Designing a Southern California Gem

Scottish architect William Watson crafted the new 18 in 1921, delivering the first all-grass 18-hole course in Southern California—a milestone at a time when many greens were still “browns.” Strategic bunkering, graceful mounding, and firm, tilting greens defined the test. Decades later, William F. (Billy) Bell Jr. modernized length and hazards, while recent work guided by Todd Eckenrode removed aging non-native trees to restore Watson’s open corridors and wind. A member-approved renovation led by Brian Schneider (Renaissance Golf Design) begins in 2026 to deepen strategy while honoring the Golden Age bones.

Championship Pedigree

SDCC helped launch big-time golf in San Diego, hosting the PGA Tour’s San Diego Open in 1952. The club staged the 1964 U.S. Women’s Open—the first USGA championship in county history—then welcomed the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1993 and 2017, plus Pacific Coast Amateur and SCGA championships. Collegiate standouts still arrive each year for the Lamkin San Diego Classic. In short: this is a course that tests and reveals players.

Mickey Wright’s Homecoming

Mary Kathryn “Mickey” Wright—born in San Diego on Feb. 14, 1935—learned the game here, won junior and local events at SDCC, and returned home to capture the 1964 U.S. Women’s Open on these greens, tying the record with her fourth title. The 2025 Senior Women’s Open arrives on the 90th anniversary of her birth and 70 years after her rookie LPGA season, underscoring her enduring connection to this place.

Praised by Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson for her flowing, powerful motion, Wright won 82 LPGA titles and 13 majors. From 1961–64 she claimed 44 victories (including 13 in 1963, still a single-season record). Her 1961 U.S. Women’s Open win drew Herbert Warren Wind to compare her mastery to Hogan’s famed Oakland Hills performance. Today, the clubhouse greets visitors with the Billy Casper Grill on the right and the Mickey Wright Lounge on the left—fitting for a club that raised two Hall of Fame greats—and the USGA’s U.S. Women’s Open champion still receives the Mickey Wright Medal in her honor.

Wright’s 1964 triumph at SDCC also carried a personal note: it was the first time both of her divorced parents watched her win, a “home” victory she called “good honest cheating.” Those memories, and her counsel to practice putting at dawn or dusk for feel, still echo around these greens.

Billy Casper and the Art of the Greens

Across the fairways, another local legend was learning the same lessons. Billy Casper grew up beside the club, caddied here, and became one of golf’s greatest putters by grinding on SDCC’s slick, subtly contoured greens at twilight. He won 51 PGA Tour events and three majors, remained a lifelong presence at the club, and—along with Wright—embodies SDCC’s role as a cradle of champions.

Lore, Legends, and Local Color

A century of stories rounds out the record: President Dwight D. Eisenhower once helicoptered onto the 9th fairway for a luncheon; Prohibition-era golfers joked about quick post-round hops to Tijuana; caddies invented “backwards” and cross-country routings at dusk. The facts and the folklore all point to the same truth—SDCC has always been a vibrant hub for the game.

Then and Now

What began as nine dusty parkland holes is now a polished championship venue framed by Chula Vista. The vistas are wider again, the turf is healthier, and the Watson greens still demand precision. As the 2025 U.S. Senior Women’s Open unfolds, today’s contenders will face the same elements that molded Wright and Casper: wind, angle, and nerve on glassy putting surfaces.

San Diego Country Club’s story endures because it blends heritage with high standards. It’s where San Diego golf took root, where legends found greatness, and where the next chapter—beginning this week—will be written on the same fairways that have tested champions for more than a century.