Pasatiempo Golf Course Top 100 Review

Pasatiempo Golf Club is an 18-hole championship course designed by legendary architect Alister MacKenzie in 1929, located in Santa Cruz, California. MacKenzie considered it his favorite design among his notable works, including Augusta National and Cypress Point, and made his American home adjacent to the sixth fairway.

The course is ranked among Golf Digest's top 100 greatest courses in America and operates as a semi-private club with public play available at designated tee times. Set in a picturesque California landscape with breathtaking scenery, the course presents significant challenges with strategically designed greens and bunkers that have tested elite golfers including Bobby Jones, Tiger Woods, and Juli Inkster.

Notable features include the diabolical 16th green, which recently underwent restoration to MacKenzie's original specifications. The course has hosted prestigious tournaments for nearly eight decades, including the Western Intercollegiate and USGA Championships such as the 1986 U.S. Women's Amateur and 2004 U.S. Senior Women's Amateur. Recently, all greens and bunkers were restored to their original 1929 MacKenzie design, combining historical authenticity with modern agronomic standards.