Course lowdown
They don't call it "Knock-wood" for nothing.

Northwood Golf Course sits nobly underneath the startling beauty of coastal redwoods, many of which come into play on this nine-hole muni gem. You'll hear the crack of balata against bark all day.

Alister MacKenzie of Augusta National fame cut the track out of the woods for the enjoyment of a bygone era of highbrow partiers along the Russian River. Not many munis can claim that sort of heritage. But it gets even better.

Northwood was conceived by Jack Neville, the designer of Pebble Beach Golf Links, who had the vision of a golf course being built on 70 wooded acres of land across the river from the "Bohemian Club Grove." Neville was a Bohemian Club member. And at Northwood, you can play bohemian golf.

You can score on what is a short layout or you can forget about grips and stances and golf altogether and meander through the forest and gaze at Mother Nature on display. Or you can hit as many trees as you've ever hit in one round.

But one thing is as certain as Sonoma coast fog hitting this course in the morning: You will enjoy yourself at Northwood, one of the only courses where bad thoughts never enter your mind.

FYI: MacKenzie, who also designed Augusta National and Pasatiempo, designed Cypress Point in Pebble Beach the same year (1928) as Northwood.

Another great thing: If you hit it in the trees, you'll probably eventually find it.