Affordable, Public Golf in San Diego - Possible?

[Golfah]

Hi all

 

Looking for some insight on the state of public golf in San Diego. There are some potential job/family changes on the horizon which may bring me to the San Diego area. Coming from Boston, I love the prospect of year-round golf, but doing a bit of research (and a trip out there recently) leads me to believe that although there are a lot of great courses, many clubs are very high-end membership only tracks, except, of course, Torrey Pines. That's great but how likely is it to get to play there? This has me a bit concerned about my ability to access golf on a regular basis without a membership. I'm also somewhat of a range rat and so far, I noticed one decent looking range in the SD area.

 

Am I missing something? What areas would you recommend to settle if golf is a priority for the whole family to enjoy without being gazillionaires.

 

Thanks

[markheardjr]

Torrey Pines, if you have a residence card, is like $56 weekdays, $73 Fri-Sun. You can get out pretty much any day if you go early. First 10-ish tee times are not reserved and first-come first-serve. Other affordable (ie under $80) tracks are Balboa park, Coronado, and River Walk. You can easily drive just a little north and find lots of tracks too. Also you can get on some military courses like Admiral Baker / Camp Pendleton. Temecula has a lot of spots so if you're on the upper Northeast side of San Diego area, Rancho Bernardo, etc. you can find lots of golf for decent prices. It's not too too bad.

[bradski]

If you use golfnow and other websites then you can play great courses for under 40 easily. As far as areas It all depends on price range. But what I will say is look at crime stats before you move into an area with your family.

[Ezgolfer]

Temecula is about 35 to 40 min drive . I played Red Hawk for 40 bucks including cart. The resident rate was 20 bucks, cart fee included ..
Great course ......

[GeorgeL]

Like a previous poster said look on GolfNow and you'll see there are dozens of public golf courses spread throughout the county. I use the site almost exclusively to book times and have played at pretty much all of the tracks listed. Of course there are a few places not on there, most notably the San Diego municipal courses such as Torrey Pines and Balboa, Admiral Baker (2 military courses open to public), Coronado (a great inexpensive municipal course on the bay), and Barona (one of my favorite courses located next to an Indian casino).

I think you'll find out that we have a diverse collection of courses in a range of prices, conditions, and designs. Personally, I tend to play certain courses more often than not mainly due to their location and price, but I don't mind splurging every now and then. And if you join SCGA you can play some of the local private clubs during member outings throughout the year as well, which is a treat.

Now about ranges, I try to only hit on grass and unfortunately there are not a lot of options in this regard. The only 2 I can think of that have grass tees year-round are Del Mar and the Hodges in Escondido, both of which I go to regularly. I like Del Mar since you can also putt and chip for free but I like the Hodges because it's cheaper and the lighting is better at night. Another good range with excellent grass tees is Stadium Golf Center, but they only have grass on one side so once it's used up they have to close it for a few months to allow the turf to grow back. It's also more expensive for a bucket, but they recently laser leveled the ground and planted a new type of grass, resulting in the best density and coverage. It's easily my favorite when it's open. Other than these 3 dedicated ranges there are some nice grass tees at a few of the courses in the area, such as Maderas, Woods Valley, and Salt Creek, but most of the time you'll find mats because of the maintenance involved and lack of area (Del Mar and the Hodges switch sides between grass and mats when the grass side gets used up).

Anyways, hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

[bradski]

stadium Golf is grass range most of the time. . Very central also. I think saturday is mats day.

[GeorgeL]

[quote name='bradski' timestamp='1391463807' post='8592164']
stadium Golf is grass range most of the time. . Very central also. I think saturday is mats day.
[/quote]
That's not true - once the grass is used up they have people hit on mats until it grows back, which can take a couple of months. Before this last time the grass range was closed for a while (around 3 months I think). What's good is that you can check the status on their website to see if the grass range is open.
Unfortunately, unlike the Hodges and Del Mar they don't have another grassy area to switch to when the grass is gone.

[JackpotJohnny]

We don't want anymore patriots fans here

[dave willie]

[quote name='Johnny4379' timestamp='1391554924' post='8599031']
We don't want anymore patriots fans here
[/quote]What about Seahawks fans? Just for a visit...I need some sun to properly bask in the glory of victory!

[JackpotJohnny]

You're fine, Sam Adams not so much.
Btw congrats to the champs

[bradski]

[quote name='GeorgeL' timestamp='1391471207' post='8592850']
[quote name='bradski' timestamp='1391463807' post='8592164']
stadium Golf is grass range most of the time. . Very central also. I think saturday is mats day.
[/quote]
That's not true - once the grass is used up they have people hit on mats until it grows back, which can take a couple of months. Before this last time the grass range was closed for a while (around 3 months I think). What's good is that you can check the status on their website to see if the grass range is open.
Unfortunately, unlike the Hodges and Del Mar they don't have another grassy area to switch to when the grass is gone.
[/quote]

No that's not true. They changed the type of grass recently and that is why it was closed for so long. They are hoping that they aren't going to have to be closed much at all going forward. typically saturdays grass is closed.

[GeorgeL]

[quote name='bradski' timestamp='1391800487' post='8617693']
[quote name='GeorgeL' timestamp='1391471207' post='8592850']
[quote name='bradski' timestamp='1391463807' post='8592164']
stadium Golf is grass range most of the time. . Very central also. I think saturday is mats day.
[/quote]
That's not true - once the grass is used up they have people hit on mats until it grows back, which can take a couple of months. Before this last time the grass range was closed for a while (around 3 months I think). What's good is that you can check the status on their website to see if the grass range is open.
Unfortunately, unlike the Hodges and Del Mar they don't have another grassy area to switch to when the grass is gone.
[/quote]

No that's not true. They changed the type of grass recently and that is why it was closed for so long. They are hoping that they aren't going to have to be closed much at all going forward. typically saturdays grass is closed.
[/quote]

I know they changed to a new grass - if you read my first post I mentioned that they laser leveled the area and planted a new type of grass from Texas. What I mean is that they close down for a while after the grass gets used up. They just closed the grass range and will do so until it grows back, which will take a while. I've hit on the grass a few times in the last couple of weeks and the last time (a few days ago) the hitting area already reached the concrete so I knew they would close it down soon. Sure enough I checked their website yesterday (because I wanted to get a last session in) and it's closed. You won't see it open again for a few weeks. And before this last open period it was closed maybe 3 months. I know because I like their new grass so much I kept checking to see when it would open again. I'm surprised you don't know this. How often do you go there? Have you talked with their staff?

[thehottsauce]

There are so many great courses here! If you live somewhere that's somewhat central ie: North / South Park, Mission Valley, Clairemont, La Mesa it's a 20 minute drive to pretty much everywhere you wanna go. I actually just got a weekday membership at a course here called Riverwalk that's $125 a month! Cheap decent golf can be had easily!


Plus golfing in shorts in February?!?!?!?

If you need any more info PM me, happy to help.