Pasatiempo, CA

Where Santa Cruz ends and the mountain road begins, Pasatiempo occupies the hills between Scotts Valley and the coast, a few minutes from Highway 17. Redwood country begins to the north, and the bay lies south through the city. Marion Hollins, a champion golfer, announced the project in January 1928. She planned a sports and real estate estate with a championship course, a clubhouse, tennis courts, a steeplechase track, bridle paths and a beach club on the bay. The golf course, by Scottish architect Alister MacKenzie, opened in 1929, and MacKenzie made his American home beside it. The course is the community's calling card, and golfers travel here from across the region. It has hosted the Western Intercollegiate for 78 years, and the club has also held national amateur championships. The Inn at Pasatiempo and Back Nine Grill & Bar sit along the highway at the edge of the property, while the clubhouse and Hollins House host weddings and other events. Beyond the club, the neighboring city supplies what the hills do not. Restaurants, shops and the waterfront are a short drive down, and the Tannery Arts Center in the Harvey West area holds artist studios and galleries. Pogonip Open Space offers forest walks on the Santa Cruz side. Highway 17 links the community to San Jose over the mountains in one direction and to downtown Santa Cruz in the other. The convenience comes with a busy highway close by, and trips over the summit can slow to a crawl. Streets here follow the contours of the hills instead of a grid, and fairways, oaks and redwoods blend into one landscape that feels removed from the beach town below. For anyone who wants quiet, tree cover and a golf course for a neighbor, it is a distinctive pocket of Santa Cruz County.