Typical elevation at this fabulous San Diego course.
Ever since I posted an article last month about playing golf in fabulous Carlsbad, California, people have asked me where else they should play while visiting nearby San Diego. I usually refer them to a short list of courses, but I also warn them that the city has a lot of mediocre courses as opposed to a lot of really good ones. My to-play list for out-of-towners includes both Torrey Pines’ North and South courses, Coronado Golf Course and Maderas Golf Club. But another one definitely has climbed my list: Grand Golf Club.
Mind you, it’s a semi-private resort course located just inland from Torrey Pines by about two miles. Thus you need to stay at the on-property Fairmont Grand Del Mar, to have course access. The upscale property includes a five-star restaurant, five-star spa and five-star hotel. “There are only 14 Forbes triple five-star resorts in the world,” says Shawn Cox, PGA director of golf at the Grand. “Plus, we have Addison, which as of December is the only three-star Michelin star restaurant in town. And of course we have a golf course that matches the quality level of the entire property. Staying here can make a golf vacation much more than just about golf. You can take your time, go to the various restaurants on property, and enjoy all we offer – versus a typical golf resort that’s really all about the golf.”
Trust me, there aren’t a lot of places in San Diego quite like this. What strikes me about the Tom Fazio layout that opened in 1999 is that no matter when you play it, it always seems to be in great condition. To be honest, it wasn’t a top course when it first debuted. Like many nice Southern California courses, it started as a barren property with hard grass, steep hills, and crazy lies and eventually matured into something much nicer with lush green fairways, smooth-rolling greens, taller trees, and a solid reputation. The dozen or so times I’ve played it, I always seem to run into either PGA Tour pros, such as Xander Schauffele (who calls this his home course), Jon Rahm and Charlie Hoffman, or various NFL players.
“The number-one piece of feedback we hear is how beautiful the course is,” says Cox of the 380-acre course that’s surrounded by lush landscaping and the beautiful bluffs of the Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve. “And the number-two thing that players say is that it felt like they had the whole course to themselves. What’s unusual is to have a topography where, when you’re on a particular hole, you don’t see a lot of the other holes, so it has the feeling of being out in the country meandering through the hills. We’re in the hills of San Diego. And so these natural hills provide little canyons for each hole. And those different canyons make it feel like when you’re playing that hole, that you have the whole place to yourself – which is unusual in Southern California. Anywhere else around, you’re usually standing on a hole and seeing two or three other holes. You’re worried about stray tee shots going over to another fairway or hitting a group. That just doesn’t happen here.”
On a visit last week, I was reminded that while many other courses in town have dormant, brown grass, Grand Golf Club is still in mid-season condition. Plus, I got a wonderful massage in the hotel’s spa after my round that truly got rid of back pain I experienced on the course earlier that day. Which only makes the entire experience more magical.
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