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Kelly Blake Moran, the up-and-coming architect responsible for noteworthy Hawk Pointe Golf Club just 15 miles away, didn’t so much build Morgan Hill as he did sculpt it. And, given the extremely hilly, and thus, difficult to shape, land upon which the course sits, the sheer beauty and drama of what he created is really something to behold.

Moran leveled out the key landing areas but was keen to avoid a disruptive flat, slope, flat, slope pattern. Instead, the transition areas were made more gradual, promoting a continuous flow. To add an element of intrigue, he created eight holes with alternate-route fairways. Some are the type that offer a tighter driving area to one side but an easier second shot. Others are simply split down the middle by bunkers or rough.

“It’s not a grip it and rip it course,” says Joel Jacquemot, general manager. “It’s a position course. The fairways are generous, but the greens are undulating and not completely receptive to golf shots. They’re not catchers’ mitts.” Thankfully, the one that is 140-feet below the tee, on a par-3, is fairly level.

Huge elevation changes are only the start. The first hole is a par-5 with a semi-blind tee shot and a downhill approach to a wild, two-tiered green. Number five features a group of bunkers like Oakmont’s church pews but running parallel the hole. Seven is an elevated-tee par-3 whose immense right-hand bunker has a rock wall spilling into it. On nine, you’re up so high, you can see the entire city of Easton.

Clearly, for golfers who normally play flat, up-and-back course, Morgan Hill will take some getting used to. But oh, how fun the process will be.