The Bridges Golf Club

Tucked into the East Bay hills of San Ramon, this daily-fee course opened in 1999 from the drawing boards of PGA Tour major winner Johnny Miller and Damian Pascuzzo, then working under the Robert Muir Graves firm. The original layout was famously demanding, threaded through oak-studded canyons and heavily bunkered in a way that punished the average player. In 2013, architect Jay Blasi reworked the routing and playability, most notably stripping out more than 80 bunkers to soften the test while keeping the dramatic terrain intact. The result is a public course that still asks for precise, well-placed shots across rolling hillsides and native grasses, but welcomes a wider range of handicaps. It remains a popular Bay Area stop for outings and everyday rounds.