Algie Pulley knew he had something special to work with when he climbed to the top of a hill overlooking Fagan Creek in the Jamieson Canyon area of south Napa County back in 1984.
“It blew my mind,” said Pulley, a golf course architect, who makes his home in the East Bay. “When you go up on that hill and look at the terrain, it’s meant to be golf. I said all we have to do is mow this down and play golf.
“It was a golf course already built almost.”
Pulley went to work, walking the property over and over and designing the Chardonnay Golf Club, which evolved from 18 to 27 to 36 holes with the former Club Shakespeare Napa Valley becoming the centerpiece of the complex. It’s been on the national map, hosting U.S. Open local qualifiers, PGA Tour qualifying events, and U.S. Amateur qualifying in past years. The Northern California Open, a pro tournament, and the Stocker Cup, a prestigious amateur event, have been played at Chardonnay. Local high school and community college matches have also been played at Chardonnay, which has a driving range and practice area for putting and chipping.