Northwood Golf Club

Northwood Golf Club occupies a secluded site along the Russian River in Monte Rio, deep in the redwood country of Sonoma County. Alister Mackenzie designed the course in 1928 with collaboration from Robert Hunter, who was both Mackenzie's occasional partner and a fellow member of the California Golf Club. The layout represents one of Mackenzie's smaller-scale projects from his prolific California period, which also produced Pasatiempo and Cypress Point. The property's intimate scale and forested character distinguish it from Mackenzie's more celebrated designs on larger, more open sites. The routing works through groves of towering redwoods and second-growth forest, with the Russian River forming a natural boundary. The terrain features moderate elevation changes and the holes move through corridors of trees, creating a parkland character distinct from the windswept links-style courses Mackenzie is often associated with. The design employs Mackenzie's characteristic strategic bunkering and green contouring within the constraints of the wooded setting. Northwood operates as a private club with a modest membership and maintains a low profile compared to California's more prominent Mackenzie designs. The alternate tees referenced in the course name allow for varied play on the compact property, a practical solution that extends the strategic interest across multiple rounds. The club's remote location in the Russian River resort area has preserved much of the layout's original character through the decades.