Country Club — the recreational heart of San Ramon Village

The Country Club neighborhood was more than one of San Ramon's earliest neighborhoods. Planned around the San Ramon Country Club and golf course, it represented the center of Volk-McLain's vision for San Ramon Village—a suburban community organized around recreation, leisure, and neighborhood identity.

As the first major San Ramon Village development north of the Alameda County line, Country Club introduced amenities and planning concepts that had little precedent in the Tri-Valley during the early 1960s.

Mapping the Country Club neighborhood in San Ramon

Annotated aerial map showing the boundaries of the Country Club neighborhood in San Ramon.

Annotated aerial map of the Country Club neighborhood in San Ramon, California. Base imagery from Google Maps.

From ranchland to community center

Once part of the historic Dougherty Ranch, the Country Club neighborhood was envisioned in the early 1960s as an upscale residential section centered on recreational amenities. Developers Volk-McLain, who also spearheaded the San Ramon Village Master Plan, proposed a neighborhood with an 18-hole golf course, stables, a racquet club, swimming facilities, and eventually, schools and a regional shopping center—all set within a picturesque suburban landscape.

A key aspect of the original plan was its community-first ethos: while earlier tracts in Dublin had catered to entry-level buyers, this new phase aimed to attract move-up families and active adults by offering lifestyle amenities that could support a more cohesive and self-sufficient neighborhood identity.

The country club as the center of the plan

At the center of the neighborhood stood the San Ramon Country Club. Rather than treating recreation as an amenity added after development, Volk-McLain organized the surrounding neighborhoods around the golf course, clubhouse, swimming facilities, and recreational amenities.

The San Ramon Country Club (now known as "San Ramon Golf Club") was designed by noted golf course architect Clark Glasson. The course officially opened on May 28, 1962, spanning 140 acres with a classic par 72 layout (36-36). The back nine—tucked into the nearby foothills—was completed later that year. Semi-private in nature, the course welcomed public play at affordable rates: a bucket of balls cost $1.50 on weekdays, rising to $2.50 on holidays, while yearly memberships were priced at $95, plus $7.50 in monthly dues.

While the golf course and clubhouse were open to the public, other amenities like the swimming pool and racquet courts were restricted to members. A second, private course was proposed for the nearby hills, but it was never built. The completed clubhouse, a modernist structure costing roughly $400,000, was hailed as a major recreational addition to the region, which, at the time, had limited golf and leisure infrastructure.

Grainy black-and-white newspaper image showing an artist’s rendering of the San Ramon Country Club layout. The illustration depicts the clubhouse surrounded by an 18-hole golf course, swimming pool, tennis courts, landscaped grounds, and nearby housing—capturing the ambitious recreational vision at the center of the Country Club neighborhood’s development in the early 1960s.

Grainy newspaper photo of the original artist’s rendering for the San Ramon Country Club, showcasing the golf course, clubhouse, swimming pool, tennis courts, and surrounding recreational amenities. This early vision from the 1960s positioned the club as the social and recreational heart of the planned community.

The changing shape of San Ramon Village

Surrounding the golf course were subdivisions that together formed the Country Club neighborhood. Early buyers were often offered a one-year club membership as part of their home purchase, reinforcing the connection between the residential tracts and the recreational center at the heart of the community.

San Ramon Country Club Park – Built by Volk-McLain, these homes fronted directly onto the golf course and featured the builder’s most luxurious designs.
Country Club Estates – Also by Volk-McLain, this short-lived series was marked by large, custom-style homes that aimed to define suburban opulence.
Sunny Glen – A retirement-focused subdivision adjacent to the country club and equestrian stables, reflecting the diversity of target buyers.

Vintage September 1961 advertisement for San Ramon Country Club Park, featuring a couple dancing atop an oversized golf tee. The headline reads “Tee for Two” and promotes the appeal of homes overlooking scenic fairways and greens. The ad captures the era’s aspirational lifestyle marketing, blending romance, recreation, and suburban promise.

A 1961 advertisement for the Country Club Park subdivision, using golf imagery to market leisure living. The tagline "Tee for Two" paired with a couple dancing on a giant golf tee reflects the lifestyle marketing used to promote golf course living during the early years of San Ramon Village.

After Volk-McLain left homebuilding in 1965, the remaining parcels were sold to other developers. Although new tracts continued to appear around the golf course, the unified identity of Country Club gradually gave way to individual subdivision branding. This included tracts like Fairway Hills, Crestview, Casa Mañana, and Walnut Hills.

Legacy and the Country Club neighborhood

Although the Country Club name survives primarily through the golf course itself, the neighborhood still reflects the original San Ramon Village vision. Curving streets, mature landscaping, golf course lots, and varied architectural styles reveal an era when suburban planning focused on creating a complete community rather than simply a collection of subdivisions.

Today, residents may identify more strongly with individual tracts or with south San Ramon as a whole, but the neighborhood remains the clearest surviving expression of Volk-McLain's original vision for San Ramon Village.

TractTales | Neighborhood history of the Tri-Valley