8 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com 831 Standing at the start of the Pajaro Valley Golf Club’s second hole, two friends who have known each other since high school prepare to tee off. Marty Chappell and Alan Heinzen now live in Monterey and Gilroy, respectively. They certainly have options to golf in their cities; on the Monterey Peninsula, there’s the world-famous but busy golf courses. In Gilroy, there’s Eagle Ridge Golf Club, but it’s often too hot in south Santa Clara County to enjoy a round on the links. So, Chappell and Heinzen choose to meet in the middle in Royal Oaks for their frequent golf outings. “It’s a great course,” Heinzen notes, adding that they often have the course to themselves, and don’t feel the pressure from marshals at other courses that often tell golfers to keep moving. “We get to talk about the affairs of the day and get some exercise,” Chappell says. “This is the best therapy on the Peninsula.” The 18-hole Pajaro Valley Golf Club attracts local and visiting golfers for its views of Elkhorn Slough and laid-back atmosphere. And it’s been doing so for 100 years. The golf course kicked off its yearlong celebration of its centennial in June, and plans to have a number of special events marking its history while looking toward its future. Despite its proximity to the hustle and bustle of Salinas Road and Highway 1, a jaunt on a golf cart deeper into the course leaves the noise of traffic behind. General Manager Brian Robbeloth, sitting behind the wheel of the cart, notes that nature is all around the golfers. Red-tailed hawks fly overhead, as mature Monterey cypress trees line the fairways, some of which have fallen down over the years and remain embedded in the landscape. At the 18th hole, the grand finale, the waters of Elkhorn Slough come into view. “We’re at the heart of Monterey Bay,” Robbeloth says. The golf course enjoys a loyal base, with roughly 70 percent of its golfers as regulars, according to Robbeloth. It also features a restaurant onsite operated by Carmona’s Grill (see story, p. 38). The course was built in 1926 as the Watsonville Golf and Country Club, with nine holes designed by Peter Hay of Pebble Beach fame. An additional nine holes were added two decades later. The area was once a hub for transporting agricultural crops throughout the Monterey Bay. Mine carts near Salinas Road would transport goods down to the nearby waterways, where they were loaded up onto barges. Dealing with the frequent fog that blankets the area, barges would aim for an oak tree to help them navigate, which remains on the property today. Fast forward to 2026, and like anything that’s 100 years old, the golf course is a little rough around the edges. Ground squirrels wreak havoc, digging holes in the fairways and paths. Irrigation frequently springs a leak. About half of the 110 acres of grass have gone brown, but that is by design, as the golf course looks at ways to save water, says Mark Swartz, director of development for Parks Legacy, the Arizona-based company that leased the property in 2021 and closed on the purchase in early 2023. Parks Legacy has a history of purchasing older golf courses and renovating them with new amenities. It plans the same for Pajaro Valley Golf Club. “The course itself is just beautiful,” Swartz says. “The rolling terrain, the maturity of the landscape, the views of Elkhorn Slough. It really is a special place.” Swartz says the company is working on a series of renovation projects and other development for the course. That includes building a new clubhouse with a swimming pool, pickleball courts and other features, along with a market that faces Salinas Road. Parks Legacy is also going through the process of adding 160 townhomes on a 20-acre piece of the property that’s already zoned for high-density residential, Swartz says, along with an RV park. He adds that the company began community outreach about three years ago, searching for ways to help solve infrastructure issues in the heavily traveled thoroughfare. He anticipates the project is still a few years away from approvals. “We have plans to negate the impact and do something that’s really good for the community,” Swartz says. Centennial Club A hundred years in, a makeover is in the works for the Pajaro Valley Golf Club. By Erik Chalhoub “This is the best therapy on the Peninsula.” TALES FROM THE AREA CODE DANIEL DREIFUSS Golfers putt on a green during a round at Pajaro Valley Golf Club. The Royal Oaks course, marking its 100th anniversary, is known for its views of Elkhorn Slough, seen in the distance.
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