Sand Canyon Country Club

Course History

The property opened in 1999 as Robinson Ranch Golf Club, a 36-hole facility designed by the father-and-son team of Ted Robinson Sr. and Ted Robinson Jr. on ranch land in Sand Canyon, hard against the Angeles National Forest about 35 minutes north of Los Angeles. The original Valley Course debuted first, with the remaining holes that became the Mountain side opening in 2000, and the complex quickly earned a reputation as one of the sternest public tests in Los Angeles County — the closing stretch of the Valley 18 was nicknamed "Death Row," a run that began with a 596-yard par-5 13th played through a chute of trees.

Drought years and the 2016 Sand Fire, which swept through Sand Canyon, brought the Robinson Ranch era to a close. Businessman Steve Kim acquired the damaged property, renovated it, and relaunched it as Sand Canyon Country Club — a public, 27-hole facility whose Valley, Desert and Mountain nines were reconfigured from the original 36, anchored by a 25,000-square-foot clubhouse with a pro shop, café and event spaces.

Signature Holes

On today's Valley nine, the standout is the 8th, a short par 4 of just 283 yards from the back tees that plays sharply uphill to a big, deep green ringed by bunkers — tempting on the card, but a wayward drive leaves an awkward recovery from sand or slope. The nine closes with a 549-yard par 5 where water and bunkers guard the approach, an echo of the elevated-tee par-5 finisher that capped the original Valley routing.

The layout's fiercest golf has always lived on the old Valley Course's "Death Row" — the closing run once rated among the most difficult strings of holes anywhere, opening with that 596-yard, tree-choked par 5. Across all 27 current holes, the Robinsons' signatures remain: narrow corridors bending through canyons and oaks, creeks and ravines crossing the lines of play, and the waterfalls and ponds that mark Ted Robinson Sr.'s best-known work.

Know Before You Go

• Public course at 27734 Sand Canyon Rd, Santa Clarita, CA 91387; call (661) 252-8484 for tee times and details.

• More info and booking at https://www.sandcanyoncc.com/.