Fairway Hills is a 103-home subdivision built by Alpha Homes between 1965 and 1968 along the San Ramon Golf Club in South San Ramon. Developed after Volk-McLain withdrew from the project, Fairway Hills completed the third residential subdivision surrounding the newly opened golf course and reflected the growing appeal of golf-course living during the early years of San Ramon Village.
Fairway Hills also stood out for its unusual advertising campaign. Newspaper promotions mixed suburban aspirations with self-deprecating humor, marketing golf-course living as a carefree lifestyle.
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| 1965 Oakland Tribune grand-opening ad—Fairway Hills introduced itself with an unusually self-deprecating campaign that promised relaxation while poking fun at suburban life. |
Where is Fairway Hills?
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| Annotated map of the Fairway Hills subdivision in San Ramon, California. |
Selling the dream
Fairway Hills marketed an increasingly popular suburban ideal: spacious homes on large lots beside a new golf course. Rather than emphasizing floor plans alone, Alpha Homes promoted a lifestyle of fresh air, scenic views, and carefree living just minutes from the Bay Area.
The advertising stood out for its unusual tone. One 1965 campaign joked about children begging to visit "Harry the Horse," while another promised peace and quiet because someone else mowed the lawn. By 1967, the copy had become even wordier, mixing suburban aspirations with self-deprecating humor that was uncommon in home advertising of the period.
The San Ramon Golf Club was itself a recent addition to the landscape. Designed by Clark Glasson, the course opened its first nine holes in June 1962, with the back nine following later that year. Fairway Hills was among the first subdivisions built around the new course, giving buyers the opportunity to live beside one of San Ramon's newest recreational amenities.
For many families, the appeal wasn't simply golf—it was the promise of a quieter suburban lifestyle, where generous lots, mature landscaping, and open fairways created a sense of space that distinguished Fairway Hills from many contemporary subdivisions.
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| May 1966 Oakland Tribune ad—free landscaping and fencing reflected increasingly competitive marketing as Fairway Hills entered its second year of sales. |
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| 1967 Oakland Tribune ad—Fairway Hills shifted toward humorous, copy-heavy advertising that sold carefree suburban living as much as the homes themselves. |
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| August 1968 Oakland Tribune photo—the model homes highlighted unusually spacious backyards, reinforcing Fairway Hills' appeal to growing families. |
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| May 1968 Oakland Tribune ad—Alpha Homes promoted golf-course homes as an alternative to Pebble Beach, emphasizing golf, swimming, and tennis rather than the house itself. |
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| June 1968 Oakland Tribune photo—architectural variety was part of Fairway Hills' appeal, with models ranging from ranch homes to Dutch Colonial designs. |
Legacy of Fairway Hills
More than half a century after its grand opening, Fairway Hills remains one of the original subdivisions built around the San Ramon Golf Club. Its homes reflect an early moment in San Ramon Village's development, when the golf course became both a recreational amenity and the organizing feature for a new kind of suburban neighborhood. Together with the surrounding subdivisions that followed, Fairway Hills helped establish the pattern of golf-course living that still defines this part of South San Ramon.
Exploring the original Fairway Hills today
Although the sales office is long gone and the advertisements have faded, the original Fairway Hills model homes remain part of the neighborhood. These homes gave prospective buyers their first glimpse of Alpha's vision for suburban living in 1965.
Today, they provide a tangible connection to Fairway Hills' earliest days. The guide below documents the original model home complex, the homes themselves, and how they appear today.
Original advertised prices
- 1965: From $25,950
- 1966: $26,975 – $31,975
- 1967: From $26,975
- 1968: From $27,975
Original model home complex
Fairway Hills' five original model homes were arranged on Boca Raton Court around a temporary sales complex that welcomed prospective buyers during the neighborhood's grand opening in 1966. While the sales office disappeared long ago, the model homes remain, allowing visitors to trace the neighborhood's beginnings more than fifty years later.
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| Annotated aerial map of the original Fairway Hills model home complex on Boca Raton Court. Base imagery from Apple Maps. |
Original model home designs
1. The Santa Barbara - This model offered approximately 2,013 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Santa Barbara model today via Google Street View. |
2. The Pennsylvania - This model offered approximately 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.
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| Original Pennsylvania model today via Google Street View. |
3. The San Ramon - This model offered approximately 1,711 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original San Ramon model today via Google Street View. |
4. The Monterey - This model offered approximately 2,040 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Monterey model today (expanded) via Google Street View. |
5. The Plan 5 - This model offered approximately 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Plan 5 model today via Google Street View. |
Collections
San Ramon — the neighborhoods that built a suburban city
This collection explores the new-home communities, builders, and neighborhoods that shaped San Ramon during its principle years of suburban growth that gradually became the modern city.
The San Ramon Village collection explores the master-planned community that transformed former ranches and orchards into today's Dublin and South San Ramon. Although the name has largely disappeared, the neighborhoods, subdivisions, schools, parks, and shopping centers built as part of the original plan continue to shape the Tri-Valley.
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