Pasatiempo sits on rolling sand hills above Santa Cruz, roughly halfway between San Francisco and the Monterey Peninsula, and, unlike Cypress Point, it is a MacKenzie course a visitor can simply book. The club is semi-private: members hold some early weekend and holiday times, and the rest of the tee sheet is sold to the public. MacKenzie called it his favourite layout and made his American home here; the house still borders the sixth fairway. Golf Digest ranks it 93rd in its current list of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses, and it works as a first or last round on a Pebble Beach trip.
Pasatiempo Golf Club green fees and tee times.
Book online through the club’s TeeItUp page or call the pro shop on 831-459-9155. Regular public times open seven days ahead. To fix a date earlier, use a priority tee time: these can be booked up to 365 days ahead for 1 to 16 golfers, with a non-refundable priority fee of US$50 per golfer listed on the rates page, and the green fee is guaranteed unless you cancel or change at least 10 days before. The TeeItUp booking page asks for at least 24 hours’ notice to cancel an online booking. Groups of 16 or more deal with the group desk on 831-459-9159. The club does not publish a handicap limit. Expect members to hold some early weekend and holiday slots, so midweek gives the widest choice.
INDICATIVE GREEN FEE · CHECKED NOVEMBER 2026From US$465
18-hole green fee, walking; US$515 with an electric cart. A non-refundable US$50 per golfer priority fee applies to times booked more than seven days ahead.
18 holes, walking
US$465
18 holes, riding
US$515
Electric cart, per player
US$50
Push or pull trolley
US$15
Rental clubs, per day
US$60
Prices change by season and booking route, so confirm the current rate with the operator. Official rates ↗
The round, in perspective.
Marion Hollins, the 1921 US Women’s Amateur champion, announced the project in January 1928 and hired MacKenzie to build what she hoped would be the best course west of the Mississippi. It opened on 8 September 1929 with Hollins, Bobby Jones, Glenna Collett and Cyril Tolley in the first group, watched by more than 2,000 people. Jim Urbina has guided its restoration for over 20 years, first with Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design and since 2010 with his own firm, working from old aerial photographs and the writings of MacKenzie and Hollins. It is short by modern standards: 6,495 yards from the Gold tees with a slope of 143, and the difficulty comes from the slopes, the bunkering and the greens. Local rules give a flavour of the ground: the 11th has a penalty area with its own drop option, power lines cross the 6th and 17th, and the 11th tee shot may not be played over the 12th green.
Know before you go.
Booking window
7 days; priority times up to 365 days
Cancellation
24 hours for online bookings
Dress
Collared shirts; no denim, cut-offs or tank tops
Spikes
No metal spikes; shoes approved by the pro shop
Pace of play
4 hours 15 minutes target
Rain policy
Full green-fee refund if fewer than 5 holes played
Make the trip work.
The course was built before electric carts, and each tee sits close to the previous green, so walking is the natural way round despite the hills. A push or pull trolley costs US$15 against US$50 for an electric cart, and shoes must be approved by the pro shop, with no metal spikes. The rain policy is generous: play fewer than five holes and the green fee is refunded, though not the cart fee, and stopping between holes five and nine returns half. The driving range is near the first green, with a shuttle from the first tee, and the practice area beside the first tee has a putting green, a chipping green and a bunker. After the round, the Hollins House and the Tap Room in the clubhouse serve lunch and drinks.
San Jose Mineta International (SJC) is the closest major airport, about 30 miles north-east over Highway 17; allow 45 minutes to an hour, more at rush hour. San Francisco (SFO) is about 75 miles away. The club is at 20 Clubhouse Road, just off Highway 17 a mile or so north of its junction with Highway 1. Pebble Beach is roughly an hour south on Highway 1.
There are no rooms at the club, so most visitors stay in Santa Cruz itself, a few minutes’ drive away. The beachfront hotels near the Boardwalk and the wharf put you close to restaurants, and the Chaminade Resort & Spa sits on a hill east of town. Capitola, a few miles down the coast, is a quieter seaside alternative. If Pasatiempo is the first round of a longer trip, many golfers drive on to Monterey or Carmel the same afternoon and base themselves there.
Make a trip of it.
Pasatiempo pairs naturally with the Monterey Peninsula, an hour south: Poppy Hills and Spyglass Hill in the Del Monte Forest, or the two former army courses at Bayonet & Black Horse in Seaside, which are the closest of the three. In Santa Cruz, walk West Cliff Drive to the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse and its small surfing museum, or ride the Giant Dipper, the 1924 wooden roller coaster on the Boardwalk.
Find your season.
Santa Cruz is golfable all year. Summer mornings often start under coastal fog, which tends to burn off by midday, and September and October usually bring the clearest, warmest days. Winter rain is the main interruption, which is when the club’s rain-refund policy earns its keep. The Western Intercollegiate, a college event, has been played here for 78 years.
Yes. Pasatiempo is a semi-private club that sets aside tee times for the public every day. Members hold certain early weekend and holiday times. You can book online or by phone up to seven days ahead, or up to a year ahead with a priority tee time.
How much does it cost to play Pasatiempo?
The published 18-hole green fee is US$465 to walk and US$515 with an electric cart. Booking more than seven days out adds a non-refundable priority fee of US$50 per golfer, as listed on the rates page. Rental clubs are US$60 a day.
What is the dress code at Pasatiempo?
Collared shirts are required. Shorts are allowed but not cut-offs, and denim, tank tops and sleeveless T-shirts are not permitted. Metal spikes are not allowed, and golf shoes must meet the pro shop’s approval.
Did Alister MacKenzie live at Pasatiempo?
Yes. The club quotes Sports Illustrated’s Alan Shipnuck: Pasatiempo was MacKenzie’s favourite layout and where he made his American home, a house that still borders the sixth fairway. The MacKenzie Bar & Grill at the club carries his name.
Last checked 11 November 2026. This is an independent planning guide, not a first-hand review or a booking service. Check live availability, access, fees and travel details with the operator before booking. Airport suggestions are starting points for route planning.
