Trio of San Diego-area courses indicative of quality of golf in the region

Turning Stone Resort

It’s hard to imagine any place more ideal than the San Diego area for the combination of great golf, fabulous weather, and spectacular scenery. 

With gleaming deep-sea harbors, whale watching, sandy beaches, wine tasting, world-class horse racing, a variety of fun-filled attractions, and golf courses aplenty, this region represents all that is great about Southern California. 

Above all, the year-round temperate climate makes the San Diego area a bucket-list golf destination. The courses – some set in the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, others in the inland wine country and still more in the valleys in between – assure that every day is a good day here for the grand game. 

San Diego has one of the best selections of premier golf courses of anywhere in the world, so it’s no surprise then that the PGA and LPGA Tours have annual tournament stops here. 

Torrey Pines’ two courses – which host the Farmers Insurance Open each February – and the sublime La Costa Resort, which has a PGA Tour pedigree and was the site of the World Match Play seven times, have hogged the spotlight for golf in the area for years. 

The three courses below are indicative of the quality of golf across the board in the San Diego area and deserve their fair share of attention, too. 

Aviara Golf Club

Maderas Golf Club is tricky, demanding…and wonderful 

One of the area’s top-rated courses is Maderas Golf Club, located about 45 minutes northeast of the city in Poway. Designed by Johnny Miller and Robert Muir Graves and opened in 2000, the course plays at 7,167 yards from its back tees and has enjoyed a constant presence among the top 100 tracks you can play in America throughout its existence. 

Maderas Golf Club, nestled inland amongst rolling hills, features natural rock formations with sweeping elevation changes. The designers interlaced three lakes, five waterfalls, rock outcroppings, forests and over 40 acres of natural wildflowers that are seen throughout the entire golf course. 

Basically, you play Maderas like you are shooting pool – you have to consider the angles. Course knowledge is key here as there are times shots will bounce off hillsides into the fairways and others when the hills will filter balls into low-lying areas. 

Maderas travels up the hills – Nos. 1 and 2 are played uphill to elevated greens complexes – and back down. The 487-yard, par-4 fifth is an attention-grabber, doglegging to the left with the decision needed off the tee to play conservative or cut off more on the drive. The ninth is a well-crafted 382-yard two-shotter; again, positioning is crucial with water the obstacle. 

The par-5 14th requires three fine shots to get to the green that plays uphill, most notably the final 150 yards or so. The strength of the 552-yard hole is a barranca which runs diagonally near the green. The player must decide whether to lay up short of it or attempt a tough carry for a better angle into the flag. 

At 453 yards, the par-4 16th descends from an elevated tee box with the barranca running across the fairway at 300 yards, requiring another decision off the tee.  

Maderas Golf Club is clearly among the best playing choices in San Diego County. Managed by Troon, the facility provides excellent playing conditions and a challenging and memorable day of golf. 

Aviara Golf Club at the Park Hyatt Aviara is more than just a pretty face 

It just doesn’t get much better than a round of golf at Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, which sports fun and scenic holes as routed by the late Arnold Palmer. The challenging course is the long-time host of the JTBC Classic on the LPGA Tour and is kept in immaculate condition. 

Aviara Golf Club opened in 1991 as the centerpiece to the lavish Park Hyatt Aviara Resort Golf Club & Spa about a half-hour north of San Diego. Palmer’s course plays at 7,007 yards from the tips and leverages the natural terrain overlooking the beautiful Batiquitos Lagoon, an ecological reserve that is considered one of the most important wetlands in the United States. 

The course meanders through three valleys with seven lakes, cascading waterfalls, bubbling brooks, a variety of stately trees, and stunning colorful fauna of reds, whites, lavenders, purples, and yellows. 

Aviara Golf Club has nearly 300 feet of elevation change and fairways with berms, mounds, and contour. The fairways are generally wide and forgiving but can produce uneven lies with the ball resting above or below your feet. 

There is plenty of bunkering and challenging green complexes, as well as subtle illusions that can cost players a stroke, including heavy seacoast air that can affect a shot’s distance. 

The 149-yard, par-3 third basically plays like an island green, with water on three sides. Hole Nos. 7 and 8, a 404-yard par 4 and a 536-yard par-5, respectively, begin from elevated tees and dogleg to the left, presenting risk/reward opportunities. 

The back nine may actually be the harder of the two nines with less room to land the ball off the tee box and more control needed with woods and long irons on some drives and approach shots. 

The 515-yard par-5 10th seems like it’s short enough to attack in two shots but bends at about a 60-degree angle from right to left. The toughest one-shotters at Aviara Golf Club is likely the 201-yard 14, which demands a carry over a pond and is one of the most memorable holes on a very memorable course. 

The round at Aviara Golf Club is punctuated by the tough par-4 18th hole. Playing at 443 yards, a huge lake dominates the right side with hills, bunkers, and native animal nesting grounds all along the left. Once you find the fairway, there is still a very narrow opening to the green with water all along the right and large bunkers on the left. 

Aviara Golf Club is one of those courses that won’t beat you up but will challenge course management and putting skills. A round here is like playing golf through a beautiful botanical garden – try not to get distracted. 

The Grand Golf Club in Del Mar is, well, really grand 

Give Tom Fazio a great piece of land to work with and he will always produce a fantastic golf course. Such is the case at The Grand Golf Club, the centerpiece of the opulent Fairmont Grand del Mar resort about 20 miles north of San Diego. 

The Grand Golf Club is San Diego’s only Fazio-designed course and is aptly named. His routing is blanketed over rolling hills and the dramatic terrain that lends itself to some exhilarating shots over valleys, across water, and downhill from high points on the course. 

The holes ride the elevation changes up and down the canyon, but the round here is generally stress free if you keep your ball in the fairway. The Grand Golf Club, which is carded at 7,160 yards from its back set of six tees, oozes playability with generous fairways that send shots back toward the middle and expansive putting surfaces with gentle contours. 

From an architectural standpoint Fazio didn’t have to do much and shows his restraint in letting Mother Nature take – and maintain – the upper hand, using Los Penasquitos Canyon as his canvas. 

It can be a little intimidating off the tee, and there are plenty of bunkers to avoid. But it’s certainly a course that presents a good amount of birdie opportunities. The most challenging aspect of The Grand Golf Club is its greens. Most are slightly elevated – some are severely uphill on the approach – and guarded by large sand bunkers. 

You can see the resort from a few holes on the front side of the golf course but for the most part you’re out in nature – you’re close to downtown San Diego, but you’re really in a quiet little oasis. 

Highlights during a round at The Grand Golf Club are: the view from the tee box on the par 4 fourth, where you can overlook the entire property; the par-4 eighth, a 454-yard tester on which you must be able to turn the ball to the left off the tee; and the closing two holes, a 242-yard par-3 with water on the left, and the 18th, an uphill par-4 with the cascading waterfall behind the green. 

The scenery is spectacular, and course conditions are always perfect. The best part of The Grand Golf Club might be its off-course amenities. Target greens on the double-ended range will help you dial in your iron game. At the turn make sure to swipe a snack or two from the men’s locker room, a place worth calling home. The Mediterranean-themed clubhouse is as posh as the five-star hotel. 

Washed with the southern California glow and Pacific breeze, The Grand Golf Club is a challenging and unforgettable experience is reserved exclusively for resort guests, members, and Villa owners of Fairmont Grand Del Mar.