Top 10 San Diego golf courses

One of the ultimate municipal golf experiences in the United States, Torrey Pines South is a big and brawny PGA Tour and U.S. Open venue. For many golfers, the fact it was the stage for the incredible Tiger-Rocco duel of 2008 is reason enough to make the trip to San Diego (I have a relative who had to book a round on the South while in town despite hardly ever playing golf before. I shudder to think about how ugly that score got). Enjoy the ambiance because the golf shots in front of you are always demanding. This is a course full of long par 4s, meaty par 3s and hang-on-for-dear-life par 5s. Healthy rough and narrow fairways put a premium on a long, straight tee ball. If you're not awestruck by major championship courses, or aren't in the mood for a supreme ball-striking examination, you may not feel compelled to pay the non-resident, advanced tee time premium for a round, but enough golfers are, and wage battle with the South gladly. Licking your wounds on the patio of the Lodge at Torrey Pines with dinner and drinks at sunset is a worthy consolation prize no matter your score. Are you game? How to book a Torrey Pines tee time

San Diego rivals Orlando as having the best short course metro area in America. You can play La Loma, a par-3 course right near the airport, or night golf at Mission Bay, a par 58 near downtown. Or cruise north and visit stops like the great vibe at Goat Hill Park in Oceanside or 27-hole Oaks North (near Maderas). Tecolote Canyon is a centrally-located, 18-hole short course designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. For buddies trips, these abbreviated layouts make for a great, casual afternoon round or a place to stretch your legs if you're cruising up or down the coastline.

Military golf in San Diego

There is a strong military presence in San Diego of active personnel, retirees and vacationing veterans. There are also a handful of highly reputable military golf courses. Admiral Baker features 36 holes and is open to civilians. Marine Memorial features a regulation 18 holes and a 9-hole par-3 course. Sea n' Air Golf Course, meanwhile, is located on Coronado at the North Island Navy Base and open only to DoD personnel who have gate clearance.

The Rams Hill experience

Though technically in San Diego County, Rams Hill Golf Club in Borrego Springs is in no man's land: about two hours from San Diego airport and about 90 minutes from Palm Springs. (We left it out of this Top 10 to avoid any confusion with those not familiar with the lay of the land). But it's earned high praise on GolfPass over the years from golfers who make the drive and find great value and tranquility on a sublime desert design by Tom Fazio. If your group is coming to San Diego in the rainier winter months, you may want to tack on an overnight here to ensure warmth & sunshine for a round or two.

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San Diego is a sublime year-round golf season, but course conditions and overall ratings vary greatly month to month.

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Located in the hills of Poway northeast of San Diego, Maderas Golf Club features a steely, tumbling layout and exceptional conditioning that can hold its own with any course in town. It's relatively off-the-beaten-path location also keeps its green fees a little lower compared to the top resorts and Torrey Pines in the market. There are no homes in play on the course, the practice facility is top notch and the clubhouse is efficiently sized compared to some of the more opulent area clubs but has a solid restaurant menu for lunch or dinner with many local beers. Operated by Troon, Maderas is one of the great member-for-a-day experiences in the west. Green fees: Dynamic, $159-229

Set in the luxurious confines of Carlsbad, Aviara Golf Club presents one of the most beautifully landscaped courses in the west (you'll never look at your yard the same). Generous, often times bowled fairways designed by Arnold Palmer wind up and down hillsides full of colorful flora. A handful of elevated tees prod golfers to swing for the mountainsides. A past host of the LPGA's Kia Classic, it's a favorite stay-and-play experience for couples when combined with the newly renovated Park Hyatt Aviara Resort. Green fees: $250-275

Aviara Stay & Play Package

FROM $617 (USD)

SAN DIEGO, CA | Enjoy 2 nights' accommodations at Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa and 2 rounds of golf at Aviara Golf Club.

Torrey Pines North, extensively renovated in 2016 by Tom Weiskopf, co-hosts the first two rounds of the Farmers Insurance Open with the South Course. But aside from a similar bluffside setting and its championship tee yardage, the North is very dissimilar from its notorious next door neighbor. It's one of the most playable and enjoyable PGA Tour venues on the schedule. The North is just as scenic as its neighbor but wider, shorter and its greens are more receptive to all playing abilities. It's immensely popular and hosts more than 80,000 rounds annually, so its conditions might be a step below top resort courses, but the setting and enjoyable layout more than make up for it. Green fees: $128-160 non-resident plus $45 advanced booking fee per player.

The best golf and casino experience in San Diego, hands down, is found at the Barona Resort & Casino. Northwest of downtown in Lakeside on Barona tribal reservation, the Barona Creek golf course, designed in 2001 by Todd Eckenrode, has ranked among the Golf Magazine Top 100 North American Public Courses thanks in part to wide and firm fairways. Boulders and rock outcroppings, along with impressive bunkering and a surprisingly low green fee for this premium market, make it worth the drive.

Green fees: $120-160

As great as San Diego's munis are, the neighboring island of Coronado, its own municipality, has a stellar harborfont course loyalists might call better than anything else in the county. Coronado is just a 6,500-yard layout tightly squeezed onto the eastern side of the island beside the Coronado Bridge. It has earned a reputation as arguably the best value golf course in America, but scoring a tee time here isn't easy. Green fees: $42-49 non-resident walking (plus $18 booking fee 3-14 days out)

The most exclusive resort course in San Diego, typically only Fairmont Grand Del Mar members and guests of the hotel or on a partner golf package can access the sparkling Tom Fazio design that tumbles through the hillsides of Carlsbad. The total package here, highlighted by Fazio's delightful shaping of rugged terrain and generous playing corridors, along with lots of beautification on the perimeter, sets the standard for San Diego resort golf. Rounds also include a forecaddie. Couples in the mood to splurge would probably put a peaceful stay-and-play here at the top of this list. Hotel guest green fees: $250-275 (includes forecaddie, twilight and replay rates available)

Here's a course that is poised for a huge upgrade and could vault up this list. The iconic Omni La Costa Resort features two championship 18s, the Champions and Legends Courses. The Champions, with lots of huge bunkers and plenty of water holes like the exciting par-3 16th beside the hotel grounds, has long been considered the more reputable and hosted past PGA Tour events and has some Tiger Woods history here to boot. The pros have moved on but it nevertheless has a bright future. Gil Hanse has been tapped to extensively renovate the property prior to the 2024 NCAA Men's and Women's National Championships. This "new" course could move up the list when it debuts later this year. Green fees: $165-$175

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S1 E1: Omni La Costa Resort & Spa

The 54-hole Singing Hills Golf Resort at Sycuan features a really neat setting in El Cajon. It's a traditional golf design from the 1960s on a generally flat parcel of land surrounded by steep hills, so its subtly is great for all ages and abilities. The good resort value, homes-free setting and option to add an 18-hole par-3 course afterwards makes this a top-10 area pick. The Willow Glen and Oak Glen courses are fairly similar in quality and style, but if you only have time for one round, Willow Glen has a few more standout, picturesque holes. Green fees: $119-149

Highly scenic and relatively affordable golf awaits east of San Diego in Jamul. Steele Canyon is a 27-hole facility designed by Gary Player that has a mix of low-lying holes around a vineyard and some that play dramatically high up into the hillsides and offer some marvelous scenery. The Canyon-Ranch nines have the most appeal to visitors, so try and get that routing when you book (the Vineyard nine is dominated by housing corridors). Green fees: $129-149 non-resident