Carmel Magazine
Summer/Fall 2004
Across the street from the Monterey Airport begins a private road
that slips along a wall of hand-placed Carmel stone excavated from
the surrounding landscape. A nod at the small stone house ushers
you through the gates and into an environment whose silent beauty
preceded the private drive that concedes the right of way to California
live oaks in its path, their branches dripping with Spanish moss
that glistens like lace in the sunlight.
The environment, spectacular in its native state, appears undisturbed
and welcoming. As the drive continues its ascension, the California
hills both embrace you and command your respect. You pause as a
doe makes her way across your path. 
By the time you reach the second gate, the attendant knows your
name and beckons you onward. Cresting the highlands, a majestic
Spanish structure rises out of the bluffs, governing the kingdom
from its vantage. Yet Clint would never call it that. He calls
it Tehama, a Native American term for the abundance of nature. The
secret to getting to Tehama is knowing you are already there.
Clint Eastwood, a man dedicated to the arts, the environment and
a good game of golf, already owned some 600 acres on the south face
of the mountains rising above the Monterey Peninsula and its ubiquitous
blue ocean.  Acquiring another 1,200 acres of contiguous land from
brothers Roger and Basil Mills, Clint began to build his Valhalla,
an exclusive, privately held golf club, flanked by a challenging
18-hole course and 88 home sites designed with views in mind.
Decorated and furnished by Warner Bros. Renowned set designer Henry
Bumstead, Tehama Golf Club, like its owner, is an elite organization
of inconspicuous elegance, whose allure lies as much in its reserve
as the rugged, organic appeal of its nature. The formalities are
in the membership; the setting is casual, informal, home.
Crafted in the textured, elemental style of Early California, the
Spanish-style architecture is reflected in bull-nosed plaster, distressed
pecan wood doors and foot-high baseboards, floor-to-ceiling windows
and high, coved ceilings. The Carmel stone fortress guards a central
courtyard which serves four suites of rustic elegance, administrative
offices, a dining room, ballroom and bar. The interior ambience
is merely an extension of the environment.
From embossed bominite, painted and glazed to look like tile yet
wear like a driveway, to wrought iron railings and tile roofs, Tehama
Golf Club is a textural complement to the natural landscape and accompanying
golf course, designed and built to reward the golfer and respect
the land.
"This course returns to the old-style of design," wrote
course architect Jay Morrish. "The golfer will see things
more reminiscent of Scotland than the United States. The most beautiful
hole, to me, would be hole number 18. It is a tough hole but a beauty.
My favorite hole, I have to say, is hole number 5, as it is a reachable
Par 4. I love to design a hole that everyone can play. [Still],
I love the challenge of this course design. The terrain adds to
the interest and makes playing this course memorable."
The first nine holes were open for play by late October 1998, followed
by two more holes that December and the completion of all 18 by the
following April. The clubhouse was completed in September 2000 and
celebrated on New Year's Day 2001.
Currently under construction, in complementary style to the Golf
Club, is the private Social Fitness Club at Tehama. Upon completion
circa 2006, the fitness center, where nature meets nurture, will
include fitness equipment, exercise classes and locker room facilities.
Members can meet for a doubles match on one of two tennis courts
and relax in the recreational lap pool or the outdoor hot tub overlooking
the golf course.
True champions of the environment, both Clint and Morrish were sensitive
to the preservation of natural resources during the development of
the course. Rather than destroy them, they had some 30 mature oak
trees moved, most notably the 30-foot relocation of a tree growing
in the middle of what became the 4th fairway.
"A major element in the development of this property," said
membership consultant Dan Tibbits, "was conservation of resources
and natural beauty. The parking garage was built underground. The
property runs on solar energy. The infrastructure is hidden and
you will see virtually no signs. The wildflowers and native plants
continue to grow, and the animals roam this peaceful, serene landscape.
This is a special, special place to belong."
Tehama is an invitation-only golf club limited to 300 members, who
hail from across the country and all over the world. The result
is an interesting alchemy of players and participants, who enjoy
the social functions of the club, as well as limited or uncrowded
play.
Quite a few people were interested in heading up the social aspects
of the organization, including food, beverage and events. The principals,
however, were interested in few and tapped James Kellogg to assume
the honors.
Kellogg, whose resume reads like an elite tour of the Peninsula,
hails from The Lodge and the Beach and Tennis Club at Pebble Beach,
as well as Monterey Peninsula Country Club. He is also an owner
of the elegant Fresh Cream restaurant in Monterey.
He has been there since the beginning.
"It has been exciting to see a shell become
such a spectacular setting," Kellogg said, referring to the
Golf Club. "Our
direction was to create a facility like no other on a very special
piece of property in a place known for special properties. My task
was to make a food and beverage department that lived up to that.
While it's still a golf club, I wanted to bring in the products and
services of fine dining. This meant I fought hard to not put a hotdog
on the menu. OK, there is a hotdog on the menu, but it's the finest
Frisco Big City Red you can find."
Kellogg understood the mission. No glitz, no glam, just plenty
of the old world elegance Morrish brought to the golf course, Bumstead
brought to the golf club and Clint brought to Tehama.
"There's just something about coming up here," said Tibbits. "It's
the quality of the membership and the beauty of the scenery, but
there's more. There's something in the solitude of the atmosphere
where the sun shines brighter and the fog hangs just beyond reach
that does something very special to the spirit."
TEHAMA GOLF CLUB
101 Via Malpaso Carmel Valley, CA 93924
Article Copyright Carmel Magazine
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