Sonoma Golf Club opened in 1928 as the Sonoma Mission Inn Golf and Country Club, an amenity for the nearby resort now known as the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa. Sam Whiting, the longtime professional and architect behind San Francisco's Olympic Club, routed the 18-hole course across the former J.K. Bigelow ranch, with Willie Watson credited as a collaborator on the original design. More than a thousand trees were planted before opening day, and many of those oaks, redwoods, and firs still define the parkland character of the property today.

On the course

The club occupies roughly 177 acres of rolling ground at the base of the Mayacamas Mountains in Sonoma Valley. The layout stretches to about 7,082 yards from the championship tees at a par of 72, mixing long and short holes with subtle elevation changes, stylish bunkering, and wide fairways framed by mature trees and views of neighboring vineyards. In the early 1990s, architect Robert Muir Graves modernized the bunkering and rebuilt the greens; the putting surfaces remain relatively subtle, with most breaks pulling toward the property's low point near the second tee.

Who it suits

Sonoma hosted the PGA Tour Champions' season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship from 2003 through 2009, drawing the senior tour's top players to the wine country each fall. The club is private and by-invitation, with outside play generally limited to guests of the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn. It suits golfers who appreciate Golden Age architecture and a walkable, tree-lined parkland routing over modern target-style design, and players who can manage strategic bunkering and read quiet greens will score best.

Architect: Sam Whiting · Opened: 1928