Mill Valley Golf Course opened for play on November 1, 1919, after the Mill Valley Country Club was organized that year at a meeting held at the Outdoor Art Club. The 9-hole layout was routed by John H. Clark, a greenskeeper and professional golfer known as "Dad Clark," who had previously laid out the Marin Golf & Country Club in San Rafael and the Ingleside course in San Francisco. The original 9 measured roughly 2,200 yards, and the clubhouse opened the following year. After membership cratered during the Depression, the remaining 38 members offered the property to the city, and Mill Valley voters approved the purchase on the third try in January 1939. It has been a municipal course ever since.

On the course

The course sits at the base of Warner Canyon on roughly 42 acres of hills, creeks and mature coastal redwoods, just below Mount Tamalpais and a few minutes off Highway 101 north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The current routing plays as a par 33 (par 32 on the back-nine loop) with six par 4s and three par 3s, on bluegrass fairways and greens. Warner Creek crosses several holes, redwood groves frame multiple greens, and walking-off views of Mt. Tam are a recurring feature of the routing.

Who it suits

In 2010, an overlay short course — a par-27 par-3 layout lasered by the NCGA and played from forward tees on the existing holes — was introduced with its own scorecard, giving beginners and juniors a separate option. Staples Golf Design later completed a master plan and built a new putting course and patio area near the clubhouse. With a compact footprint, walkable terrain, modest green fees and a roughly two-hour round, the course suits beginners, juniors, seniors, and locals looking for a quick nine rather than golfers seeking a championship-length test.

Architect: John H. Clark · Opened: 1919