Northwood Golf Course

Few golf courses can claim a history as storied as Northwood's. Designed by Alister MacKenzie — the Scottish-born architect behind Augusta National and Cypress Point — this redwood-canopied layout dates to 1928 and sits in the heart of Sonoma County's Russian River Valley. MacKenzie was a frequent guest of the nearby Bohemian Grove, the famously secretive retreat where San Francisco's elite have gathered for over a century, and the course grew directly out of that connection. It remains one of the least-heralded MacKenzie designs in existence, which only adds to its appeal for those who seek it out.

Playing through a cathedral of old-growth coast redwoods, Northwood asks for precision rather than power. The trees define everything — they frame, threaten, and occasionally swallow errant shots — and the routing follows the natural contours of the forest floor in a way that feels entirely organic.

Monte Rio is a small, unhurried river town about 75 miles north of San Francisco, and Northwood fits its personality perfectly: unpretentious, atmospheric, and quietly remarkable.