Beyond the courses
Golf in Marin beyond the courses
Miniature courses, driving ranges, and the courses people planned but never built. They are not on the map or in the directory, which list real courses only.
The 1930 miniature-golf craze, and later
Miniature (“Tom Thumb”) golf swept the country in 1930, and Marin had at least a dozen courses that year.
| Name | Where | Dates | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Mill miniature golfminiature | Mill Valley (Old Mill Park area) | 1930 | MVR 1930-07-18/25 · confidence high | |
| All-Weather Golf (indoor, 21 holes)indoor miniature | Sausalito (Mason's Garage) | 1930 | SN 1930-10-03; MVR 1930-10-03 · confidence high | |
| The Lighthouse (outdoor miniature)miniature | Sausalito (Pine & Caledonia) | 1930 | SN 1930-10-24 · confidence high | |
| Marin Miniature Golf Courseminiature | Kentfield (across from Marin Junior College) | 1930 | Echo-Times Sept-Nov 1930 · confidence high | |
| Chevy Chase Miniature Golf Courseminiature | Kentfield/Greenbrae (across the highway) | 1930 | Echo-Times 1930-10-27 · confidence medium | |
| San Anselmo and Fairfax miniature coursesminiature | San Anselmo; Fairfax | 1930 | Echo-Times 1930-09-22/29 · confidence medium | |
| Westland Golf Course (miniature, 18 holes)miniature | Marin (opened 1930-06-21) | 1930 | Probably the '18-hole miniature course' in MVR 1930-06-20. | SAH 1930-06-20; MVR ads June-July 1930 · confidence high |
| Sir Francis Drake Golf Course (miniature)miniature | San Anselmo | 1930 | SAH 1930-09-05 · confidence medium | |
| 18-hole miniature course 'at San ...'miniature | San Rafael or San Anselmo | 1930-06 | MVR 1930-06-20 · confidence low | |
| Country Club Indoor Golf Courseindoor miniature | San Rafael (450 Fourth St) | 1930-31 | Echo-Times 1931-01-27 ad · confidence high | |
| Highland Golf Links (miniature?)miniature? | San Rafael | 1932 | SN 1932-08-05 (used as a polling place) · confidence low | |
| Greenbrae Miniature Golf Courseminiature | Greenbrae | 1965 | MVR 1965-07-21 · confidence medium | |
| Golden Tee Golflandminiature | San Rafael (McInnis Park) | 1990s-today | web · confidence high |
Driving ranges
| Name | Where | Dates | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marin's first driving rangedriving range | Corte Madera (Hwy 101) | 1947-c.1953 | MVR 1947-03-21; MVR 1953-09-22 ('defunct') · confidence high | |
| Las Gallinas Golf School and Driving Rangedriving range | San Rafael (Las Gallinas) | 1956- | MVR 1956-08-23 · confidence high |
Courses that were never built
| Name | Where | Dates | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corte Madera Creek golf resortunbuilt plan | Larkspur/Kentfield/Greenbrae (Bon Air) | 1922 | 'A famed golf course designer' - who? Check. | Larkspur Community Foundation post citing 'The History of Kentfield and Greenbrae' · confidence medium |
| Bon Tempe 18-hole plan (Oakland syndicate, Fisher & Rust)unbuilt plan | Fairfax/MMWD | 1925 | SN 1925-01-24 · confidence high | |
| Tiburon-Belvedere 18-hole course schemeunbuilt plan | Tiburon | 1925 | Part of a harbor/railway scheme in the SF Daily News. | MVR 1925-11-21 · confidence medium |
| Olema 'Aero Country Club'unbuilt plan | Olema | 1929 | Fly-in country club; golf unclear. | SN 1929-03-22 · confidence medium |
| County municipal golf courseunbuilt plan | central Marin | 1929-31; 1946; 1949 | SN 1929-09-20; MVR 1931-05-01; SN/MVR 1946-03-21; MVR 1949-09-02 (18 holes north of San Rafael) · confidence high | |
| Bud Fisher's Novato 18-hole public courseunbuilt plan (or led to Indian Valley?) | Novato | 1953 | North Marin Water District land - check link to Indian Valley GC. | MVR 1953-02-10 · confidence medium |
| Mill Valley marsh/harbor driving range and pitch-and-putt proposalsunbuilt plan | Mill Valley | 1958-71 | MVR 1958-1971 · confidence medium |
Leads that went nowhere
Searched and not found, or still unknown.
| Name | Where | Dates | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton Field golf coursenot found | Novato | - | No sign the base had a course; 1964 redevelopment plan proposed nine holes. Close unless Dan knows otherwise. | searched CDNC + Google |
| Marin Valley Mobile Country Clubunknown | Novato | 1970s?- | Check whether it has a pitch-and-putt. | Yelp/realtor hints ('partial golf course views') · confidence low |
From the maringolf census (research/census/other_golf.csv). Paper codes: MVR Mill Valley Record, SN Sausalito News, SAH San Anselmo Herald; Echo-Times is the Corte Madera paper. Confidence is ours: how sure we are of the entry.