Coronado Golf Course

Coronado Golf Course, opened in 1957, is one of San Diego’s more walkable courses. Cited as a top SD course by the Golf Channel, the well-maintained public course offers views of the Coronado bridge and boats out on the water. The onsite restaurant serves American bites (including vegan options) for brunch and lunch.

2000 Visalia Row, Coronado

Torrey Pines Golf Course

Consistently ranked as one of Golf Digest’s 100 greatest courses, the challenging Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla hosted the 2021 US Open and puts on the annual PGA TOUR’s Farmers Insurance Open. Named after the rare Torrey Pine tree, which only grows along the San Diego coastline and Santa Rosa Island, the course has made its way onto many golfers’ bucket lists.

11480 N Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla

The Grand Golf Club

Located at the luxurious Fairmont Grand Del Mar, The Grand Golf Club and its 50,000-square-foot driving range are open to hotel guests. Three-hundred-and-sixty degree views of each hole are available online, helping give you a leg up if you’re trying to improve your handicap. And if your kiddo dreams of becoming a future Masters champion, this course is the perfect place to take them, as children 12 and under can play and rent clubs for free.

5300 Grand Del Mar Way, Del Mar

Aviara Golf Club

Aviara Golf Club is San Diego’s only course designed by the legendary Arnold Palmer. Situated within Carlsbad’s Park Hyatt Aviara, this layout includes strategically placed bunkers and water features that provide both pretty views and tough obstacles. And, if you’d like to level up your gear game, the course’s TaylorMade Aviara Performance Center allows you to test clubs with 3D motion analysis technology. The club offers both public and resort fees, as well as online course videos that provide insight into hole details and potential strategies.

7447 Batiquitos Drive, Carlsbad

Rancho Bernardo Inn Golf Course

Designed by golf course architect William Francis Bell, the Rancho Bernardo Inn Golf Course has hosted both PGA and LPGA events. Its 18th hole, surrounded by old-growth trees, is a fan favorite. Golf lessons are also available at the Carlsbad course, whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned golfer needing a couple tips or tweaks.

17550 Bernardo Oaks Dr, Rancho Bernardo

Singing Hills Golf Club

Singing Hills Golf Club supplies golfers with three courses in the Dehesa Valley of San Diego County. The Willow Glen course runs along the Sweetwater River and features narrow fairways, while the Oak Glen course is known for rolling greens and a beautiful, yet difficult, fifth hole. The nine-hole Pine Glen course is ideal for beginners or those looking to squeeze in a quick round. 

3007 Dehesa Road, El Cajon

Mt. Woodson Golf Club

The course at Mt. Woodson Golf Club in Ramona is tough—but you don’t need to worry about having an audience for any whiffs. Each hole is so secluded it’ll feel like you and your buddies are the only ones on the course. Open to the public and surrounded by serene, rocky hills, the club also houses a bar and grill with some of the best prices in town (hello, post-birdie BLT for under $9). 

16422 North Woodson Drive, Ramona

Goat Hill Park Golf Club

Originally built in 1952, Oceanside’s Goat Hill Park Golf Club was one of the first golf courses in San Diego County and began as a regulation-length nine-hole setup. In the early 1990s, it was redesigned into an 18-hole course, enhancing its appeal to golfers seeking a fun time on the links and a laid-back atmosphere.

2323 Goat Hill Drive, Oceanside

August 13, 2024

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Admiral Baker Golf Course

Admiral Baker Golf Course, located within the historic Navy complex near Tierrasanta, is notable for its two distinct 18-hole courses—the North and South. The lush fairways and well-maintained greens are complemented by facilities like a driving range and eatery.

2400 Admiral Baker Road, No. 3604, Tierrasanta

Carlton Oaks Golf Club

Once Phil Mickelson’s playing spot in his youth, Santee’s Carlton Oaks Golf Club has hosted a range of golf tournaments and events, including the Callaway Junior World Championships and NCAA Championships. The course tests players with pot bunkers and water hazards while still highlighting the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape.

9200 Inwood Drive, Santee

Maderas Golf Club

Maderas Golf Club is a championship public course that winds through the rolling hills of Poway. Its 40 acres have been recognized by numerous golf publications. Players can rent Callaway clubs and also book lessons for themselves or their little golfers.

17750 Old Coach Road, Poway

Steele Canyon Golf Club

A 27-hole championship course in Jamul, Steele Canyon Golf Club was designed by Gary Player, one of golf’s all-time greats. Three nine-hole courses—The Canyon, The Ranch, and The Vineyard—offer diverse and challenging holes, earning the club a four-and-a-half-star rating from Golf Digest (it’s one of only three golf clubs in San Diego County with that honor).

3199 Stonefield Drive, Jamul

The Crossings at Carlsbad

Named after the bridges designed into the layout, The Crossings at Carlsbad offers a variety of terrains and elevation changes. Each hole features five separate areas to tee off, allowing players to customize both the length of the hole and their overall strategy. There are also stay-and-play rates and tee times for players through specific Carlsbad hotels and resorts.

5800 The Crossings Drive, Carlsbad

Rams Hill Golf Club

Nestled in the Anza-Borrego Desert is the Rams Hill Golf Club, a previously private but now public course that features captivating views of the mountains. The design tests golfers, especially the fifth hole, which includes deep bunkers and sits next to a lake you’ll have to work hard to keep your ball out of. 

1881 Rams Hill Road, Borrego Springs

Encinitas Ranch

Perched on a sweep of bluffs, Encinitas Ranch Golf Course offers magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean from every hole, making it one of the most picturesque courses in Southern California. The course offers rates for the public, with special discounts for Encinitas and Southern California residents. Encinitas Ranch includes the usual driving range and chipping green, along with a putting course that features two sets of six holes, a windmill, and benches if you’d rather crack open a cold one and watch your friends warm up.

1275 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas

The post 15 of the Best Golf Courses in San Diego appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Friday, January 5 | 7:00 p.m. | Pechanga Arena San Diego

“Do you still have $2 beer nights?” I recently asked a Gulls ticket sales rep. After a brief hold, they got back on the line to deliver the saddest news in the era of post-Covid inflation: $2 Bud Lights at Friday home games have been replaced by $5 Blue Line Blonds.

Blue Line Blond Ale isn’t Bud Light—the latter is the best beer on earth, after all—but Friday night at the Gulls is still one of the best happy hours in San Diego. In their first home game of the new year, the Gulls take on the Bakersfield Condors. Six of the Gulls’ nine wins on the season came in December, offering a glimmer of hope that the team can climb from last place in the AHL’s Pacific Division. Whether the Gulls continue their winning trend or not, $5 beer nights are a win-win for fans.

Monster Jam

January 13-14, 27-28 | Snapdragon Stadium

Are motorsports defensible in the face of climate change? Debatable. Is Monster Jam even a sport? Also debatable. What’s not up for debate is its enduring popularity, a peculiarity of American culture that The New Yorker recently explored. “We sell four million-plus tickets a year,” Jayme Dalsing, Monster Jam’s senior director of global operations, told the publication. “That’s more than Taylor Swift.”

As Swift counts her billions, I don’t think she’s too concerned about Monster Jam, but the motorized traveling circus does have one advantage, at least to San Diegans: it actually comes to town. Monster Jam renews its San Diego residency over two weekends at Snapdragon this month. The last time Swift played San Diego was in 2015. 

SDSU vs UNLV Women’s Basketball

Wednesday, January 17 | 11:00 a.m. | Viejas Arena

The SDSU women’s basketball squad has quietly won six straight games and 10 of their last 12 to finish the 2023 schedule at 10-3. They have a slate of winnable conference games to kickoff 2024, but none will be more pivotal than their January 17 matchup against UNLV, who lead the Mountain West Conference at 11-1. It’s a rare 11:00 a.m. start as one of the program’s Field Trip Days so that local youth can attend a game, so take that first sick day of 2024 and cheer on the Aztecs with the future of San Diego.

Farmers Insurance Open

January 24-27, 2024 | Torrey Pines Golf Course

The field isn’t set yet for the annual Farmers Insurance Open, but last year’s champion and world No. 7 Max Homa is sure to be at Torrey Pines Golf Course defending his crown. Jon Rahm, who won the Farmers in 2017, as well as the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, will likely join him. Neither will be the crowd favorite though, not if Scripps Ranch High and SDSU alum Xander Schauffele joins the field. 

The world No. 6 can hang his hat on having won a Tour Championship, an Olympic gold medal, and a Ryder Cup, but one thing missing from his résumé is a win in his hometown. At this year’s Farmers Insurance Open, Schauffele will try to become the seventh San Diego native—following Phil Mickelson, Scott Simpson, Craig Stadler, Greg Twiggs, Billy Casper, and Gene Littler—to hoist the trophy.

San Diego Mesa College vs. Santa Ana College Baseball

Saturday, January 27 | 1:00 p.m. | San Diego Mesa College Baseball Field

I am under no illusion that many San Diegans will attend the season opener for an average community college baseball program in the middle of a weekday. With 13 conference championships, 20 regional tournament appearances, 231 alumni transferred to NCAA or NAIA baseball programs, and 34 alumni having played professionally, the San Diego Mesa College baseball program is one of the most successful in California.

And one of those alumni is responsible for some of the most groundbreaking moves in the sport. In various management roles in MLB, Billy Eppler established the Yankees scouting department, brought Shohei Ohtani to the U.S. from Japan, and set a record $375 million payroll with the New York Mets. Not bad for a former ballplayer from Allied Gardens. After the holidays and weeks of the sun setting at what feels like noon, the Knights kicking off their season is worth celebrating. Baseball is back!

The post The Best 5 Lineups in San Diego Sports: January 2024 appeared first on San Diego Magazine.