SARATOGA COUNTRY CLUB

The rolling foothills of Silicon Valley provide a surprisingly dramatic backdrop for this William Bell design, where elevation changes of up to 100 feet create strategic angles you won't find on the valley floor. The par-4 13th drops 80 feet from tee to green, demanding precise club selection as the thin air plays havoc with distance control. What elevates this municipal track above typical Bay Area daily-fee fare is Bell's clever routing through mature oak groves, where dogleg holes reward local knowledge and punish the GPS-dependent.