“Progress is being made,” says Duncan, of Brambles in Middletown, Calif., an hour north of Napa. Set on 600 acres of wide-open, treeless terrain, the club is grounded on subtlety, from a standalone clubhouse dubbed the Milking Parlor to the understated character of the course. What appears flat and mundane at a distance is actually anything but, making this a course full of natural ripples, twists, and turns that will reveal its character over time.

Al Lunsford, First Peek: Brambles, Links Magazine.