ALERT: (Projected Overseeding/Aeration Alert)
Will be aerating the greens and overseeding 9/8 – 9/28 and reopening 9/29.
* Please note that although we put a great amount of effort into forecasting course maintenance, we still recommend you contact the golf course to confirm this information.
Located a half hour northeast of Downtown San Diego, Barona Creek Golf Club is part of the Barona Valley Ranch Resort complex. This handsome facility which includes among other things an award-winning casino, day spa, and an assortment of restaurants, enjoys a picturesque setting in a beautiful valley surrounded by boulder-covered mountains. Also of note is the fact that it’s all in one place: you can roll out of bed, stagger downstairs half asleep, and find your way to the golf shop without worrying about cars, shuttles, buses, or tipping a valet.
The term “resort golf” has become, with very good reason, nearly synonymous with relatively easy and boring golf courses – the idea behind which is to provide a care-free day on the links for a player who’s never before seen the course (and likely will never see it again). Check that stereotype at the door. Resort or standalone facility, you will find (in this author’s opinion) no finer public golf course in the greater San Diego area.
The very first thing that captures your attention hits you upon your arrival – the setting here is stunning. No, it’s not the ocean bluffs of La Jolla, nor is it the glimmering oasis of Scottsdale or Palm Springs, but with mountains surrounding the course on all sides, there’s a peace to the natural beauty here that many would argue trumps all challengers. Many a golf course has failed to live up to the promise of its setting, but Barona Creek actually surpasses it.
It’s difficult to point to a standout hole at Barona Creek because it’s consistently good throughout. Rather than relying on the concept of a “signature hole” or two, Gary Roger Baird Design (and specifically, Todd Eckenrode) has crafted a beautiful flowing layout that makes excellent use of the character of the land – climbing, traversing, and descending the hillsides on a journey across the property.
The bunkering is rustic and extremely artistic (though it looks as if the jagged and stylized edges are proving difficult to maintain as edges are being worked on and grass around the traps is in questionable shape), and the fairways are wide and for the most part treeless. There are extremely long and challenging holes (the par 3 3rd tips out at 260 yards and the monstrous 18th checks in at 472 into the prevailing wind) but also a fair share of birdie opportunities. Long hitters can reasonably look forward to taking a crack at hitting one or more of the par 5s in 2, and I promise you that everyone will enjoy the 14th (with the possible exception of those who play it poorly).
At numerous points throughout the round, it’s easy to get swept away by the views that the course is designed to showcase. Soak it all in from spots like the 6th and 15th tees, and take note of the low-profile design of the course, the native grasses filling the space between holes laid gently across the land, and the fact that such a challenge can come from a course devoid of trees, overused water hazards, or brutal rough. In fact, the only potential area design-wise that might prove a bit too diffcult is the consistent bunkering around the greens that sometimes leaves a narrow avenue for approach without taking an aerial route to avoid danger. While the skilled player can either go aerial or execute a strategy minimizing the risk, the mid to high handicapper will likely find themselves presented with a host of shots with slim prospects for success.
Large, fast, and severely sloped, the greens at Barona Creek are some of the most challenging around. Despite the fact that they roll very nicely, the combination of the firmness, the speed, and the undulations make them almost too difficult for even a good player. While current conditions are understandable given the industry-wide obsession is with green speed, they’d do well to slow things down a touch. The average player would cut down on the number of 3 and 4 putts, pace of play would improve, and the greens are interesting enough that no amount of fun would be sacrificed. Interestingly, several of the surfaces had been aerated at the time of our visit (perhaps 5 greens) while the others showed no evidence of such work. Still, even the aerated greens are firm enough that they roll perfectly fine. Fairways are mostly good; rough is often excellent but occasionally sparse, particularly around the bunkers. As I mentioned, there are some areas around the sand traps being worked on, but the sand in most is very good. Occasionally there were thin or overly compacted spots, but on the whole the sand quality is excellent and a good raking would solve all problems. The golf course is for the most part in very good condition.
“Resort Golf” bears absolutely no resemblance to what you will find at Barona Creek. Sure, the main hotel stands vigil over the layout and you won’t easily be allowed to forget that there’s a casino just a 7 iron from the 18th green, but the golf course is a rare challenge that both frustrates (when you find yourself behind the tree in the 1st fairway) and excites (when you hit the tee shot on 15) golfers from start to finish. Anyone who comes here expecting something other than a well-designed, fair, beautiful, and genuinely top-quality golf course will be absolutely blown away….and for those who come here with high expectations, expect to be equally surprised by just how good this place really is.
