by J. Alan Beck

Created on: February 11, 2010   Last Updated: February 15, 2010

A million eucalyptus seedlings. That was the plan.

The Santa Fe railway company purchased a large tract of rural San Diego County land in 1906, to cultivate eucalyptus trees. Severe drought plus a record freeze sidetracked the railroad tie material venture, but soon sparked another: Development of an exclusive, master planned community on the eight thousand bucolic acres, to be named Rancho Santa Fe.

The new Rancho Santa Fe Country Club promptly hired golf writer and course architect Max Behr to design a playing course. This former amateur champion from Yale had some distinct thoughts about course design in general, and rough grass playing areas in particular: "The golf architect...is not at all concerned with chastising faulty strokes. It is his business to arrange the field of play so as to stimulate interest."

Set on a beautiful valley floor, Behr sculpted its existing contours into a 6,700-yard, par-72 course, reflecting his love of "native golf". Swashbuckling actor Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was part of the first foursome at its June, 1929 opening.

Famed entertainer and low handicap golfer Bing Crosby purchased a home at “The Ranch” a few years later. He soon inaugurated the Bing Crosby Pro-Am at the club; which came to be known as "The Clambake". With the star power of Crosby and its inviting Max Behr course the tournament quickly grew in popularity. Sam Snead earned the $500 first prize at three of the six Crosbys at Rancho Santa Fe. Baseball's Ty Cobb and female golfing great Babe Didrikson Zaharias were just two of the celebrated participants at the midwinter "clambakes".

The Rancho Santa Fe C.C. course today continues to display the beauty and atmosphere enhanced by its designer. Newly renovated in 2002, it is still best advised to “bring your short game” to the private course's challenging greens. The architect's spacious driving areas and beautiful sight lines to the flagstick remain. (As do towering eucalyptus trees.) However, an accurate approach to the small, sloping greens is necessary as adjacent trouble abounds.  A steady putting touch is needed on occasional multi-tiered surfaces.

If you arrive at the beautiful fourth hole at Rancho Santa Fe C.C., a note from the course's current web site (http://www.rsfgolfclub.com): As a student, Tiger Woods reached the tiered green of the 600-plus-yarder in two shots. Is that in your game as well?

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