TBC Meadow is live: MacKenzie's first American course

A green at TBC Meadow with the Marin hills behind it

TBC Meadow is live on the members server.

This is my replica of Meadow Club in Fairfax, California. I mentioned it at the end of the Moonshot post, and it's been a fun one to bring home.

A little history

Meadow Club was Alister MacKenzie's first course in America. He laid it out with Robert Hunter in 1927, a year before Cypress Point and six years before Augusta National. It sits up in the hills above Fairfax, in a valley below Mount Tamalpais, with no houses around it and a whole lot of nature.

Water guarding a green at TBC Meadow

17 of the 18 greens are still MacKenzie's originals. The bunkers are shaped after the oak trees on the surrounding mountainsides, which gives the course a look you don't see on his other Northern California designs.

What it plays like

Par 71, about 6,750 yards from the back tees. There are eight sets of tees, including junior tees around 3,450 yards and a par 3 set under 2,600, so everyone in the house can get around.

The clubhouse in the evening light

The look is what grabbed me. Golden meadow grass lines the holes, rock outcroppings poke out of the hillsides, and the conifers climb up the hills all around you. The fairways are wide enough to give you options, but the greens are where MacKenzie gets you.

Fairway bunkers framing the approach

Some life on the course

I wanted this one to feel alive, so I spent extra time on the little things. Vultures circle over a couple of holes, a flock of crows crosses on 3, and a small plane comes over your shoulder on 12. There are butterflies on a few tees, leaves drifting across some of the greens and tees, sunlit dust in the air, and you'll hear the creek when you're near it.

Rock outcroppings and the shelter

I also did a big performance pass before release. The trees were the heavy part, so I reworked them to be a lot lighter at a distance. It should run a lot smoother than it would have a week ago.

Looking across the meadow grass to a green

It's also in the RISE Random 9 pool, so you might draw it in Quick 9.

If you run into anything, performance or otherwise, let me know and I'll get it cleaned up.

What's next

I'm already knee deep in the next release and will have more to share shortly.

Enjoy TBC Meadow, and let me know what you think.