Rancho San Marcos: of wind and wild animals at the SCGA Foursomes Championship

If Bandon Dunes terms itself (and rightly so) “Golf as it was meant to be,” then Rancho San Marcos Golf Course is golf as nearly every other course wishes it could be, at least in terms of scenery. Nestled in a valley beneath the Santa Ynez Mountains, about 12 miles inland from Santa Barbara and next to Lake Cachuma, Rancho San Marcos is that rarity in modern courses : there’s absolutely no housing anywhere around the course. Actually, that’s not quite accurate; there are several old buildings that remain from the days when the property was a ranch, but they merely add to the club’s charm.

We’re here for the 6th SCGA Foursomes Championship, the first of more than 20 championships on the SCGA’s 2008 schedule, and it’s easy to be seduced by the locale’s beauty. Katie Denbo has written an article in the current issue of FORE Magazine about RSM and its older “sister,” Sandpiper GC in Goleta, so you can check the details in her cover story.

Early this morning, it was sunny and crystal-clear in Santa Barbara, but as we drove up Highway 154 we headed into a fog bank. Fog hovered around the course until just before the players teed off at 10 a.m. At the rustic clubhouse, players and officials were greet by a fires in outdoor pit before they headed out to the course and there were also fires at the first and 10th tees, a nice, warming touch.

The tournament headquarters was in the barn — and in this case, the word “barn” was literal since the building was lined with horse stalls from olden days, but it was a barn with internet access — what more could anyone want?

Robert Trent Jones, Jr. and his team designed the course, which was resurrected after being purchased by Ty Warner (of Beanie Baby fame). One look at the layout — especially the undulating greens and sculptured bunkers — tells you that RTJ had a hand in it. Moreover, the distance between tees and greens and the elevation changes make carts almost mandatory (the drive from the 10th tee to the 11th tee is about 1/2 mile).

Land constraints in the Los Padres National Forest made for some interesting hole alignments, including back-to-back par-3 holes on the back nine followed by a par-4 where a blind tee shot must negotiate a narrow chute of a fairway to a small green. Unless you’re a very low-handicap golfer, don’t even think of playing this course all the way back on your first try. The land constraints did, however, give Jones and company an opportunity for some magnificent scenic views. From the 13th tee, you look back down the valley and the forested mountain backdrop of the par-3 14th green is breathtaking.

Animals abound throughout the course, including white tail deer, wild turkeys and a humongous hog named, mischeviously, by 1999 SCGA Amateur champion John Pate as “Miguelito Pate,” which is analogous to nicknaming Shaquille O’Neal “Tiny.”

Comments

[Cliff Kline]

I have walked RSM everytime I have played it - the last time being last summer.  The only place you need a cart is going from the 10th green to the 11th.  It is a reaaallly steep hill. As this author wrote, the course has a few weak holes, but overall a nice course with great scenery. I only wish they had a super twilight rate after 5PM.