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Slideshow: The Club at Castlewood is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2026. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) 
The Hearst family’s famed Hacienda del Pozo de Verona, designed by Julia Morgan, stood for more than 40 years. (Image courtesy The Club at Castlewood) 
Edith and John Marshall operated the property as a popular dude ranch in the 1940s. (Image courtesy The Club at Castlewood) 
Looking past the Hill Course’s ninth green up at the renovated clubhouse at The Club at Castlewood on a sunny February afternoon in 2026. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) 
Castlewood member Greg Womble leant his 1931 Cadillac V-12 to the lobby display around the club’s centennial kickoff, a sold-out speakeasy party Jan. 31. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) 
The Club at Castlewood is known for its pair of distinct 18-hole golf courses – the aptly named, undulating Hill Course and the flatter Valley Course. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) 
Countless members have remarked to leadership that the speakeasy party last month was the best social event they’d ever been to at Castlewood. (Image courtesy The Club at Castlewood) 
Glimpse of a Ladies’ Invitational at Castlewood in the 1980s. (Image courtesy The Club at Castlewood) 
Human and animal workers construct the original Castlewood Hill Course in the 1920s. (Image courtesy The Club at Castlewood) 
Phoebe Apperson Hearst, who lived at the property until her death in 1919. (Image courtesy The Club at Castlewood) 
John Vest, general manager of The Club at Castlewood. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) 
The clubhouse at Castlewood’s lower Valley Course. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) 
The aftermath of the destructive fire nearly 57 years ago. (Image courtesy The Club at Castlewood) 
Castlewood Country Club’s clubhouse as it appeared in the 2010s. (Weekly file photo) 
The state-of-the-art, spacious fitness center was a key aspect of the recent renovations. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) 
An aerial view of the sport center complex with tennis, pickleball and bocce courts and pool facilities. (Image courtesy The Club at Castlewood) 
After the 2022 remodel, the club now offers child care services for members who want to work out or play a match. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) 
Tables on terrace outside the Morgan’s restaurant are a popular draw for members after a round of golf or just a meal out. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) 
Countless members have remarked to leadership that the speakeasy party last month was the best social event they’d ever been to at Castlewood. (Image courtesy The Club at Castlewood)
Perched partway up the southwestern hills is an epicenter of recreational and social activity that evokes the past, present and future of Pleasanton.
The Club at Castlewood is celebrating its centennial this year – 1926 marking the moment when its transition from famed Hearst family estate to a golf and country club became official. So much that transpired during the ensuing 100 years is highlighted around the grounds and its website for the special occasion, all while the private club is continuing the evolution into its “Castlewood 2.0” era to position itself for success throughout the next century.
“It is a tremendous source of community pride. The club is inextricably manifest with our city’s history,” said Julia Murtagh, a Castlewood resident and club member along with her husband.
“From its inception as Phoebe Hearst’s oasis in support of her philanthropic, academic and women’s rights activities through to its current incarnation, the club grounds and facilities are one of the best physical representations of Pleasanton’s rich past and current vibrancy,” Murtagh told the Weekly.
Situated among the affluent unincorporated neighborhood that also bears the Castlewood name, the club currently features a pair of 18-hole golf courses with practice facilities, tennis, pickleball and bocce courts, swimming pools, fitness center, full restaurant with a bar, event spaces, child care room and – for 2026, anyway – a history wall and associated displays in the main lobby.
The gallery of photographs and artifacts tell the story of the property, including milestones like the Hearsts’ Hacienda del Pozo de Verona, the early golf years on the upper Hill Course, the downturn during the Great Depression, the dude ranch era, the arrival of the lower Valley Course, the destructive 1969 fire, the rebuilding effort that followed in the early 1970s and the major renovations of the 2020s as part of a modern rebrand.
“We are very proud that Castlewood has reached its 100-year-old birthday,” said Greg Womble, who leant his 1931 Cadillac V-12 to the lobby display around the club’s centennial kickoff, a sold-out speakeasy party Jan. 31.
“Any organization has ups and downs, serious events, etc. But the Club has been able to adapt and change with the times. Castlewood is an important part of Pleasanton and the Tri-Valley area,” added Womble, a member with his wife Gretchen for more than 40 years.
With a fresh tagline (“A Century of Tradition. A Lifetime of Memories.”) for 2026, Castlewood is sharing its history and celebrating its legacy throughout the year – all while embracing and bolstering its next era.
“My favorite stories about Castlewood are almost all about beginnings and new beginnings,” said Ken MacLennan, curator at the Museum on Main in Pleasanton.
The club’s origins
“Castlewood’s story begins long before fairways, villas, or country club celebrations. It begins with a remarkable woman — Phoebe Apperson Hearst — whose vision, intellect, and generosity shaped a hillside into one of California’s most admired estates,” the club’s website says to open the “Hearst Era 1800s to 1924” section of its history page.
The scenic property was acquired in the late 1800s by George Hearst, the U.S. senator from California who died in 1891, and his wife. Their lone child was media magnate William Randolph Hearst.
George Hearst originally bought the land to raise racehorses, according to MacLennan.
After her husband’s death, Phoebe Hearst – whose name still graces an elementary school in Pleasanton – moved to the property, and in 1896 young architect Julia Morgan was commissioned to create a grand estate there: Hacienda del Pozo de Verona.
Anchored by “a striking Spanish-Moorish home with three wings, sweeping verandas, arched windows, and ornate ironwork”, the estate also featured “panoramic views of the Amador Valley” and stunning gardens with “exotic palms, spineless cacti, jasmine, and climbing wisteria”, according to the club website.
“Her home became a remarkable center of culture, philanthropy, and warm hospitality,” the website added. “For 23 years, the Hacienda welcomed presidents, artists, educators, and local families.”
Murtagh noted the historical relationship between the Hearst hacienda in Pleasanton and the Hearst Castle that became the focal point for William Randolph Hearst, also designed by Morgan.
Reflecting on a recent tour of the famed San Simeon property, Murtagh said the docents “spoke glowingly of how Julia had been involved in Phoebe’s Hacienda design and that many of the ‘lessons learned’ in the building here were the genesis for the Castle that is now world-renowned. It makes my attachment to Castlewood a source of pride.”
After Phoebe Hearst’s death, the estate was sold in 1924 to a group that envisioned building a golf club there amid the sport’s boom in the U.S. during that decade.
“For Pleasanton boosters the establishment of a country club just outside of town was a benchmark moment in their decades-long campaign to put the town on the map as an up-to-date, fashionable small California city,” MacLennan said.
“And it may sound kind of tautological,” he added, “but it seems to me that the primary significance of Castlewood Country Club is that it has marked Pleasanton as the sort of community that could support a country club — that it had developed a sufficient number of residents (and regular visitors) whose wealth and lifestyles made this kind of institution personally and/or socially desirable.”
“Castlewood in short was a milestone on Pleasanton’s road from sleepy farm community to prosperous suburb,” MacLennan said.
Following an ambitious construction timeline, the original 18-hole golf course on the hill designed by William P. Bell opened in 1926.
The club founders intentionally shed the Hearst name, opting instead to leverage one’s observation that the hacienda looked like “a castle in the woods”.
Thus Castlewood Country Club was born. Beyond golf, it became known in the 1920s and ’30s for dinners, dances, polo, tennis, trapshooting, outdoor gatherings and the summer villas added along the ridge.
But as the Great Depression wore on, the original club began to flounder in financial woe. Enter John and Edith Marshall.
Purchasing the property in 1940, the Marshalls transformed the country club into a dude ranch that would soon become a Bay Area destination for outdoor recreation and entertainment. The Old Hearst Ranch drew thousands of guests each week, including more than 90,000 in 1947, according to club records.
The popular “Dude Ranch Breakfast Show” aired on the radio live from the patio garden, and the Cal and Stanford football held practice retreats on the premises. Famed artist Diego Rivera painted a piece, “Encuentro Tropical”, in 1944 for the Ranch Celebrity Bar – it sold in 1999 to a private collector for $442,000.
The dude ranch era ended in 1954, when the property was sold to businessmen who changed it back to Castlewood Country Club. The Valley Course was added for golfers at the bottom of the hill that same year.
The club was purchased by members in 1961 as its resurgence continued. Until Aug. 24, 1969.
After the fire
“A sudden fire engulfed the Hacienda” one warm summer night, “and within hours the iconic home … was gone,” the Castlewood website recalls. The cause remains unclear.
“Hundreds of members and residents gathered on the hillside, watching as firefighters from multiple departments fought to save what they could,” the website stated. “When daylight arrived, only fragments of the Hacienda remained: the music room, portions of the wings, wrought iron grilles, and the famous Cellini gate.”
One of the few things to survive: Rivera’s painting.
“The loss was more than architectural — it felt deeply personal,” according to the club website. “But Castlewood’s story is one of resilience. Even in the ashes of that tragedy, a powerful sense of unity emerged. The community rallied, determined to look forward while honoring the past.”
Following much deliberation (including vocal opposition to the design from John Marshall), Castlewood advanced on building anew with a 44,000-square-foot clubhouse, priced at $1.7 million in 1970, that was said to prioritize “functionality, safety and financial sustainability over historical replication”.
The finished clubhouse would be dedicated on March 5, 1972.
The building included a members’ bar, ladies’ lounge, men’s-only grille, locker rooms, event spaces, entry lobby and golf pro shop. New tennis courts were added in 1972.
Club leadership sought to forge a new identity as the 1980s arrived. The youth swim team took on the Barracudas name, the Hill Maintenance Shop came online and the junior golf program launched – and would go on to produce LPGA major champions Pat Hurst and Paula Creamer and PGA Tour player Todd Fischer.
By a vote of 521-110 in 1989, members approved of selling the club’s “pitch and putt” course property for $4.1 million to a developer (10 acres, in what would become homes on Bunker Lane) to fund the Valley Clubhouse demolition and rebuild project.
The theme of revising and reimagining programming across the board to appeal to the next generations continued to and through the turn of the 21st century.
The Valley Course saw five holes overhauled in 1990. Bocce courts were added next to the tennis courts in 2012.
The greater Castlewood community also weathered headline storms in the first two decades of this century, including labor strife and employee pickets, the infamous Scherer murders in the neighborhood that still intrigue true crime media producers to this day, arguments with Alameda County over public service levels, Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility concerns and acquisition overtures from the Bay Club that members ultimately voted down in 2019.
As the dust settled from the latter, a new future for Castlewood emerged – stoked by an unexpected source.
Castlewood 2.0
Tables on terrace outside the Morgan’s restaurant are a popular draw for members after a round of golf or just a meal out. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) After the 2022 remodel, the club now offers child care services for members who want to work out or play a match. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) Slideshow: The Club at Castlewood is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2026. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) The state-of-the-art, spacious fitness center was a key aspect of the recent renovations. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) The Club at Castlewood is known for its pair of distinct 18-hole golf courses – the aptly named, undulating Hill Course and the flatter Valley Course. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) The clubhouse at Castlewood’s lower Valley Course. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) Looking past the Hill Course’s ninth green up at the renovated clubhouse at The Club at Castlewood on a sunny February afternoon in 2026. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) Countless members have remarked to leadership that the speakeasy party last month was the best social event they’d ever been to at Castlewood. (Image courtesy The Club at Castlewood)
“I’ve been a member for 16 years, and I don’t think our club has been in a better, healthy position from a cash balance and reserves, membership, membership growth, diversity. Average age, something we measure in private clubs, is going down; very very important,” said Mark Mullaney, president of the Castlewood Board of Directors.
Not long after members voiced their preference to move forward with maintaining ownership and renovating the clubhouse themselves rather than selling to Bay Club (confirmed in a tight 250-211 vote in May 2019), a global pandemic hit that brought much of the recreation world to a halt … except for golf.
Momentum began to pick up for Castlewood as golf and other outdoor leisure activities saw renewed popularity amid the social distancing of 2020.
By the end of that year, club leadership were ready to embark on a $25 million renovation project that included renaming the campus as The Club at Castlewood to represent its desired reputation as more than just a golf club, but a hub for recreation and socializing catered for the whole family.
“I’ll be honest, it was a scary time going into the remodel,” General Manager John Vest said. “But the influx of members, financially we’re healthier.”
The extensive clubhouse overhaul to usher in the club’s Castlewood 2.0 era took place between 2021 and 2022.
Highlights included creating the new Morgan’s restaurant (named after the hacienda’s designer, open to members Wednesdays through Sundays), a larger and modernized fitness center, revamped event spaces and a child care room for the first time, available with a minimum of 24 hours’ notice for parent members who want to work out or get in a game of tennis or golf.
The sport center complex was also redesigned in 2022. Castlewood now has three tennis courts, four pickleball courts, along with the bocce and pool facilities. Club leaders are contemplating adding more racket courts on a patch of land on the hill next to the existing courts, to give them eight pickleball and five tennis total.
“The club has a lot of momentum since we reopened. We have about 1,000 families that are members here … over the various categories,” Mullaney said. “We had 430 people play bocce in spring league and fall league … it’s so popular that we had to go to Sundays, we went to Tuesdays when we’re even closed, and we’re even evaluating with the intents of adding another court.”
Murtagh called Castlewood 2.0 “an amazing renovation thoughtfully designed and has really elevated this Club to one of the best in the East Bay”.
Club leadership continues to look forward, while also keeping an eye on the past. The board’s centennial committee has been hard at work since 2025 to prepare for the big birthday in 2026.
The celebrations got off to a hot start last month with a speakeasy event, harkening back to the club’s original era.
“It was an unforgettable and amazing evening, when we walked into the entrance and saw an antique car displayed in the lobby, read and appreciated the history of Castlewood through the life of a truly remarkable woman – Phoebe Apperson Hearst,” Seifu Togo, an equity member with his wife for 22 years, said of the speakeasy.
Togo particularly enjoyed seeing almost every attendee decked out in 1920s fashion.
“This event was one of the best ones that we have ever attended! Looking forward to more celebration events,” Gretchen Womble added.
Next up on the calendar are a couples’ golf tournament with a nod to the 1920s and the Kentucky Derby on May 2, a family-focused “Dude Ranch Day” on Sept. 26 (near the club’s actual birthday) and the “Centennial Gala” on Nov. 7.
“People are enjoying the club, the camaraderie, the spirit,” Mullaney said, noting that the committee is also looking at scheduling a spring open house and a speaker series on subjects like health, finance and fitness.
“Today, as the Club approaches its centennial in 2026, Castlewood stands as a living testament to stewardship and continuity — a place where history is not frozen in time, but carried forward through shared experience, community, and care for a remarkable piece of land,” added Amber Lindsey, director of finance for the club.
