This is the last of a five part series of articles about my summer trip to the western U.S.
The traffic I experienced on the drive from Trump National to the Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, CA was tolerable for a Friday evening. Most of the drive was after sunset and although there was a good deal of bumper to bumper traffic, I had many stretches of open road. I arrived at the resort entrance a bit before 9:00 and as always, was anxious for a fast check-in experience followed by a shower and a good rest.
The traffic I experienced on the drive from Trump National to the Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, CA was tolerable for a Friday evening. Most of the drive was after sunset and although there was a good deal of bumper to bumper traffic, I had many stretches of open road. I arrived at the resort entrance a bit before 9:00 and as always, was anxious for a fast check-in experience followed by a shower and a good rest.
Omni La Costa Resort
Omni La Costa Resort The Omni La Costa Resort recently underwent a $10 million restoration and as a result, is now ranked as one of three 2014 Golf Magazine Gold Medal Resorts in Southern California. The Spa at La Costa is still rated number one in the United States. The resort is expansive and caters to all age groups.
After quickly checking in, the bellman loaded my luggage onto a cart and I followed him in my vehicle to one of the self-parking lots. In the dark and around and around, I didn't pinpoint exactly where I parked my vehicle.
My room was called a Signature Room and as you would expect from a Gold Medal Resort, spacious and ultra-equipped with amenities. It's a shame I spent less than 10 hours there but for me, it's always about the golf. And I was at the resort for one reason: to play the Legends Course, formerly known as the South Course, in my Quest to play every course that has ever made an appearance on Golf Magazine's Top 100 You Can Play list. The Legends Course was 99th on the very first list in 1996 before it dropped off, never to make another appearance.
By 6:00 A.M. Saturday, I had loaded my luggage and began searching for my vehicle. Let's just say I looked for a long time before I discovered I could have seen it from the balcony of my room. As I made my way to the lobby, I followed Fred Lynn, former Major League Baseball player who would be playing the Legends Course that morning.
Friend Wayne Deloney had already checked in at the Pro Shop and was on the driving range while I enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast outside on the deck of The Bistro overlooking the back nines of both the Legends and Champions courses. From that vantage point, eight of the 36 holes at the resort can be seen. To the left of me as I looked out from the deck were several splash pools and hundreds of lounge chairs. As a result of the unseasonably warm weather of the day, I would find nearly every chair occupied at the end of my round.
Because of the way my trip was structured, I was not able to play both courses in one day. Like many resorts with multiple courses, one course is designated each day for public play while the other is reserved for members. So Wayne and I played the Champions Course Saturday morning and would return to play the Legends Course on Sunday morning.
Jacques Gladu was our starter for the day. A Canadian transplant, he now calls Southern California home. We were paired with Rich Bogen from the Boulder, CO area and George Zoffinger from New Jersey. We played the member tees at 6299 yards and I found the course to be extremely fair to first-timers. Generally, it was pretty easy to see what you needed to do from the tee. The bent greens were in outstanding shape with nothing out of the ordinary in the way of contour.
After quickly checking in, the bellman loaded my luggage onto a cart and I followed him in my vehicle to one of the self-parking lots. In the dark and around and around, I didn't pinpoint exactly where I parked my vehicle.
My room was called a Signature Room and as you would expect from a Gold Medal Resort, spacious and ultra-equipped with amenities. It's a shame I spent less than 10 hours there but for me, it's always about the golf. And I was at the resort for one reason: to play the Legends Course, formerly known as the South Course, in my Quest to play every course that has ever made an appearance on Golf Magazine's Top 100 You Can Play list. The Legends Course was 99th on the very first list in 1996 before it dropped off, never to make another appearance.
By 6:00 A.M. Saturday, I had loaded my luggage and began searching for my vehicle. Let's just say I looked for a long time before I discovered I could have seen it from the balcony of my room. As I made my way to the lobby, I followed Fred Lynn, former Major League Baseball player who would be playing the Legends Course that morning.
Friend Wayne Deloney had already checked in at the Pro Shop and was on the driving range while I enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast outside on the deck of The Bistro overlooking the back nines of both the Legends and Champions courses. From that vantage point, eight of the 36 holes at the resort can be seen. To the left of me as I looked out from the deck were several splash pools and hundreds of lounge chairs. As a result of the unseasonably warm weather of the day, I would find nearly every chair occupied at the end of my round.
Because of the way my trip was structured, I was not able to play both courses in one day. Like many resorts with multiple courses, one course is designated each day for public play while the other is reserved for members. So Wayne and I played the Champions Course Saturday morning and would return to play the Legends Course on Sunday morning.
Jacques Gladu was our starter for the day. A Canadian transplant, he now calls Southern California home. We were paired with Rich Bogen from the Boulder, CO area and George Zoffinger from New Jersey. We played the member tees at 6299 yards and I found the course to be extremely fair to first-timers. Generally, it was pretty easy to see what you needed to do from the tee. The bent greens were in outstanding shape with nothing out of the ordinary in the way of contour.
The Par 4 1st Hole at La Costa Champions Course
Like many of the courses I experienced on the trip, La Costa was a bit starved for moisture and there were dry areas on the course. I was surprised given the area's average elevation of six feet above sea level to find some good elevation change. The par 5 sixth hole is a dogleg left that plays significantly up hill.
The Par 4 11th Hole at La Costa Champions Course
The back nine has two excellent short par 4's where driver may be a questionable selection for the tee shot.
The Par 5 18th Hole at La Costa Champions Course
The 2012 LPGA Kia Classic was played at the Champions Course. Dick Wilson designed the original in 1965 and Joe Lee tweaked it in 1973 and 1984 before a complete renovation by Pascuzzo & Pate Golf Design in 2011. It was at the Champions Course that the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, Gary Player, and Tiger Woods could be seen on national TV in years past.
Wayne and I returned Sunday morning and played the Legends Course. While not as storied as its sister course, it also underwent an extensive renovation several years ago.
Wayne and I returned Sunday morning and played the Legends Course. While not as storied as its sister course, it also underwent an extensive renovation several years ago.
Pala Mesa Resort
Pala Mesa Resort Our Saturday afternoon round was at Pala Mesa Resort around 30 miles north of La Costa. It was very hot as we moved away from the Pacific Ocean and into the canyon area north of San Diego. The thermometer was in the mid-90's, unseasonably warm for September in Southern California. Many of the weather reports were calling for torrential rain in the higher elevations as a result of the hurricane in Baja California.
Thankfully, we encountered no precipitation.
We headed to the first tee for our 2:06 tee time and were joined by two local players, Jerry and Tim. We let a single play through us on the fifth hole and never encountered another group during the whole round.
The course sits astride I-15 which can be seen immediately east and below the course. The front nine is relatively flat and sits on the east side of the property with the hillside above to the west. The course was very dry, another victim of the several year drought beguiling the state of California.
Thankfully, we encountered no precipitation.
We headed to the first tee for our 2:06 tee time and were joined by two local players, Jerry and Tim. We let a single play through us on the fifth hole and never encountered another group during the whole round.
The course sits astride I-15 which can be seen immediately east and below the course. The front nine is relatively flat and sits on the east side of the property with the hillside above to the west. The course was very dry, another victim of the several year drought beguiling the state of California.
Jerry and Tim Wayne and I did not play our best during the round but were very amused by the competition between Jerry and Tim. Jerry had a powerful swing and launched his irons way into the air. Jerry was giving Tim a stroke a hole in their friendly match.
The back nine at Pala Mesa has much more character than the front. The par 5 10th hole plays south uphill and in general, the entire back nine is a series of severe uphill and downhill holes.
Jerry had some bad luck on the 12th hole when he scorched a drive right down the middle but was unable to find it. After we searched for several minutes, he found his ball at least 100 yards behind where it should have been. It had a big scuff mark. Jerry played the ball as it lied. It wasn't until he took the ball out of the 12th hole that he determined his drive had hit the electric wire across the towers on each side of the 12th fairway. You see some strange things if you play this game long enough.
As it turned out, their match went to the 18th hole where Tim hit his best drive of the day as Jerry was in trouble off the tee. Jerry was unable to sink a long putt on the green and the match went to Tim.
The back nine at Pala Mesa has much more character than the front. The par 5 10th hole plays south uphill and in general, the entire back nine is a series of severe uphill and downhill holes.
Jerry had some bad luck on the 12th hole when he scorched a drive right down the middle but was unable to find it. After we searched for several minutes, he found his ball at least 100 yards behind where it should have been. It had a big scuff mark. Jerry played the ball as it lied. It wasn't until he took the ball out of the 12th hole that he determined his drive had hit the electric wire across the towers on each side of the 12th fairway. You see some strange things if you play this game long enough.
As it turned out, their match went to the 18th hole where Tim hit his best drive of the day as Jerry was in trouble off the tee. Jerry was unable to sink a long putt on the green and the match went to Tim.
The Par 4 18th Hole at Pala Mesa Resort
I left the course and drove southeast to Oceanside, CA where I would spend the next three nights. I met Wayne again at La Costa Resort for our Sunday morning round on the Legends Course. Amazingly, starter Jacques passed me in a cart and enthusiastically greeted me by name. How did he do that? That's the kind of behavior you encounter at the better resorts.
Park Hyatt Aviara Golf Club
Park Hyatt Aviara Golf Resort As Wayne and I had the first tee time of the day on Sunday, we completed our round in three hours and left the resort shortly after 10:00 A.M. The next round wasn't scheduled until 1:00 P.M. at Aviara Golf Club which is less than three miles from La Costa Resort. We headed to the course, hoping we could move our tee time up.
We had no such luck. But it was opening day of the National Football League and we took the opportunity to eat some lunch and watch some football. My Cleveland Browns fell behind in Pittsburgh 27-3 at the half before tying the score at 27 and losing on a last second field goal.
Aviara is also a part of my Quest, having reached as high as number 70 on the 1998 list before falling off. Aviara is the only Arnold Palmer designed course in the San Diego area. It is now the home of the LPGA Kia Classic.
We had no such luck. But it was opening day of the National Football League and we took the opportunity to eat some lunch and watch some football. My Cleveland Browns fell behind in Pittsburgh 27-3 at the half before tying the score at 27 and losing on a last second field goal.
Aviara is also a part of my Quest, having reached as high as number 70 on the 1998 list before falling off. Aviara is the only Arnold Palmer designed course in the San Diego area. It is now the home of the LPGA Kia Classic.
The Par 3 3rd Hole at Aviara Golf Club
The course is gorgeous and features a great deal of elevation changes. Its greens are Poa Annua and were a bit bumpy in the afternoon but still quick.
The Par 3 14th Hole at Aviara Golf Club
The twelfth and 15th holes share a double green. The eighteenth hole is a fantastic dogleg right hole around a pond that sits to the right that extends beyond and no more than a yard right of the green. A beautiful finishing hole!
The Par 4 18th Hole at Aviara Golf Club
The Aviara Golf Club is owned by Park Hyatt and the resort received a Silver Award in Golf Magazine's 2014 ranking.
Warrior Custom Golf and Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club
Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club I was up early Monday morning for a 40 mile drive to Mason, CA, home of Warrior Custom Golf. I was given a tour of the facility and met some of the people I have spoken with over the years.
Warrior Custom Golf is bursting at the seams! They need a bigger facility. Portions of the shipping operation actually take place outside the building. It is quite an operation. One of the things I learned during the tour is that Warrior also owns Warrior Table Soccer and makes the official table of the Professional Foosball Tour.
I spent time in Warrior Golf's Operations Center. Warrior has amassed over the years a stable of 18 golf courses around the United States including Lakota Canyon Ranch in New Castle, CO, currently rated 90th on Golf Magazines Top 100 Golf Courses You Can Play, and Limestone Springs Golf Club in Oneonta, AL, formerly on Golf Digest's Top 100 Public Courses list.
The Operations Center is a room filled with feeds from multiple cameras located at each of the eighteen Warrior golf courses and monitored by technicians sitting in the room. Quite impressive.
Warrior Custom Golf is bursting at the seams! They need a bigger facility. Portions of the shipping operation actually take place outside the building. It is quite an operation. One of the things I learned during the tour is that Warrior also owns Warrior Table Soccer and makes the official table of the Professional Foosball Tour.
I spent time in Warrior Golf's Operations Center. Warrior has amassed over the years a stable of 18 golf courses around the United States including Lakota Canyon Ranch in New Castle, CO, currently rated 90th on Golf Magazines Top 100 Golf Courses You Can Play, and Limestone Springs Golf Club in Oneonta, AL, formerly on Golf Digest's Top 100 Public Courses list.
The Operations Center is a room filled with feeds from multiple cameras located at each of the eighteen Warrior golf courses and monitored by technicians sitting in the room. Quite impressive.
Howard Farber, Wayne Deloney, and Eddie Buendia We left the Warrior offices in Irvine and drove to Mission Viejo, CA where we had a late morning tee time at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club, a public access daily fee golf facility. Wayne and I were joined by long-time Warrior associate and my friend, Howard Farber and Eddie Buendia, a Warrior investor.
Arroyo Trabuco was designed by PGA Tour Professional Tom Lehman on land that appeared to me to be best suited for a golf course. The site is hilly with a great deal of elevation change.
The course is unique in that the front nine plays away from the clubhouse and the golfer does not return to the clubhouse until finishing the back nine.
The 4th hole is an awesome par three, also the number 5 handicap hole on the course. It is long, even from the forward tees and plays 231 yards from the tips to the green below. The hole has a daunting look as it appears the golfer must carry the shot all the way to the green to avoid trouble. In actuality, a nice little draw to the front of the green is the perfect shot.
Arroyo Trabuco was designed by PGA Tour Professional Tom Lehman on land that appeared to me to be best suited for a golf course. The site is hilly with a great deal of elevation change.
The course is unique in that the front nine plays away from the clubhouse and the golfer does not return to the clubhouse until finishing the back nine.
The 4th hole is an awesome par three, also the number 5 handicap hole on the course. It is long, even from the forward tees and plays 231 yards from the tips to the green below. The hole has a daunting look as it appears the golfer must carry the shot all the way to the green to avoid trouble. In actuality, a nice little draw to the front of the green is the perfect shot.
The Par 3 4th Hole at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club
Interestingly, on June 29, 2004, the day the course opened, Tom Lehman aced this hole with a five iron! Well, he is the architect.
The Crossings at Carlsbad
The Crossings at Carlsbad I checked out of my Oceanside, CA hotel early Tuesday morning and made a 15 minute trip down I-5 to The Crossings at Carlsbad. After a bit of trouble locating the entrance (I actually made a call to the course from the parking lot of Legoland which sits across the street from the clubhouse), I met Wayne and another Warrior investor, Dave Hilliard in the clubhouse.
I was enormously impressed by this course on many different levels. First, the terrain is well-suited for a golf course. It is very hilly with a rough feel and looked to me to be unusable for anything but a golf course as it lies directly in the path of the runway of Palomar Airport next door. Its 400 acres sit in the middle of a 1000 acre parcel owned by the City of Carlsbad. The course contains over seven miles of cart paths.
Next, the views are stunning. It is breathtakingly beautiful. I loved making the turn to the 10th hole, able to look down at nearly the entire back nine.
Finally, the service was incredible. Let me give you one huge example. How many times have you made a tee time at a course you looked forward to playing, arrived at the course, and found the greens had just been aerated? That was the case on the day we played. Usually, it is your tough luck. The Crossings is not inexpensive with a weekday rate of $95.00 if you are not a Carlsbad or Southern California resident. How did the Crossings handle this little issue? They reduced the rate to $49.00 and gave every golfer a voucher to come back and play the course by the end of the year when the greens have healed for $35.00! In all my years of playing golf, I have never seen golfers treated like this. While I was unable to use the voucher, I did turn it over to a friend to be used. The operator of the facility, Kemper Sports, gets my sincere congratulations for this policy.
The Crossings at Carlsbad was a great deal of fun to play. It was built by the city of Carlsbad and ran into huge cost overruns before opening. At over $60 million, it was the most expensive golf course ever built in the world up until Trump National Los Angeles opened. Those lucky taxpayers.
The course, opened in 2007, was designed by Greg Nash and is named for the five bridges (or crossings) that were a part of the design to meet environmental and topographical requirements. The course is no more than a mile east of the Pacific Ocean and is nested among wetlands, sage brush, and a great deal of plant, animal and bird life.
Perhaps the most daunting drive for first timers is on the first hole, a par 4 of over 400 yards from the blue and black tees. The tee shot is to a blind landing area over brush and you quickly learn on this dogleg left that you can't cut the corner. Drives get a bit easier after the first hole.
The front nine has a good deal of elevation change, working to its highest point at the third green from which you can see the Pacific Ocean to the west as you make your way to the 4th tee. My favorite hole on this side is the par 5 seventh. It is reachable in two but the four level green which showcases a waterfall back and right, is bedeviling!
I was enormously impressed by this course on many different levels. First, the terrain is well-suited for a golf course. It is very hilly with a rough feel and looked to me to be unusable for anything but a golf course as it lies directly in the path of the runway of Palomar Airport next door. Its 400 acres sit in the middle of a 1000 acre parcel owned by the City of Carlsbad. The course contains over seven miles of cart paths.
Next, the views are stunning. It is breathtakingly beautiful. I loved making the turn to the 10th hole, able to look down at nearly the entire back nine.
Finally, the service was incredible. Let me give you one huge example. How many times have you made a tee time at a course you looked forward to playing, arrived at the course, and found the greens had just been aerated? That was the case on the day we played. Usually, it is your tough luck. The Crossings is not inexpensive with a weekday rate of $95.00 if you are not a Carlsbad or Southern California resident. How did the Crossings handle this little issue? They reduced the rate to $49.00 and gave every golfer a voucher to come back and play the course by the end of the year when the greens have healed for $35.00! In all my years of playing golf, I have never seen golfers treated like this. While I was unable to use the voucher, I did turn it over to a friend to be used. The operator of the facility, Kemper Sports, gets my sincere congratulations for this policy.
The Crossings at Carlsbad was a great deal of fun to play. It was built by the city of Carlsbad and ran into huge cost overruns before opening. At over $60 million, it was the most expensive golf course ever built in the world up until Trump National Los Angeles opened. Those lucky taxpayers.
The course, opened in 2007, was designed by Greg Nash and is named for the five bridges (or crossings) that were a part of the design to meet environmental and topographical requirements. The course is no more than a mile east of the Pacific Ocean and is nested among wetlands, sage brush, and a great deal of plant, animal and bird life.
Perhaps the most daunting drive for first timers is on the first hole, a par 4 of over 400 yards from the blue and black tees. The tee shot is to a blind landing area over brush and you quickly learn on this dogleg left that you can't cut the corner. Drives get a bit easier after the first hole.
The front nine has a good deal of elevation change, working to its highest point at the third green from which you can see the Pacific Ocean to the west as you make your way to the 4th tee. My favorite hole on this side is the par 5 seventh. It is reachable in two but the four level green which showcases a waterfall back and right, is bedeviling!
The View of the Par 5 7th Green From the Landing Area at The Crossings at Carlsbad
The front nine ends with a short, uphill par 4 and then a tiny little par 3, only 139 yards from the tips, below the beautiful clubhouse.
The Par 3 9th Hole at The Crossings at Carlsbad
Making the turn to the 10th tee affords the opportunity to see what awaits on the back nine. The front nine plays flat compared to the back nine. The back starts with two short, downhill par 4's. Driver is not a good option on number 10 but 11 provides the opportunity to rip a driver high to the fairway below.
The Par 4 10th Hole at The Crossings at Carlsbad
The Downhill Par 4 11th Hole at The Crossings at Carlsbad
It took the better part of eight years of battles with environmentalists to finally complete The Crossings and those fights contributed to the sheer length of the cart paths winding around and about the site. I do not know the length of the trek from the 11th green to the 12th tee but it has to be over a half mile. I learned construction had to be stopped due to an endangered species which resulted in a complete redesign of the 12th hole. A big benefit to first time golfers at The Crossing is the opportunity to see the entire hole before you play it from green back to the tee.
The 14th hole is a pretty, short par 3 to a green that slopes considerably from front to back.
The 14th hole is a pretty, short par 3 to a green that slopes considerably from front to back.
The Par 3 14th Hole at The Crossings at Carlsbad
When we reached the tee of the par 5 15th tee, we were greeted by a ranger who asked if we had played the course before.
Dave Hilliard Learning that we had not, he described the hole and gave us our driving target, more to the left than you would think as a first timer, explaining if we hit our drives on that line, we would shorten the hole considerably. Any drive to the right would certainly end in trouble.
A second par five follows at 16 followed by a beautiful medium length downhill par 3.
The back nine finishes with the number 2 handicap hole on the course, a medium length hole with a slight dogleg right. The landing area of the drive is tight with bunkers left and a hazard right and the approach is to a green that slopes back to front, protected by eucalyptus trees left and right with no real bailout area.
I really enjoyed The Crossings. It was one of my favorite courses on the trip. The accolades it has received are well-deserved. Golf Magazine named it one of its Top 10 New Courses You Can Play in 2007. In 2010 the facility received Golf World's Reader's Choice Award as the number 1 rated Public Food and Dining Facility.
Play this course when you are in the San Diego area. You won't be disappointed.
A second par five follows at 16 followed by a beautiful medium length downhill par 3.
The back nine finishes with the number 2 handicap hole on the course, a medium length hole with a slight dogleg right. The landing area of the drive is tight with bunkers left and a hazard right and the approach is to a green that slopes back to front, protected by eucalyptus trees left and right with no real bailout area.
I really enjoyed The Crossings. It was one of my favorite courses on the trip. The accolades it has received are well-deserved. Golf Magazine named it one of its Top 10 New Courses You Can Play in 2007. In 2010 the facility received Golf World's Reader's Choice Award as the number 1 rated Public Food and Dining Facility.
Play this course when you are in the San Diego area. You won't be disappointed.
Riverwalk Golf Club
Riverwalk Golf Club Our afternoon round was at Riverwalk Golf Club in the Fashion Valley Mall area of San Diego. Wayne, Dave, and I made the 10 mile drive south to the 27 hole facility for a 1:03 tee time.
The facility was bustling! We would play the Mission Nine followed by the Presidio Nine and were joined by Charles, a retired corporate Tax Attorney.
The wind kicked up as we teed off. Play was slow as we hit the afternoon rush of golfers and followed an outing.
Riverwalk is Ted Robinson, Sr. design and is a typical public facility. It was in good shape for the amount of play it receives although like other courses in Southern California, needed a good soaking rain.
The facility was bustling! We would play the Mission Nine followed by the Presidio Nine and were joined by Charles, a retired corporate Tax Attorney.
The wind kicked up as we teed off. Play was slow as we hit the afternoon rush of golfers and followed an outing.
Riverwalk is Ted Robinson, Sr. design and is a typical public facility. It was in good shape for the amount of play it receives although like other courses in Southern California, needed a good soaking rain.
The Par 4 3rd Hole, Mission Nine at Riverwalk Golf Club
We finished the round by 5:30 and I bid farewell to Wayne. Wayne was quite a trooper. Not many people can hang with the schedule I keep on my golf trips and Wayne played eight rounds of golf with me from Friday afternoon to Tuesday afternoon. And Wayne fought the Southern California traffic more than I did as he traveled back and forth from his home in the Irvine area.
My home away from home for the next five nights would be spent at a hotel in the Fashion Valley Mall area in Mission Hills and after checking into the hotel, I found the nearest Chinese restaurant and rested up for my final two Southern California rounds the next day.
My home away from home for the next five nights would be spent at a hotel in the Fashion Valley Mall area in Mission Hills and after checking into the hotel, I found the nearest Chinese restaurant and rested up for my final two Southern California rounds the next day.
Maderas Golf Club
Maderas Golf Club I left the hotel on Wednesday morning, September 10 (coincidentally Arnold Palmer's 85th birthday) for the 30 minute drive to Poway, CA, an upscale community northeast of San Diego and site of the two courses I would play with a former softball teammate and coworker from my past in Fort Wayne, Glenn Rossman. I had used Glenn as my "golf consultant" for the trip to determine which additional courses I would play in the San Diego area.
To my great benefit, Maderas Golf Club, currently rated 89th on Golf Digest's "America's 100 Greatest Public Courses" list, and a course on my Quest, was one of Glenn's suggestions and further, he had won in a silent auction green fees for a foursome which he graciously offered to use this day.
I arrived at the course early and met Bud Taylor, Glenn's good friend from StoneRidge Country Club, on the driving range. Soon, Glenn and wife Lynne joined us on the driving range.
It was another gorgeous day in sunny Southern California and our 8:00 tee time was the first of the day.
Maderas Golf Club is a Johnny Miller design that has been rated the top golf course in the San Diego area for seven years in a row by the Zagat Survey. It is in a gorgeous setting, winding through forests, creeks, rock outcroppings and cliffs in the hills north of San Diego. The course, opened in 1999, is managed by Troon Golf and meticulously maintained to their high standard.
There was dew on the ground as we teed off and we enjoyed a comfortable round, staying ahead of the group behind us...that is until we made a wrong turn after the twelfth hole and hit tee shots from the second tee again. We quickly recovered but our mistake required us to let the group behind play through and thereafter, we enjoyed the comfortable pace again.
Glenn pointed out StoneRidge Country Club to me from Maderas which sits high above Maderas and while close as the bird flies, is a 10 minute drive away.
Maderas has so many good holes. One that sticks in my mind is the downhill, dogleg left fifth hole where an errant drive left me in deep rough from which I could not recover. The rough caught the hosel of my club and I yanked my approach shot into the hazard leading to a triple bogey
To my great benefit, Maderas Golf Club, currently rated 89th on Golf Digest's "America's 100 Greatest Public Courses" list, and a course on my Quest, was one of Glenn's suggestions and further, he had won in a silent auction green fees for a foursome which he graciously offered to use this day.
I arrived at the course early and met Bud Taylor, Glenn's good friend from StoneRidge Country Club, on the driving range. Soon, Glenn and wife Lynne joined us on the driving range.
It was another gorgeous day in sunny Southern California and our 8:00 tee time was the first of the day.
Maderas Golf Club is a Johnny Miller design that has been rated the top golf course in the San Diego area for seven years in a row by the Zagat Survey. It is in a gorgeous setting, winding through forests, creeks, rock outcroppings and cliffs in the hills north of San Diego. The course, opened in 1999, is managed by Troon Golf and meticulously maintained to their high standard.
There was dew on the ground as we teed off and we enjoyed a comfortable round, staying ahead of the group behind us...that is until we made a wrong turn after the twelfth hole and hit tee shots from the second tee again. We quickly recovered but our mistake required us to let the group behind play through and thereafter, we enjoyed the comfortable pace again.
Glenn pointed out StoneRidge Country Club to me from Maderas which sits high above Maderas and while close as the bird flies, is a 10 minute drive away.
Maderas has so many good holes. One that sticks in my mind is the downhill, dogleg left fifth hole where an errant drive left me in deep rough from which I could not recover. The rough caught the hosel of my club and I yanked my approach shot into the hazard leading to a triple bogey
The Par 5 3rd Hole at Maderas Golf Club
The ninth hole is a pretty, short par 4 requiring an approach shot over water to a green that slopes toward the water.
The fourteenth hole is an uphill par 5 that requires two well struck shots leaving a wedge across a barranca to a green that slopes precipitously from back to front.
The fourteenth hole is an uphill par 5 that requires two well struck shots leaving a wedge across a barranca to a green that slopes precipitously from back to front.
The Par 3 4th Hole at Maderas Golf Club
After the Round - Glenn, Lynne, Bud The two par 3's on the back side are also memorable. Fifteen is long (220 to 253 yards depending on the tee) and downhill to a narrow green protected by two deep bunkers left of the green.
Seventeen is also downhill, about 70 yards shorter but requiring a carry over scrub nearly all the way to the green.
The course ends with a long, downhill par 5 to a green protected by two bunkers to the front and each side.
You will seldom have a level stance at Maderas, even if you find the fairway and once on these fast greens, you will encounter double and even triple breakers due to severe undulations.
I would say this course is a must play the next time you visit San Diego.
We finished the round and I experienced one of the nicest post-round surprises in all my years of playing golf. Just outside the door of the clubhouse was a clear decanter filled with ice and Arnold Palmer's favorite drink - iced tea and lemonade, better known as an Arnold Palmer. I will admit to having at least six cups of the beverage post-round. In the picture above, you can see Bud holding what remains of his drink. I first thought this was a one-time way to honor The King on his birthday but was told the decanter is always there.
Post round, we had lunch at The Grille inside the clubhouse where the service was every bit as good as that of the golf operation.
Seventeen is also downhill, about 70 yards shorter but requiring a carry over scrub nearly all the way to the green.
The course ends with a long, downhill par 5 to a green protected by two bunkers to the front and each side.
You will seldom have a level stance at Maderas, even if you find the fairway and once on these fast greens, you will encounter double and even triple breakers due to severe undulations.
I would say this course is a must play the next time you visit San Diego.
We finished the round and I experienced one of the nicest post-round surprises in all my years of playing golf. Just outside the door of the clubhouse was a clear decanter filled with ice and Arnold Palmer's favorite drink - iced tea and lemonade, better known as an Arnold Palmer. I will admit to having at least six cups of the beverage post-round. In the picture above, you can see Bud holding what remains of his drink. I first thought this was a one-time way to honor The King on his birthday but was told the decanter is always there.
Post round, we had lunch at The Grille inside the clubhouse where the service was every bit as good as that of the golf operation.
StoneRidge Country Club
StoneRidge Country Club Glenn's home course is StoneRidge Country Club, also in Poway. As I pointed out, it sits above Maderas and is characterized by tree-lined fairways, fast greens, and considerable elevation changes. Designed by Ted Robinson and opened in 1962, it is scenic and impeccably maintained.
Glenn and I teed off after 1:00 and had the course to ourselves. The terrain allows for a wonderful mix of golf holes - doglegs both left and right; uphill holes, downhill holes; long par 5's and reachable par 5's; driveable par 4's; layup par 4's; short par 3's and long par 3's. Several of the par 4's are 90 degree doglegs that require a precise drive.
Glenn and I teed off after 1:00 and had the course to ourselves. The terrain allows for a wonderful mix of golf holes - doglegs both left and right; uphill holes, downhill holes; long par 5's and reachable par 5's; driveable par 4's; layup par 4's; short par 3's and long par 3's. Several of the par 4's are 90 degree doglegs that require a precise drive.
The Par 5 12th Hole at StoneRidge Country Club
I really enjoyed the back nine, especially the five finishing holes. Fourteen is a short downhill par 4. Fifteen is a par 5 that doglegs late left to an elevated green. Sixteen is a medium length par 3. Seventeen is a stout uphill par 4. And eighteen, my favorite hole on the course, has a disconcerting look from the tee.
The Par 4 18th Hole at StoneRidge Country Club
It is all downhill and the first time player has difficulty choosing a target line. I relied on Glenn, gripped it and ripped it and turned out just fine. Since the hole plays downhill to the green, "hanging" second shots are easy to chunk.
The Approach to the 18th Green at StoneRidge Country Club
StoneRidge was the only course I played on the trip that was fresh out of logo golf balls. So I have added it to my list of "logo balls needed."
After a brief stop at Glenn's home in Poway, I headed back to the hotel. I had played 24 rounds of golf at 24 different courses in 14 days while traveling a little over 3000 miles. And my pace was about to take a few ticks downward.
After a brief stop at Glenn's home in Poway, I headed back to the hotel. I had played 24 rounds of golf at 24 different courses in 14 days while traveling a little over 3000 miles. And my pace was about to take a few ticks downward.
The Travel Writers/Bloggers Conference
My next four days were spent at Great Escape Publishing's Travel Writer's/Bloggers conference at the Westgate Hotel in downtown San Diego.
The site of my hotel in the Mission Hills area of San Diego near the Fashion Valley Mall gave me the opportunity to sample San Diego's Public Transportation System. Rather than drive to downtown San Diego each day for the conference, fight the rush hour traffic, and pay an exorbitant parking fee, I paid $17 total for the privilege to ride the San Diego Trolley each day. I hadn't experienced public transportation since my days growing up in Cleveland, OH. The trolley is clean, convenient, and stopped right at the door of the Westgate Hotel. Trolleys ran regularly and waits were minimal. I highly recommend this mode of transportation should you visit San Diego.
This conference was the impetus for my trip to the West Coast. This was an invaluable experience for in addition to many insider tips and tricks for landing articles in publications and scoring expense free trips, I made many "inside the industry" contacts I hope to leverage as I further my passion for writing. Several of the people I met are such drivers, they make me feel like a laggard! That's just the kind of people you need in your life to keep you on your toes.
The Travel Writing portion of the conference ran from Thursday to Saturday and the Blogger portion of the conference took place on Sunday.
One of the cool assignments we had during the Travel Writing portion of the conference involved selecting a place in the greater San Diego area and developing an article fit for publication in a magazine. We were given three hours and upon return, we were critiqued by a large group of people including a noted Travel Writer on the piece we created.
This one was easy for me. I hopped in a cab and headed directly for Balboa Park Golf Course which overlooks the San Diego skyline. Here's what I found.
The site of my hotel in the Mission Hills area of San Diego near the Fashion Valley Mall gave me the opportunity to sample San Diego's Public Transportation System. Rather than drive to downtown San Diego each day for the conference, fight the rush hour traffic, and pay an exorbitant parking fee, I paid $17 total for the privilege to ride the San Diego Trolley each day. I hadn't experienced public transportation since my days growing up in Cleveland, OH. The trolley is clean, convenient, and stopped right at the door of the Westgate Hotel. Trolleys ran regularly and waits were minimal. I highly recommend this mode of transportation should you visit San Diego.
This conference was the impetus for my trip to the West Coast. This was an invaluable experience for in addition to many insider tips and tricks for landing articles in publications and scoring expense free trips, I made many "inside the industry" contacts I hope to leverage as I further my passion for writing. Several of the people I met are such drivers, they make me feel like a laggard! That's just the kind of people you need in your life to keep you on your toes.
The Travel Writing portion of the conference ran from Thursday to Saturday and the Blogger portion of the conference took place on Sunday.
One of the cool assignments we had during the Travel Writing portion of the conference involved selecting a place in the greater San Diego area and developing an article fit for publication in a magazine. We were given three hours and upon return, we were critiqued by a large group of people including a noted Travel Writer on the piece we created.
This one was easy for me. I hopped in a cab and headed directly for Balboa Park Golf Course which overlooks the San Diego skyline. Here's what I found.
Balboa Park Golf Course
Balboa Park Golf Course San Diego's Balboa Park Golf Course is a 27 hole facility with an 18 hole Championship Course and a 9 hole Short Course. Balboa Park is a sister course to the more famous Torrey Pines 36 hole facility and the Mission Bay 18 hole facility and all are run by the San Diego Park and Recreation Department.
When I arrived at the facility, I met with Course Manager Jim Ruhland who gave me the lowdown on the course. The facility handles over 100,000 rounds of golf per year and the cost for San Diego residents is inexpensive at $40 for 18 holes.
The place was bustling with activity the Friday I visited and while the course has a good deal of elevation change, at least half the golfers were walking.
The facility was opened in 1919. Sam Snead holds the course record of 60, set in 1943. Gene Littler and Billy Casper played regularly at the course in their day. And Phil Mickelson and his family still play the course.
When I arrived at the facility, I met with Course Manager Jim Ruhland who gave me the lowdown on the course. The facility handles over 100,000 rounds of golf per year and the cost for San Diego residents is inexpensive at $40 for 18 holes.
The place was bustling with activity the Friday I visited and while the course has a good deal of elevation change, at least half the golfers were walking.
The facility was opened in 1919. Sam Snead holds the course record of 60, set in 1943. Gene Littler and Billy Casper played regularly at the course in their day. And Phil Mickelson and his family still play the course.
San Diego's Downtown Golf Course, Balboa Park
After speaking with Mr. Ruhland, he called Marshall Steve Williams who gave me a quick tour of the course. I was dying to play!
The 12th Green at Balboa Park Golf Course
Before I left, I was able to take several very good pictures of the course with the San Diego skyline as the backdrop.
Looking Back at the 18th Green and Fairway with the 1st Fairway Below
Steve delivered me back to the clubhouse where I thanked Jim Ruhland once again for his hospitality. When he found out I was from Fort Wayne, IN, he mentioned that his cousin Bob once managed one of the courses in Fort Wayne. I pushed him further for a last name and discovered his cousin Bob Thompson is a good friend of mine and managed Cherry Hill Golf Club, where I was once a member and on which I own my current home.
It's a small world people!
It's a small world people!
The Long Road Home
When the conference ended at 5:30 Sunday evening, I enjoyed one last cup of coffee with a fellow conference attendee and immediately hit the road for home. As I headed west out of San Diego on I-8, I finished the last 30 minutes of the 34 hour Walt Disney biography by Neal Gabler and began listening to Titan - The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow, a tiny little audio book at 35 hours!
I drove for five hours and got stopped once on I-8 by the U.S. Border Patrol (no, I wasn't trying to sneak into Mexico) before spending the night in Phoenix, AZ. Early Monday morning, I was on the road for a 13.5 hour trip to Oklahoma City where I spent another night. And finally, early Tuesday morning I was on the road for the 12.5 hour trip back to Ft. Wayne. All in all, the trip from San Diego to Ft. Wayne took 46 hours, 31 hours on the road with two short stays at hotels.
My mileage for the entire trip, home to home, was 5753 miles. I spent many hours with good, long time friends, made new friends, learned a little bit about the craft of writing and blogging, and I knocked off three current Top 100 courses on my Quest and another five that were once on the list.
And I made it home safely. Don't you love it when a plan comes together?
I drove for five hours and got stopped once on I-8 by the U.S. Border Patrol (no, I wasn't trying to sneak into Mexico) before spending the night in Phoenix, AZ. Early Monday morning, I was on the road for a 13.5 hour trip to Oklahoma City where I spent another night. And finally, early Tuesday morning I was on the road for the 12.5 hour trip back to Ft. Wayne. All in all, the trip from San Diego to Ft. Wayne took 46 hours, 31 hours on the road with two short stays at hotels.
My mileage for the entire trip, home to home, was 5753 miles. I spent many hours with good, long time friends, made new friends, learned a little bit about the craft of writing and blogging, and I knocked off three current Top 100 courses on my Quest and another five that were once on the list.
And I made it home safely. Don't you love it when a plan comes together?
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