My apologies because I know San Diego area golf has been discussed before, but I couldn't dig it up.

The wife and I are going to be taking a somewhat impromptu trip out to California here the weekend after next.

A couple of questions...

A. As far as towns, we're thinking La Jolla at this point. Any other areas better? Carlsbad?. Should I be looking at somewhere other than La Jolla? As of right now we're looking at the Hilton Torrey Pines. I know I've read that the rates are insane for out of towners at Torrey Pines. Does anyone have any idea how outrageous they are and if there are any deals through resorts?

B. While I would like to play Torrey Pines and I'm not exactly on a tight budget, is there some other top end public course that I should be looking at that is a can't miss? Honestly, price isn't really that big of an issue if the place warrants it.

Any pointers or advice would be much appreciated!

I drive up to Newport beach and stay and play at pelican hill. Going to cost you, but i enjoy it more than Torrey.

Thanks... I'll take a look at Pelican Hill.

Is Aviara in Carlsbad any good? Anybody have any experience with the resort?

I've only played crossings at Carlsbad down there and loved it.


BigHitterDaLama was a long time resident there, maybe he can chime in

Crossings and Aviara are both great. Aviara over crossings.

To me, Torrey is a boring course. The environment is spectacular, but the golf is boring. Would still play it before aviara and crossings.

Del Mar National is nice too.

The Resort at Aviara (park hyatt) is better than the Hilton Torrey Pines.

When I played TP South a couple years ago, I believe it was $240 plus $40 if you wanted to ride.

I live in la and went to La Jolla last weekend for 3 nights. Highly recommend it as a place to stay even when visiting San Diego.

Another town I would stay in along that line would be San Clemente.

another vote for Pelican Hill.

Thanks for the input. It's greatly appreciated.

Matsui said:

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Another town I would stay in along that line would be San Clemente.

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i used to love going to the beach in San Clemente (great breakfast on the pier), but where is there to stay in San Clemente???

I would definitely add Maderas to your list, located in Poway.

I played Torrey North and Maderas back in June. Weekday walking rate for Torrey was something like $160. I don't remember Maderas exactly but it was over $100. Two really neat courses and don't regret playing either.

Played at Torrey and stayed at the Hilton. A little pricey maybe but not significantly more than the other places we looked at staying. Totally worth it.

I'm a sucker for a chance to play a course where a major was held (especially a classic like 2008), so Torrey Pines South was my first stop when I visited SD years ago. I'd echo the review above that there are some nice views while the course was ok. But it was the type of thing I had to cross off my list, and I didn't regret it.

I live in SD. Here are my rankings for courses in the area.

Aviara
Torrey
Maderas
Journey at Pechanga
Barona
Crossings

Many more, but those are my fav. Mt Woodson is great for a bit cheaper.

Great info peeps! Love me some Texags.

Well I went ahead and made the drive out to Poway from Torrey on Monday morning and played Maderas. It was a really easy 30 minute drive, especially considering the lengths that I'll drive to play nice public golf on the North side of Houston.

Anyway... Thanks for the recommendation because I was really wanting to get away from the coastal hubbub for a few hours. This place did the trick as it is tucked into a secluded desert mountain valley.

Hospitality was top notch. Everyone was really nice and pretty well stayed out of the way after the initial check-in and a few general tips from the starter.

Speaking of the starter... He explained that the fairway on the first hole runs out at about 305 but not to worry about it because it was uphill and to go ahead and hit driver at the bunker and expect a little ground hook...

Me: Cool... Thanks. (Sounds simple enough) Whack! (YES! It's straight!)

Him: SIT!!!

Me: HUH!? (What the hell man?)

Me 30 seconds later: Whew... relieved that my ball stayed on the downslope headed towards the creek.

Course Synopsis:

GREAT setting... It's serene and QUIET. The layout takes you up and down the mountain valley with the occasional super elevated tee shot to take it all in. I can't imagine any of the other courses in the area would give you this sort of secluded feeling.

GREAT conditioned course. Lush green tees, fairways and greens but tightly manicured. So while it was green, the fairways played fast and firm but the greens held well, as bent greens tend to.

PACE: I teed off at 7:40 and had one twosome that was kind enough to let me play through on hole 7. I finished around 10:45, taking my time here and there, but generally I had a quick go of it with the wife stranded at the hotel and antsy for me to get back. The staff was SHOCKED that I got around so fast. I could see this being a 5+ hour round if you had a group in the middle of the day, especially if you take the time to soak it all in. (Honestly, I would have rather played at a more relaxed pace at a venue like that, but such is married life!)

COURSE: BEAST...but not necessarily with length as most of the long holes are downhill. While it's not overly long, it is a tough driving course, especially for a flat-lander. The side slopes make the fairways 1/2 as wide as they appear... and they don't appear huge to begin with. The greens are tough as well on the approach because they are set into and on top of the undulating terrain and there are several totally blind shots to hidden greens. I wouldn't call it unfair, because all of the blind shots come on 100-120 yard type of approach shots.

GREENS: Whoa... tough. I don't putt bent greens all that well in the first place, but these were extra tricky to read... both on the line and the speed. That's probably why 39 of my 82 shots were on the greens! (And that's with a chip-in par on 17)

LAYOUT: very interesting. It has a mix of a couple of reachable par 5's and varied length par 3's and 4's. I literally used every club in my bag.

OVERALL: This course isn't for the faint of heart. It's tough from a layout perspective and also from a physical standpoint. Literally, if you aren't in shape to walk up to some of the tees and greens, this course could really take it out of you. Bring plenty of balls because you are going to lose some. Even though it kicked my ass and I wouldn't recommend it for a novice, I'd highly recommend it to a fairly skilled golfer. Just don't expect to shoot your career best at Maderas.

Thanks again for the rec!

We are thinking of Hilton stay just to do Torrey. What perks do you get?

Not really sure price wise. The perk is that you are walking to distance to the first tee from the hotel. Made playing and doing something on the same day really easy.