Barona Valley Ranch track

[erova]

hi everyone,

i'm making it out to san diego next week and have time for a few rounds.

i've already got Torrey South booked (well worth the advance fee knowing i'm getting on), but am interested in opinions on where to play Monday.

a few guys i played with at Bandon (who just came back from a golf trip to Scotland--must be nice) really recommended the Barona Valley Ranch & Casino golf course outside SD. given their experience, i thought i should value their opinions and i've looked into it and it looks pretty nice ( http://www.barona.com/ ).

however, i'm also interested in any one else on here has played it, and if so would they recommend it or if i should play elsewhere. not interested in driving out to PGA West--not enough time.

thanks in advance as always...

--chris

[raygrinberg]

I've not played Barona Valley Ranch. I can recommend Maderas Golf Club www.maderasgolf.com in Poway. A challenging course with some big elevation changes. Its operated by Troon Golf which usually means good customer service and treatment.

[erova]

good call--definitely looks nice. looks closer than barona too...

[erova]

fyi, I'm going to play aviara instead of barona. I think i fired a 55 there on Tiger Woods 2007--I'll have to see if I can hit that on the front...

[raygrinberg]

Sounds like a good choice! My son and I are working our way through TW 2008 right now.

[RX Phoenix]

Give us a report on Aviara, wonder if it is as nice as reported.

[erova]

will gladly report back with a follow-up and pics.

[erova]

aviara is absolutely gorgeous. definitely about as man-made looking as you can get, but great condition, challenging greens, and a lot of opportunities to make shots.

staff was super helpful--a pretty big change-up from Torrey the day before.


more pics are online here:
http://flickr.com/photos/erova/sets/72157603896296758/

[raygrinberg]

erova, I'm gonna add Aviara to my list for a future trip to San Diego. What was your impression of Torrey?

[erova]

i tell you what, for the most part Torrey exceeded my expectations.

i had basically heard many times that the South course was a rather simple, unimaginative layout that was artificially long just for the Open and the maintenance/course conditions were those of an average muni that charged resort-style green fees.

i thought the layout/design/architecture to be generally challenging and fit with the available landscape, and had some amazing views of the Pacific without putting holes on the coast just for the sake of the view.

the rough is ridiculously thick already, and they're starting to grow in the fairways too so the course was one of the toughest i've ever played (and i've played a few decent courses in my day).

the staff said this was basically the best time to play now that the buick was about 2 weeks ago, and the greens and fairways proved it.

however, the rangers were non-existent and the length of the round was pretty unbearable...we started at 12:10 and finished at dark on the 18th at 5:58. but since it was about 72 degrees out, and i knew my golfing buddies back home in Maryland were sitting inside since it's 30 degrees there, i didn't mind that much.

unfortunately, the track is relatively pinched by some of the biotech firms on Pill Hill and you have some *great* views of HVAC systems, parking lots, and offices.

the north course also has some great views and could be a bomb-and-gouger's dream. definitely glad to play both, but the south really is a course anyone should try to play if they're in the SD area...

here's the pics to the north and south loops:

South Course

and

North Course

[RX Phoenix]

Erova, great posting and pics, thanks!

How did you go about getting a tee time a Torrey and Aviara, any suggestions, as I expect to go there next week and play both of these courses on short notice.

[erova]

Aviara was a cinch--I just called the number on the Four Seasons web site and booked a tee-time the old fashioned way.

Torrey was a bit different. Back in December, I used a booking service to ink an early tee time on the South, and ponied up $25 bucks for their service, plus the early reservation fee paid to the course.

But my wife had business with the Hilton at Torrey Pines and they ended up taking care of booking the North and South tee times (they canceled the one I booked in December) so I can't quite testify to how difficult (or in my case, easy) it was to reserve those two times.

Best of luck on Torrey and Aviara, they're two incredibly different golf experiences from one another, but both I'd wholeheartedly recommend.

[x-forged]

right on dude, yeah torrey is nice for sure, challenging, and the rough is getting really thick as you mentioned. its playing nice. wait i take that back, never come down here, its a horrible course, you dont want to play it, trust me! nice pics by the way! isn't that place pretty? everytime i play there it never gets old.