Executive's Los Altos Hills home features greens and excellent views.

By Clyde Noel, Town Crier Staff Writer

Paul Wahl’s unique Los Altos Hills home boasts not only an excellent view, but also two perfectly maintained putting greens on different levels. Wahl’s TV room features a cozy fireplace and large exotic plants.

Hidden golf courses are carved from hillside acreage that some might classify as wilderness. Paul Wahl’s golf course is such a place. Few residents know of its existence, and fewer have played the course.

Wahl’s Los Altos Hills property overlooks the old Neary Quarry, now filled with water, and has a two-hole golf course a few steps away from his home office.

Back in 1999, Wahl and his wife, Elsa, purchased the

4,400-square-foot home on 2.5 acres because of its view overlooking a deep quarry. Today the quarry is filled with water, and 23 homes surround the man-made lake.

“You get a different perspective from each location on the hillside,” Paul said. “I like the different levels. You see more during the day.”

Paul has held a number of senior executive positions in major enterprise software businesses. His expertise is in global marketing and operations expansion. His positions included president and COO of Siebel Systems, CEO of SAP America and executive vice president of SAP AG.

In the five years that the Wahls have resided in the house, most of the building activity has been on the hillside. Two of their acres were inaccessible, with a gradual drop of more than 100 feet in some areas.

Today, you can walk around a 110-yard golf course with two putting greens on different

levels surrounded by native flowers.

The house was built in 1990, and Paul admitted they have made few improvements to the home other than replacing carpets.

“The improvements are outside,” Paul said. “I like to walk around the house, so I put all kinds of different colored flagstone walks around the house and a Jacuzzi on the top level.”

One of those short walks leads to a well-manicured putting green. Paul is first to admit that golfers would rather be playing on a golf course than sitting in the office or at home in front of a television.

The two-level brick-sided house has four bedrooms and 3.5 baths, with an elevator between the lower level and the main part of the house.

Elsa’s feminine touch is evident everywhere. Most of the rooms have exotic plants that she pampers.

“If you don’t have plants, you don’t have life,” Paul said. “You can see Elsa likes to garden, and of course, she spends a lot of time in the kitchen.”

Various walks that circle the house lead to the kitchen, which is in the rear, minus the view the other rooms enjoy.

The kitchen is large, with a utility island in the middle. All the cabinets have oak wood paneling, with blue-design tiling on counters and the island. Appliances are a contrasting, matching color.

“I like the living room. I do my reading there, and I can look up and see the lake and the activity below,” Paul said. “It’s relaxing, with a functional gas fireplace for evenings. Elsa likes this room too. She spends a lot of time here.”

The master bedroom has access to a deck overlooking the lake, with the master bath a step down.

On the same level is Paul’s office. In keeping with his financial background and corporate lifestyle, Paul has the latest technology and communication devices installed.

Playing a golf course where the second green is 65 feet below the first could be a challenge for any golfer. But as the master host showed a photographer and this writer around his property, it was quite obvious he enjoys the golfing area he personally built for his private relaxation.