Callippe Preserve Golf Course

Opened in 2005 and designed by Brian Costello of JMP Golf Design Group, the course routes through rolling ranch land, coast live oak woodlands and riparian habitat along Happy Valley Creek. Named for the federally endangered Callippe Silverspot Butterfly whose habitat the property preserves, it pairs strategic, well-bunkered golf with striking Tri-Valley scenery and a strong environmental ethos.

Course History

The idea for a Pleasanton municipal golf course dates to 1988, when a citizen committee began searching for a suitable site. In 1994 landowners in the Happy Valley area offered roughly 312 acres to the City, and in 1998 the City Council adopted the Happy Valley Specific Plan that set the project in motion. Construction began in August 2004, and Callippe Preserve opened to play in 2005.

The course takes its name from the federally endangered Callippe Silverspot Butterfly, whose native grassland habitat the site helps protect. Surrounded by hundreds of acres of permanent open space, the project balanced golf with habitat restoration and was recognized shortly after opening as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary for its environmental stewardship.

The Design & Architecture

Designed by Brian Costello of JMP Golf Design Group, Callippe Preserve is routed through rolling ranch terrain framed by coast live oak woodlands and the channels of Happy Valley Creek. The layout is generously bunkered, with large, gently contoured greens—many of them double-tiered—that reward precise approach play. Rather than relying on a single showpiece, the designers aimed to make every hole distinctive, weaving natural landforms, oaks and water into a varied and memorable sequence.

Signature Holes

The most photographed hole at Callippe Preserve is the par-3 13th, playing 171 yards from an elevated tee with a spectacular vista of the surrounding mountains, including Mount Diablo, and the oak-studded valley below. The green is set on a diagonal and protected by two bunkers at the front right; its front half breaks back toward the tee while the back half slopes away to the back right, so club selection and pin position matter far more than the modest yardage suggests. It sits in the heart of the back nine's butterfly sanctuary stretch (holes 11 through 14), where the course's namesake habitat frames the golf.

Two short par 4s showcase the design's strategic streak. The 11th measures just 342 yards with no fairway bunkers, but its heavily undulating putting surface — billed by the course as the toughest green on the property — demands a precise short-iron approach. The 14th, a 344-yard dogleg left, brings Happy Valley Creek down the entire left side and pairs fairway bunkers with a tricky green complex, offering a classic risk-reward choice off the tee. The round then closes with the par-5 18th, which the course calls one of the most strategic and dramatic finishing holes in the Bay Area — the creek crosses the hole three times on its way to a large, rolling green framed by a huge valley oak.

Playing the Course

Playing to a par of 72 over 6,748 yards with a rating of 73.0 and a slope of 136, Callippe Preserve offers a genuine test from the tips while remaining enjoyable for players of all abilities. The dramatic par-5 18th is a fitting finish: Happy Valley Creek crosses the hole three times as it winds through an oak-lined valley, demanding three well-placed shots to reach the large rolling green and avoid the water and bunkers.

Know Before You Go

• Public, City-owned course at 8500 Clubhouse Dr., Pleasanton, CA 94566; call (925) 426-6666 or book online for tee times.

• A practice facility with driving range is on site to warm up before your round.

• The surrounding preserve protects the endangered Callippe Silverspot Butterfly, so respect posted habitat and trail rules.

• Save the drama of the par-5 18th for last—Happy Valley Creek is in play three times on the closing hole.