Nestled in the rolling hills of eastern Rancho Santa Fe, The Crosby Golf Club offers members a complete array of resort amenities including championship golf, dining and banquet facilities, a full service clubhouse and spa, and a sports complex including swimming, fitness, and tennis. The Club
Nestled in the rolling hills of eastern Rancho Santa Fe, The Crosby Golf Club offers members a complete array of resort amenities including championship golf, dining and banquet facilities, a full service clubhouse and spa, and a sports complex including swimming, fitness, and tennis. Themed in Bing Crosby era lifestyle and Lillian Rice Architecture, this exclusive gated community exudes the Rancho Santa Fe lifestyle. The Crosby, a Starwood development, opened in 2001 and has steadily grown in housing development and membership. Currently the golf membership is around 2/3rd s toward its ceiling of 390 golf members. Initiation fees are in the mid $100k ‘s for a non-equity golf membership. Alternatively, social memberships are offered for substantially less and include membership to the clubhouse, sports complex, spa, and social events. Dining at the club will impress the most discerning palate. The head chef, formerly from La Valencia
Hotel in La Jolla, provides a wide array of delicious culinary treats for The Crosby’s every day menus as well as for the numerous special dining events held throughout the year such as Mother’s Day and Holidays. The large banquet facilities provide the room to entertain on a grand scale, as evidenced by the recent “Swing with Bing” black tie gala that included a twelve piece orchestra. The demographics of the membership trend toward the younger side with an average age falling in the 50’s. The club caters to families and provides a wide selection of youth programs. All in all, the club amenities are everything you would expect from an exclusive private resort situated in one of the wealthiest areas of the country.
The Course
A Curley/ Schmidt design with the help of Fred Couples, the golf course offers a challenge for all levels of play by providing 6 sets of tee boxes. With fall overseeding in September, the course is impeccably maintained year round. At over 7000 yards from the back tees, this par 70 course will keep the attention of even the best players on every shot. The greens are generally quite large, but effectively play much smaller due to tiers on almost every green and numerous false fronts that can send what appear to be accurate shots rolling several yards away from their intended target. The aprons surrounding the greens are large and closely mowed, which requires creative play and an arsenal of short game shots. Much of the course sits on the western side of a large mountain that provides sweeping panoramic views and many elevated tee shots. Tee shots can be very intimidating from these high viewpoints because each hole sits separately on its own track of land and is boundaried by native bush and plant life that is not marked hazard. Shots hit into these native bush areas are in play but rarely findable or playable. Another unique aspect of the course is the bunkering, which includes many the deep penalizing fairway. Themed after the classic courses of Scotland, the fairway bunkers at The Crosby are meant to be a one shot penalty hazard. Most shots hit into these bunkers will require a sand wedge blast shot to return to the fairway.
Hole #7 The Rock Hole
Probably the toughest hole on the course and one of the most picturesque, the 7th hole is a par four (par 5 for the ladies) that measures 480 yards from the blacks and generally plays into the prevailing ocean breeze from the west. Players hit from an elevated tee down a steeply rolling fairway with an enormous natural rock protruding from it, which will catch poorly struck shots. The rock was uncovered during grading of the course and was left there partly due to its size but also as unique signature for the hole. The best placed tee shot favors a right to left ball due to the hole’s dogleg left shape. The caveat is that the landing area is tight – particularly down the left fairway where the cart path juts in around a canyon not visible from the tee.
Players will often hit down the left side to what appears to be a good tee shot only to find there ball missing in the hazard. A well struck tee shot down the right side of the fairway will leave 190 yards to a kidney shaped green with a tier on the back third and a false front center right. The second shot favors a left to right ball shape that due to a large cluster of bunkers along the front and right side of the green. Approach shots hit short and left of the green offer a good chance of up and down. Long and left is trouble as balls will end up with a severe side hill lie hitting to a green that runs away. Number 7 green, like most on the course, tends to break west toward Lake Hodges Creek. A back right pin position is the most difficult on the green because it forces the player to fire their second shot over the bunkers, which are deep and nasty. A conservative shot to the left front when the pin is back right leaves the player with a difficult chance at two putting due to the false front, which can cause the ball to roll off the green. During the long walk back to the cart, the beautiful scenery of Hole #7 helps ease the pain of high strokes that most first-timers incur.
Estate Home Showcase
Arguably the nicest golf course frontage estate at The Crosby, this 5200 square foot home beckons from above as you arrive at the 4th hole green. Designed by architect Emil Venes and built by Stonefield Development, the custom 3 bedroom, 4 1/2 bath masterpiece is flush with the finest upgrades and amenities luxury living has to offer. The prominent feature from the exterior is the expansive veranda that protrudes from the roof over the backyard patio. The views from the patio are breathtaking from all vantage points and include the northern mountains of Cielo, the endless rolling hills of “The Ranch”, and views of many of the Crosby’s challenging holes. The spacious back yard also showcases an incredible infinity edge pool with beach entry, spa, fire pit, BBQ island, and a fruit tree orchard. The bronze wolf statue, “Midnight”, faces westward howling at the moon while guarding the grounds.
The home’s thematic artwork is introduced upon arrival at the front door. Rather than a doorbell to announce one’s arrival, an ancient gong from 18th century Thailand sits with a mallet waiting to be struck. Incredible artifacts from Cambodia, Burma, and Thailand dating from the 18th and 19th centuries adorn the rest of the home’s interior. A wonderful interior courtyard and fireplace are surrounded 360 degrees by the home’s windows. One of the strikingly unique features of this house is that it contains no formal dining or living rooms. Instead, an expansive great room with 18′ ceilings and exposed 1ft square beams comprises both the dining and family rooms. In addition, this airy room opens into the chef’s kitchen and outside to the
veranda, a feature highly sought after by today’s luxury home owner. The wood cabinetry throughout the house is a beautiful warm chocolate-toned alder. The impressive library contains floor-to-ceiling built in cabinetry with detailed craftsmanship and sliding windows which open to the 4th hole. With the exception of a second story office that boasts panoramic views, the home is a single story dwelling. The master bedroom ingeniously designed with a turret style entry to the bathroom amenities which include a steam room, oversized Jacuzzi tub, and two large walk in closets.
Although the home’s interior and back yard impress with their beauty and amenities, the front also deserves mention with its impressive yet welcoming entry. The long driveway leads up to a circular drive, which highlights the beautiful turret entry. The oversized 4 stall garage is located around the side of the house and is not visible on approach. The garage boasts a spacious design and inclusion of a massive 18’X10″ storage room with 10′ ceiling. The home’s exterior is perfected with a steel trowel finish providing a patina, which makes the home look much older than its actual age. In conclusion, this incredible golf course home with panoramic views showcases the balance of luxury and lifestyle every home owner should deserve.
Written by Patrick Brown & Sharm Newbold, Broker associates
Petrone Properties