San Diego-area golf courses splendid for U.S. Open, duffers
08:23 PM CDT on Saturday, May 17, 2008
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – For a few days next month, the most popular attraction in the San Diego area won't be the pandas at the San Diego Zoo.
Instead, it will be a Tiger.
Tiger Woods and the best golfers in the world will come here to compete in the 2008 U.S. Open golf tournament June 12-15, to be held this year on the South Course at Torrey Pines in San Diego's upscale suburb of La Jolla. About 40,000 spectators are expected to attend each day.
Golf has become a huge business in San Diego. The area is home to many major golf equipment companies, including TaylorMade, Titleist and Callaway. Year-round warm weather, miles of Pacific Ocean beaches and 93 courses make it a top destination for golfers.
Many of San Diego's top courses, including Torrey Pines, are open for public play. In fact, Torrey Pines' two courses, North and South, are owned and managed by the city.
Torrey Pines' South Course is the more famous of the two, though both weave their paths close to the edge of the Pacific. Early in the morning, thick banks of fog roll in from the ocean and blanket the fairways. Staying focused can be a challenge: Sea lions bark from the beaches, paragliders launch themselves into the wind from nearby cliffs and nearby golfers stop every few holes to capture it on film.
During the Open, though, both courses will be closed to public play. While the world's best tackle Torrey Pines, throw your clubs in the trunk and head out to these other notable courses.
The Four Seasons Resort Aviara and its well-regarded golf course are about 15 miles north of Torrey Pines in the city of Carlsbad.
Aviara is as close as you can come to playing inside a botanical garden. It winds through a nature preserve, dipping around lakes and rising to the top of rocky cliffs. Flowers bloom nearly everywhere.
A short drive from Aviara, tucked away in a wealthy enclave, is Maderas Golf Club. It's the perennial favorite of San Diego golfers. The Zagat survey has ranked it the top area golf course each year since 2003. It's easy to see why.
Service is exceptional, and the grounds are immaculate. The 18 holes snake through 40 acres of wildflowers, canyons, ravines and lakes. Sprawling mansions and ranch-style spreads overlook the course.
Scattered here and there are charred grasses and patches of scorched earth, remnants of a major wildfire that swept through the community last year. Still, the wildflowers returned. So did the golfers.
Wildfires twice attacked the Barona tribe's Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, 20 minutes northeast of downtown San Diego. Blackened rocks and charcoal skeletons of sage and oak trees line the narrow roads to the Barona property. But once you reach the resort, you'd never guess a fire swept through.
While the casino, hotel and spa are a draw for some, the prize at Barona for others is the golf. The course architects left most of the land in place as they draped their design over the hilly terrain.
As you move closer to the greens, the challenges increase: landing zones narrow, and the free-form edges of sand bunkers jut like giant fingers.
Breaking par at Barona may be a tougher bet than placing one in the casino.
Michael Hiller is a Dallas freelance writer.
Going to the U.S. Open
General admission tickets to the 2008 U.S. Open Golf Championship are sold out but available through the secondary market. The Open will be played at Torrey Pines. Contact: www.usopen.com.
■ Torrey Pines Golf Course, 11480 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, Calif.; 1-800-905-0272; www.torreypinesgolfcourse.com.
Other courses to try
■ Four Seasons Resort Aviara, 7100 Four Seasons Point, Carlsbad; 760-603-6800; www.fourseasons.com/aviara.
■ Maderas Golf Club, 17750 Old Coach Road, Poway; 858-451-8100; www.maderasgolf.com.
■ Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, 1932 Wildcat Canyon Road, Lakeside; 1-888-722-7662; www.barona.com.