Northwood Golf Club

Favorite Hole

No. 8, par 3, 120 yards

This fun short par 3 features dramatic bunkering around a tiny undulated green. Teeing off from a ridge, this hole plays downhill and shows how the overall course could look with some restored bunkering. This hole is also the one that floats in most peril with the floods that occur. A marvelous short par 3. Also, see our post on hole 2, which is an outstanding par 4.

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Overall Thoughts

One of the myths in golf is that great courses are expensive or unattainable, if not both. Many golfers never get the opportunity to play a Raynor, Macdonald, or MacKenzie. Set within an awe-inspiring redwood forest in Northern California lies a rare exception: an affordable Alister Mackenzie course.

A visit to Northwood Golf Club in Monte Rio, California, is a spiritual experience. Yes, this MacKenzie design has seen better days. The greens have shrunk, and old bunkers are now mere dips in the fairway. But the bones of this course, and its surreal environs, are spectacularly unique. There is no course on Earth like it, and certainly not one open to the public. Northwood is a pilgrimage every golfer should make.

Located in West Sonoma County two hours north of San Francisco, Northwood embodies that over-used term: “hidden gem.” It’s a truly eccentric course. This is appropriate given its location in the Russian River Valley, a part of Northern California where many go to escape society’s norms.

Northwood’s most distinctive feature is the massive redwoods that line the fairways. They are almost unfathomable, with their size overwhelming everything around them. They make golf holes appear narrower than a bowling alley. Semi-trucks look like matchbox cars in comparison, and golf bags like handbags for ants. These mythical trees give Northwood a visual identity and an unmistakable aroma.

It’s easy to see what Northwood once was—an architectural masterpiece. It had artistic bunkering and vexing green complexes designed by MacKenzie and built by his trusty West Coast associate Robert Hunter. The pair were commissioned for the project shortly after they collaborated on Cypress Point. It is easy to see their mastery in certain intact holes, like the par-4 second, par-4 seventh, and short par-3 eighth. Other holes, like the short par-4 sixth, show evidence of once having been world-class but have lost so many design details that they can’t be considered original. As a result, Northwood is a place for dreamers. It shows just a shadow of MacKenzie and Hunter’s work, but an imaginative player can piece together what the course formerly was.

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Before my jaunt through the Bay Area with Zac Blair back in 2018, we exchanged texts about Northwood. We agreed that it was the course we were most excited to see. After the trip ended, it’s still the one we talk about the most. Certain golf experiences stick with you, and Northwood is one of those.

0 Eggs

(How We Rate Courses)

Northwood is one of the most distinctive and memorable courses in golf, but in its current state, it cannot garner an Egg. I think a fully restored Northwood could get to one Egg, but this rating should not dampen your enthusiasm to make a visit. I took my cousin here after we played Claremont Country Club in Oakland and Cal Club in South San Francisco, yet this is the golf course he mentions to me the most. So go see Northwood; it’s a one-of-one experience.

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Additional Content

Intoxicating Bones: Northwood Golf Club (February 2018 article)

What Could Be: The 2nd at Northwood (February 2018 article)