Inside San Ramon Country Club: Volk-McLain's 1960s neighborhood legacy

Cover photo showing the San Ramon Golf Club clubhouse, a low-profile mid-century building with broad eaves, large windows, and a landscaped entry. Set against a backdrop of the golf course, the clubhouse reflects the 1960s suburban vision of recreational-centered community living in San Ramon.

Country Club: The lost centerpiece of San Ramon Village

Once part of the historic Dougherty Ranch, the land that would become the Country Club neighborhood marked a transformative moment in San Ramon’s mid-century suburban expansion. As the first section of the San Ramon Village master plan to cross into Contra Costa County from its original core in Dublin, it signaled a bold step forward for regional planning—one that blended leisure, lifestyle, and community infrastructure in a single, ambitious vision.

Map of the Country Club neighborhood in south San Ramon, California, showing the layout of residential subdivisions surrounding the San Ramon Country Club golf course. The map highlights street patterns, the location of key amenities such as the golf course and former country club facilities, and the neighborhood’s position within the larger San Ramon Village master plan.
Map of the Country Club neighborhood in south San Ramon, the first phase of the San Ramon Village master plan to cross into Contra Costa County. Centered around Alcosta Boulevard and the San Ramon Country Club golf course, the map shows the layout of surrounding subdivisions developed between 1961 and the early 1970s.

From farmland to master plan

The neighborhood was envisioned in the early 1960s as an upscale residential enclave centered on recreational amenities that were virtually unheard of in the Tri-Valley at the time. Developers Volk-McLain, who also spearheaded the earlier phases of San Ramon Village in Dublin, proposed a master-planned community with an 18-hole golf course, stables, a racquet club, swimming facilities, and eventually, schools and neighborhood retail—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 San Ramon Country Club

At the heart of this vision was the San Ramon Country Club (now known as "San Ramon Golf Club"), 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.

A community of subdivisions

Surrounding the golf course were seven planned subdivisions, each contributing to the broader neighborhood identity. Early buyers were often offered a free one-year club membership as part of their home purchase. Some of the initial tracts included:

  • 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 whimsical 1961 advertisement for the San Ramon 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 highlights the romanticized vision of suburban life overlooking fairways and greens—a hallmark of Volk-McLain’s early master plan.

After Volk-McLain’s departure from homebuilding in 1965, they sold off remaining parcels to other developers. This shifted the marketing strategy away from a cohesive community identity toward individual tract branding. Yet these later developments remained tied to the same foundational vision:

  • Fairway Hills – Built by Alpha Homes, these homes replaced the former Country Club Estates with more affordable yet well-situated homes still bordering the golf course.

  • Crestview – A modest but desirable tract by H. C. Elliott.

  • Casa Mañana – Middle-income homes developed by McGah-Bailey.

  • Walnut Hills – An upscale enclave developed within a former walnut orchard, completing the transformation from agriculture to suburbia.

Legacy and loss of a name

Though the original “Country Club” neighborhood identity has largely faded from local usage, its imprint remains visible in the layout, architecture, and aging street trees of south San Ramon, particularly the areas south of Bishop Ranch Business Park. The neighborhood’s story offers a unique lens into mid-century suburban planning, where the promise of recreation, prestige, and cohesive design briefly coalesced before fragmenting into the more familiar patchwork of individually branded tracts.

Today, South San Ramon is often remembered for its homes or its proximity to Bishop Ranch, but rarely for the bold experiment in community-making it once was.

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