Framed by the Diablo Mountains to the east and the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west lies the picturesque foothills of Evergreen in Santa Clara County, California. Here is where you will find, what some say, is the ‘Best Kept Secret in the Bay Area’. Built on what was originally a Vineyard and surrounded by an abundance of natural beauty is The Villages Golf & Country Club.
Aptly named ‘The Villages’ inside the gates you will find not one, but thirteen individual villages each with their own charming style of architecture. The landscape throughout is a masterpiece in itself, with rambling brooks and bridges flowing gently between the houses, a large lake and waterfall in the center and several other lakes and fountains adorning the rest of the community. The property is also a haven to many species of wild birds, turkeys, ducks & geese and while the occasional fox may be seen deer, bunnies and jack-rabbits are a daily visual delight. If you are a nature lover – it’s truly a magical place.
Living in the Villages is like living in a resort. With four swimming pools, six tennis courts, a brand new fitness center, bocce court, horse stables and over 500 acres of hiking & riding trails there’s something for everyone. For the avid golfer there is an 18 hole championship golf course, designed by Robert Muir Graves (who designed over 75 golf courses around the world during his career, including the famous Quail Lodge at Pebble Beach), as well as a 9-hole par-3 course, driving range, practice putting green and pro shop.
Drive 20 minutes south and you will come across the stunning and exclusive, invitation only, CordeValle Golf Club, host to this years US Women’s Open Championship. Situated along side is Clos La Chance Winery with copious amounts of flavorsome wine tasting events, not least of which is their summer time concert series ‘Time for Wine’ a delightful evening of dancing under the stars.
Approximately 30-40 minutes west in Saratoga is the historical Paul Masson Mountain Winery where you can listen to the sounds of well know artists playing in the open air amphitheater or wine & dine on the Chateau Deck with expansive, sublime panoramic views over ‘the entire Silicon Valley’ – an incomparable setting – truly ‘one of a kind’. Downtown Saratoga offers some wonderful individual shops and restaurants whilst the City of San Jose is just a few miles away.
p.s. Homes in The Villages are hard to come by as inventory is extremely very low with less than 0.5% at any given time available and many are sold before they ever hit the open market. Oh! and by the way – as an age restricted community one has to be 55 to move in!
Nestled in the foothills of the South Bay Area of Silicon Valley, CA is Silver Creek Valley Country Club. This gated community has over 1,500 single family homes and 177 townhouses/condos built around a private championship golf course and has a variety to amenities to offer, not least of which is the visually stunning panoramic view overlooking the golf course into the distant mountains featuring a beautiful cascading waterfall.
Can you imagine, after a busy day, sitting on the patio at sunset with a glass of your favorite libation, watching the evolving colors of the evening sky as the sun disappears? It’s never disappointing - an everchanging landscape one can never tire of.
The golf experience at SCVCC is enviable too…it’s arguably one of the best in the area and in 2002 was renovated by Mike Strantz, who, amongst other accolades, was deemed the ‘Hottest Golf Architect in the Country’ and named by Golf Week as “one of the top 10 golf designers of all time”.
Members enjoy an active golf events calendar throughout the year and through their Troon Privé Advantage Program and can enjoy great courses and destinations around the world (such as The Grove in the UK, home of the 2016 British Masters) at preferred rates.
So what if you don’t play golf? Would it still be a great place to live? Well….. with a state-of-the-art fitness center, six outdoor tennis courts, swimming pools, a dance studio and a kid’s club (with events such as parent’s night out, movie nights, cooking for kids) and more…… who wouldn’t want to live there?
Just 20 minutes away from the beautiful down town areas of Los Gatos and Santana Row, Silicon Valley’s premier destination for shopping and dining with over 70 shops and 20 restaurants to choose from - not to mention the Tesla showroom!, SCVCC is only 45 minutes away from the major international airport of San Francisco, (minus the usual traffic time of course!).
This is Silicon Valley’s ‘Golf & Country Club’ - Living in style.
There are a selection of properties in SCVCC ranging from a 1500sq.’ Condos to 8000+ sq.’ Custom Built Homes and beyond.
Copyright © 2026 Lucinda Havart-Simkin