Best 7 golf courses in Santa Cruz in 2025

Best overall for a mountain outing: Boulder Creek Golf Club, a public 9-hole course with disc golf and clubhouse dining. Best for course architecture: Pasatiempo. Best for a round in Santa Cruz city: DeLaveaga Golf Course. This guide compares seven Santa Cruz golf courses and nearby alternatives by location, round format and reason to visit in 2026.

Why this matters

A search for Santa Cruz golf courses brings together different kinds of trips. A round in the city, an outing in the Santa Cruz Mountains and a stop near Watsonville do not put you in the same place. Pick the setting first; then check the course format and current tee-time details.

This 2026 list includes courses in Santa Cruz County and one clearly marked Monterey Peninsula option. Bayonet Golf Course is in Seaside, not Santa Cruz County. It belongs on the list only if your trip extends beyond the county.

What makes the best Santa Cruz golf course?

• Location: Decide whether your day centers on Santa Cruz city, the mountains, Aptos, Watsonville or a wider coastal trip.
• Round format: Boulder Creek Golf Club has 9 holes; several alternatives have 18. Choose the format you want rather than treating one as an automatic upgrade.
• Reason to play: Course architecture, a municipal round and a mountain setting serve different interests.
• Other activities: If disc golf or clubhouse dining matters to your group, confirm those plans alongside your golf round.
• Current details: Check tee-time instructions and course updates directly before you travel in 2026. This guide does not rank courses by rates or conditions that can change.

Santa Cruz golf courses at a glance

1. Boulder Creek Golf Club: best for a mountain outing

Boulder Creek Golf Club is a public 9-hole course in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It also offers disc golf and clubhouse restaurant dining, so it suits a group planning more than a golf round. For this list, it is the clearest choice when the mountain setting is the point of the trip.

Boulder Creek Golf Club pros:

• Public golf access makes it a relevant choice for local golfers and mountain visitors.
• The 9-hole format fits a plan built around a shorter round.
• Disc golf and clubhouse dining give a mixed-interest group other activities to consider.

Boulder Creek Golf Club cons:

• It is not the choice for a standard 18-hole round.
• Its mountain location is a different trip from playing in Santa Cruz city.

Best for: Golfers who want a public mountain course and a day that can also include disc golf or dining.

Verdict: Buy a tee time when that combination matches your plans; choose an 18-hole course instead if round length comes first.

2. Pasatiempo: best for course architecture

Pasatiempo is the architecture-led pick among these Santa Cruz-area courses. Its design by Alister MacKenzie gives you a specific reason to choose it over a course selected mainly for location or format. If the course itself is the focus of your 2026 outing, start here.

Pasatiempo pros:

• The MacKenzie design makes architecture central to the choice.
• Its 18-hole format suits a full round.
• Its Santa Cruz location keeps the trip centered near the city.

Pasatiempo cons:

• It is not the shorter, 9-hole mountain option.
• It does not answer a request for a Watsonville-area course.

Best for: Golfers choosing a round for its course design.

Verdict: Buy a tee time if architecture is your deciding factor. Check current booking details before setting the rest of your schedule.

3. DeLaveaga Golf Course: best for Santa Cruz city play

DeLaveaga Golf Course is the direct pick when you want an 18-hole municipal course in Santa Cruz. Its location and format make the decision straightforward: you can choose a city-based round without shifting the outing to the mountains or another part of the county.

DeLaveaga Golf Course pros:

• Its Santa Cruz location suits a city-centered plan.
• The municipal setting gives it a clear place in a public-course comparison.
• Its 18-hole format suits golfers seeking a full round.

DeLaveaga Golf Course cons:

• It is not a 9-hole choice.
• It is not the Santa Cruz Mountains outing represented by Boulder Creek.

Best for: Golfers who want to play in Santa Cruz city.

Verdict: Buy a tee time when staying in the city matters more than choosing a mountain setting.

4. Seascape Golf Club: best for an Aptos-based round

Seascape Golf Club makes sense when Aptos is already part of your day. The course has 18 holes, which separates it from a shorter mountain round, while its location distinguishes it from the Santa Cruz city picks. Choose it for those concrete reasons rather than assuming every coastal-area course offers the same experience.

Seascape Golf Club pros:

• Aptos is a clear location match for an Aptos-based trip.
• Its 18-hole format suits a full round.
• It gives you a county option outside Santa Cruz city.

Seascape Golf Club cons:

• It is not in Santa Cruz city.
• It does not fit a plan specifically built around a 9-hole round.

Best for: Golfers planning their day around Aptos.

Verdict: Buy a tee time if Aptos is your preferred starting point; check current course details before you travel.

5. Pajaro Valley Golf Club: best for a Watsonville-area round

Pajaro Valley Golf Club shifts the search toward Watsonville. That matters if your day is already centered in the southern part of Santa Cruz County: you can compare a course in that area rather than choosing one in Santa Cruz city because it appeared first in a search result.

Pajaro Valley Golf Club pros:

• It is a relevant course for a Watsonville-area search.
• Its location provides a distinct alternative to the Santa Cruz city courses.
• It gives county visitors another course to compare for their 2026 plans.

Pajaro Valley Golf Club cons:

• It is not a Santa Cruz city course.
• Its location does not serve a trip focused on the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Best for: Golfers whose plans place them near Watsonville.

Verdict: Buy a tee time when the Watsonville area is your priority; confirm the current round details directly.

6. Spring Hills Golf Course: best as a second Watsonville option

Spring Hills Golf Course gives Watsonville-area golfers another course to consider. It belongs beside Pajaro Valley in a location-based shortlist, but the two should not be treated as interchangeable. Check each course's current information before deciding which one fits your day.

Spring Hills Golf Course pros:

• It adds another course to a Watsonville-area search.
• It keeps the comparison within Santa Cruz County.
• It lets you consider more than one course before setting a 2026 tee time.

Spring Hills Golf Course cons:

• It is not in Santa Cruz city.
• Location alone is not enough to choose it over Pajaro Valley; you still need to check current details.

Best for: Golfers comparing Watsonville-area courses rather than committing to the first result.

Verdict: Hold until you have checked Spring Hills and Pajaro Valley against the date and round you want.

7. Bayonet Golf Course: best for an extended coastal trip

Bayonet Golf Course is in Seaside on the Monterey Peninsula. It is not a Santa Cruz County course, so do not mistake it for a nearby city option. It earns a place here for readers whose 2026 golf plans extend beyond Santa Cruz County and who want another course to consider on that wider trip.

Bayonet Golf Course pros:

• Its Seaside location fits a Monterey Peninsula extension.
• It gives a longer coastal trip a course outside the Santa Cruz County shortlist.
• Its 18-hole format suits a full round.

Bayonet Golf Course cons:

• It is outside Santa Cruz County.
• It is the wrong pick when you need a course in Santa Cruz city.

Best for: Golfers adding the Monterey Peninsula to a wider trip.

Verdict: Skip Bayonet for a Santa Cruz-only day; consider it when Seaside is already part of your itinerary.

How these courses are ranked

The order reflects how clearly each course answers a different trip-planning question in 2026. It is not a ranking of course condition, tee-time access or value. Those details need a current check, and a course that is seventh for a Santa Cruz-centered trip can still be the right choice for a Seaside visit.

Which Santa Cruz golf course should you choose?

Choose Boulder Creek Golf Club if you want a public 9-hole round in the Santa Cruz Mountains with disc golf and clubhouse dining available for the wider outing. Choose Pasatiempo when course architecture drives the decision, or DeLaveaga Golf Course when playing in Santa Cruz city matters most.

For an Aptos-based day, look at Seascape Golf Club. If your plans center on Watsonville, compare Pajaro Valley Golf Club with Spring Hills Golf Course. Keep Bayonet Golf Course for a trip that actually reaches Seaside.

FAQ

One last thing

A shorter round is not a lesser version of the trip. If your group wants time for disc golf or clubhouse dining as well as golf, Boulder Creek's 9-hole format answers a different question from an 18-hole city round. Make that choice before you compare courses in 2026.