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SEA RANCH, Calif. - To most people - even some Californians - the state's northern border is just north of Napa and Sonoma.
That four hours of coastline north of California wine country is still relatively undiscovered and might as well be its own universe. It's this off-the-grid locale where Sea Ranch hides, a haven of commanding ocean views and wildlife. Sea Ranch, an environmentally-focused community dating to the 1960s that stretches 10 miles along the coast, gives off laid-back Monterey Peninsula vibes without the hassles of tightly-packed neighborhoods, overpriced shopping and excessive amounts of tourists found in Pebble Beach and Carmel-By-The-Sea.
Although Pacific Highway 1 is a gorgeous drive north of San Francisco, it's also a tedious one. The hairpin turns and narrow switchbacks on the way to Sea Ranch can be downright frightening. It's like driving the Road to Hana on Maui ... except with large trucks and construction crews as obstacles. These hurdles keep the crowds away, just how Sea Ranch likes it.
I spent a recent weekend constantly awestruck by Sea Ranch, a place I had never heard of despite living less than four hours away for nearly a decade. I approached my two-night stay from two unique perspectives: first as a couples getaway and then a buddies golf adventure. Sea Ranch passed each test with ease, as both my wife and friends are already clamoring for a return.
The community's new owners just completed a multi-year, multi-million-dollar improvement project. The resort's 17 new guest rooms debuted earlier this year, all connected to the Sea Ranch Lodge that reopened in 2021 after a three-year closure that upgraded everything. What hasn't changed: those awe-inspiring, almost mystical coastal views.
Life at Sea Ranch
Today's Sea Ranch - a coastal community of more than 1,800 homes; the lodge, a post office, equestrian center, two recreation centers including indoor pools, coastal hiking trails and the golf course - continues the tradition of "living lightly on the land." Guests can stay at the Lodge, where no two rooms are the same, or rent a home for more privacy and space. Staying in the "Hines House" turned out to be a special treat for my first visit. How many other golf resorts feature accommodations on the National Registry of Historic Places?
The two-bedroom Hines House - and adjacent two-bedroom bunkhouse - was built in 1967 with interior decor to match. A record player, wood paneling, orange couches and shag carpet transport guests back to the 1970s. It sits in the neighborhood high above the Lodge with views through the trees out to the ocean.
The homes throughout the Sea Ranch community spread out in clusters, all decorated with the same weathered-wood look that blends in naturally with the landscape.
For the first 24 hours of our stay, my wife and I spent every waking minute exploring Sea Ranch's 10 miles of shoreline. We savored every beach cove, each one a new discovery - a man and his dog playing fetch with an expanse of sand all to themselves, a marine sanctuary of shallow pools where harbor seals breed and raise their young every year, an eightsome playing ultimate frisbee on Black Point Beach and so on.
The Lodge serves as the hub of the community. The Dining Room, Bar + Lounge and Cafe all flow from one to the next, leading to a wall of windows that bring the coastal bluffs to life. As we dined on steak frites and braised short ribs, a fox emerged from the hedges to entertain us. Breakfast sandwiches from The Cafe fueled us up the next morning for another hike. Lunch afterwards at BBQ 4200 inside the small golf clubhouse re-energized me for an interesting round at Sea Ranch Golf Links that afternoon. The food was just as good, if not better, than at any restaurant we've dined at back in the Bay Area.
Playing Sea Ranch Golf Links
Golf signaled the shift from couples getaway to buddies trip. A threesome of my crew arrived mid-day for 12 hours of bonding over golf, wine and whiskey. They fell in love with the accommodations instantly. The quirky layout and towering skylights of Hines House reminded my buddy Andy of something Frank Lloyd Wright might build.
Although much less famous as an architect, Robert Muir Graves did a fine job designing Sea Ranch Golf Links, completing the first nine in 1974 and the entire 6,649-yard routing two decades later in 1995. Like everyone who plays at Sea Ranch, we had a good time but left dreaming of more. There's so much potential. The moody skies, ocean breeze and minimalistic maintenance mimic an undiscovered Irish or Scottish links.
"When I took the job, I thought this was just like Sandpiper (a scenic public course near Santa Barbara). We're not quite there yet," admitted Adam Brooks, the clubhouse manager who moved up from SoCal to take over the golf operations.
We played lift, clean and place to avoid some tough lies on patchy, brown fairways. The greens were spongy and slow but otherwise in decent shape. The bunkers were as rough as it gets.
What the course lacks in consistent conditioning, though, it counters with one cool hole after another. They twist left and right, climbing uphill or falling down, almost always with a distant glimpse out to the Pacific. The dynamite par-3 eighth hole delivers the in-your-face ocean views that make California golf special. It was downright therapeutic to experience a weekend round where we only saw two other groups. You can race around or gear it down like we did.
I'm not the first person to be enamored by a rustic round at Sea Ranch Golf Links. A GolfPass review from 'bolt65' in April anointed Sea Ranch a "West Coast Diamond In The Rough", writing it was the "2nd time playing here in twenty years and (I was) even more amazed than the first time. This is a must play destination course as it’s far from civilian life, yet so memorable from start to finish. Trouble can be found on every hole. Avoid bunkers at all costs IMO. With links holes, tree lined gems, “gorsh,” and plenty of rough, you need to be long and/or straight here, carve the ball left and right, know when & where to lay up, and lag putt well. This is an awesome course, design, and layout. Anyone that says otherwise doesn’t know pure golf. What a walk in the park! This course has just about it all…"
No matter what you shoot, visiting Sea Ranch seems to lower the blood pressure and quiet the mind. Its lifestyle turns back the clock, long before Hollywood, the Beach Boys, Silicon Valley and tourism transformed California into one of the world's most powerful economic engines. Life is still simple at Sea Ranch. Just how it should stay forever.
Comments (1)
Have been to Sea Ranch a couple of times and VRBO'd a house on the bluffs over the beaches. Way cool vibe! ... but pretty remote, which is part of the appeal. Accessed by a beautiful but somewhat arduous drive up the PCH from SF. The golf course was empty, very inexpensive and relaxing but conditioning was poor--fairways were in cow pasture-like condition and design far from challenging--so, go for the "reverie", peacefulness and the overall experience, but don't expect championship golf. Lastly, I would not characterize this as "links" golf in the truest sense. It is near the ocean, but not really linksy, so don't be fooled by the name.