MORRO BAY, CA — Morro Bay Golf Course is affordable golf at its finest! This player friendly course offers a gracious layout featuring stunning panoramic ocean views from every hole. The scenic property overlooks the quaint beach town of Morro Bay while the Pacific Ocean provides the backdrop. A round of golf played at this Central Coast icon will forever solidify your love with the game that stole your heart years ago.
The Morro Bay Golf Course (originally called Cabrillo Country Club) was built in 1923 on a hillside overlooking Morro Bay and had nine holes that were designed by Quintin Miller and E. W. Murphy. Today these nine holes are the backside of the course. A company named J. T. Lawrence Company built the course. The backside was developed in 1925 as a nine hole course with the club house, an old Spanish style building, located in what is now the parking lot of the Morro Bay Museum.
Originally the fairways were just wild grass, but in 1926 Bill Roy installed the first irrigation system and grass was planted on the nine hole course. In 1934 The State of California State Parks division purchased the property. Russell Noyes was the first Warden of the park, and came to take charge of it in February 1934. The family occupied the upper two rooms of the clubhouse, and the one large room downstairs was their living room as well as the lounge for the players. Mr. Noyes’ wife was put in charge of the clubhouse and Russell had the responsibility of taking care of the course, as well as the park. The WPA and the CC together planted the beautiful trees in the present campground as well as the park.
Since that time the golf course has been managed by various entities, including the current manager, the County of San Luis Obispo. old number nine now thirteen old nine golf old number nine now thirteen In 1934, after the course was purchased by the state, Mr. Noyes designed (on paper only) another nine holes where the front nine is now. He envisioned an eighteen hole course to be built at a later date. Abe Espinoza was the golf pro in the mid 1940’s. His wife was the cook for the snack bar. Audrey Johns tells about Abe being a real trick artist with a golf club. He once played the whole course with a putter. Audrey had a golf lesson from him in 1947. In 1948, Albert Lape, using Mr. Noyes plans with a few changes, began building the new nine holes, which is now the front nine. In 1951 the front nine holes were completed. The new clubhouse was built using barracks from Camp San Luis Obispo. In 1957 the course name was changed to Morro Bay Golf Course. The only redesign on the course was done in 1987 on hole fifteen by Robert Muir Graves to make it a dogleg. Robert Muir Graves also designed Chalk Mountain Golf Course in Atascadero, California.
