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Berkeley Country Club is a private 18-hole golf club in El Cerrito, California, founded in 1920 by a group that included University of California professors, alumni and Bay Area civic and business figures. Founding member and UC Berkeley professor Robert Hunter was the principal force behind the golf-course design, with William "Willie" Watson brought in to help develop the routing. The resulting par-72 course occupies rolling East Bay terrain and currently measures 6,503 yards from the Vista tees, rated 72.6 with a slope of 133.
The club's relationship with UC Berkeley has been unusually close: the Cal golf teams used the course as their home for the first six decades of the club's existence. Berkeley Country Club also hosted the 1929 Berkeley Open, won by Horton Smith. Forrest Richardson & Associates later carried out a comprehensive restoration intended to recover the Hunter-Watson design character; the project received the inaugural Award for Excellence from the American Society of Golf Course Architects.
The course is an 18-hole parkland golf course. It plays to par 72, 6,503 yards, course rating 72.6 and slope rating 133. Designed by William Watson and Robert Hunter, the course originally opened in 1920. It is a private members' club. On-site facilities include Driving Range, Putting Green, Clubhouse, Restaurant, Bar, Function Room, Social Membership, Corporate Membership.
Robert Hunter, a UC Berkeley sociology professor and avid golfer, brought together fellow academics, alumni and local business and civic figures around the idea of establishing a golf and social club in the East Bay hills. Founded in 1920, the group acquired roughly 160 acres in the newly incorporated city of El Cerrito. Hunter took the leading role in laying out the golf course and William "Willie" Watson was engaged to assist with the design.
Walter Ratcliff Jr. separately designed the Tudor-style clubhouse.
The founders wanted a course rooted in the traditions of Scottish and Irish golf while using the site's natural contours rather than imposing a rigid plan on the hills. Hunter's routing and Watson's contribution produced a walking-oriented par-72 course with substantial changes in elevation and strategic use of the existing landforms.
Forrest Richardson & Associates later undertook a comprehensive restoration of the golf course. The club describes the work as restoring all 18 greens and 44 bunkers to the character of the original Hunter-Watson design while also improving water conservation and sustainability. Official club pages variously describe the project as completed in 2011 and 2012.
The restoration received the inaugural Award for Excellence from the American Society of Golf Course Architects. The club's earlier competitive history included the 1929 Berkeley Open, won by future two-time Masters champion Horton Smith, and an exhibition involving reigning major champions Johnny Farrell and Walter Hagen.
Berkeley Country Club remains a member-owned private golf and social club with an 18-hole championship course, practice facilities, clubhouse dining and a continuing relationship with the University of California, Berkeley.
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| Front 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 |
| Yards | 373 | 142 | 407 | 332 | 414 | 433 | 254 | 501 | 364 | 3220 |
| Index | 13 | 17 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 15 | 11 | 5 | - |
| Back 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Yards | 542 | 337 | 201 | 427 | 421 | 351 | 483 | 177 | 344 | 3283 | 6503 |
| Index | 12 | 10 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 16 | 18 | 6 | - | - |
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