In a town that dare not speak its name

This weekend I volunteered at the Stonebrae Classic, a Nationwide Tour event that was played just a few miles up the hill from where I live. The Nationwide Tour is like golf's version of triple-A, just one level below the PGA tour.

Anyway, this event was at Stonebrae Country Club, a brand new gated community that seems to go out of its way to avoid mentioning the town that surrounds it. Stonebrae claims to be "a private, gated country club community located in the East Bay hills", but it's actually part of the same wayward East Bay suburb where I live. I don't remember crossing any town limits between my house and Stonebrae.

Their golf course changed its name from Stonebrae CC to TPC San Francisco Bay -- "Etched into the rugged hillside high above San Francisco’s East Bay". And the list of nearby hotels and restaurants list a bunch chain hotels and restaurants (like Hooters and In-N-Out) over the hill in more prestigious area.

There's also a four year university up in the hills above my home that changed its name to Cal-State East Bay to avoid mentioning the actual city where it's located. No matter how hard those college kids and country clubbers disavow their community, there's still no town called "East Bay". Wayward suburb represent!