward markers across six sets of tee boxes, giving the routing a course rating of 74.0 and a slope of 138. The design uses the natural movement of the land, threading fairways between oak stands and a gated residential community while incorporating three lakes, seven creeks, and 92 bunkers. Greens are large, fast, and multi-tiered, and several approaches require an aerial shot to carry bunkering that fronts the putting surfaces.

Who it suits

Notable holes include the par-4 12th, which plays along water down the left and ranks among the course's most difficult, the par-3 16th defended by a single imposing bunker, and the drivable 15th, a 330-yard short par 4. Eagle Ridge has hosted qualifiers for the USGA Public Links, U.S. Women's Open, the PGA Champions Tour Siebel Classic, and various NCGA events, and it earned a four-star rating from Golf Digest along with recognition from Golf for Women as one of the country's 50 most women-friendly courses.

The combination of length, prolific bunkering, native grasses, and out-of-bounds along the housing makes Eagle Ridge a better fit for low- to mid-handicap players than for beginners, though the multiple tee options give shorter hitters a workable test.

Architect: Ron Fream & David Dale (with Johnny Miller) · Opened: 2000