Maderas Golf Club

Good course but the pace of play was really slow. They need to keep slower groups moving.

Great layout. Great greens. Great course. Quality golf experience.

Played the Blues (73.6/137/6670) using Forelinx. Matched up with Jeff, first out playing at a leisurely pace of 4 1/2 hours after a frost delay of 90 minutes. The weather warmed up and was very pleasant by the end of the round.

2nd time playing here, liked the layout, design and conditions even more than the first visit, when I thought things were outstanding.

Hilly course with several tees a good distance from the last green, this would be a very challenging to walk. You cannot get off the beaten path on this layout or your ball is gone and you are adding penalty strokes. However, most fairway landing areas are generous in size, not a super tight course.

The tees were lush overall, just a few par 3's needed divot attention.

The fairways were excellent and played nice.

The rough had good coverage and could be penal.

The traps were immaculate and played well.

The greens are large, undulating and many have tiers. You could easily have a 100+ foot putt on multiple greens on this course. They putted medium fast, smooth and were firm. VERY nice!

The layout, design, difficulty and especially the conditions were all well above average. Many very high end homes are high up on hills looking down on the course, the scenery and the views were both stimulating.

The customer service was excellent, especially Daniel, an Assistant Pro in the Pro Shop. Excellent practice facility that is included with the golf price. Definitely recommended, especially if you can get a deal.

Nice layout. Will challenge your club selection prowess with the hills. They need water, fairways were marginal. Pace of play needs help.

Had an 11:58 tee time. Starter got us off on the back 9 first and was able to get 18 holes in in 3 hours and 45 minutes. Kudos to him! Course was in good shape. All in all, great day.

Great layout winding up and down the canyons. Greens rolled very well albeit a little bit slower then Torrey Pines south. Tough course for a person like myself around a 15 handicap but was really fun. The face towel at the end was a nice gesture even though I declined. Will return to get my revenge on this course next time I'm in SoCal.

I played this course during a trip to San Diego. I did my homework and was not disappointed. This course has everything to keep you focused, fairways when hit on the correct side get you closer for your second shot, and fast greens.The views are scenic with a links desert feel. I was lucky to have someone with me who knew the layout. But a warning it can become easy to loose balls if your not in the fairway(on some holes). Make no question i enjoyed myself and would play there over and over.

For those discerning golf aficionados coming for a long weekend looking for the best of San Diego golf, Maderas is a pretty rock-solid pick for your itinerary. It's a fantastically scenic round filled with hole variety. Shot-makers are really going to like the nuances out here, filled with uneven lies and opportunities to shape shots. The closing stretch is particularly thrilling, and the view from the 18th tee leaves a wonderful lasting memory. I lipped out a chip for eagle on the last, and can't wait to get back.

The experience is also a lot more top-shelf compared to the muni experience at Torrey Pines, which can pack them in most days, and also more mellow than some of the busier resorts. At Maderas, a standalone golf facility that's a little off the beaten path, the facility is right-sized and epitomizes the member-for-a-day experience in terms of service, facilities and conditions. You'll want to stick around for dinner or drinks in the clubhouse, too.

One of the top 3 Public courses in the county. Everything from the Maderas tees is really challenging. The green undulations, the fairway undulations...sand is extremely nice and powdery, best in the city...greens were perfect

It would be difficult to say enough good things about Maderas. First of all, it is in tremendous shape; it shows no signs of wear from the drought. Second, it is extremely challenging: the fairways are tight, and there's not a straight putt on the entire golf course. The elevation changes will play havoc on you all day. I shot my highest score in months, but I had a terrific time.

Played the Blues (73.1/138/6654) with Itslikeimsayin and a 2some in about 4 1/2 hours teeing off early on 10/24 using our Forelinx membership.

My 1st time playing here, really liked the layout, design and conditions. I saw some Moorpark CC, some Champions @ the Retreat and some Crossings @ Carlsbad in the look, feel and the way it played. Like the other 3, here you cannot get off the beaten path or your ball is gone and you are adding penalty strokes. Hilly course, it would be very challenging to walk.

The tees were good overall, just a few par 3's needed attention.

The fairways had good coverage and played nice.

The rough also had good coverage and could be penal.

Agree with Mark's analysis, the traps looked immaculate and the ones I was in played well.

The greens? First, they are huge, undulating and many have tiers. You could easily have a 100+ foot putt on multiple greens on this course. Could be because of the hilly terrain, but I also agree with Mark that they are some of the trickiest to read I have ever played. I usually read greens fairly well, and twice I read a ball to go fairly significantly in one direction and it actually broke a little in the opposite direction.

The first 7 holes or so, the greens putted poorly because of the cool, moist conditions. They were very soft & bumpy during this period. The group in front of us was not doing anything wrong and they were leaving footprint marks like they weighed about 500 pounds. Suddenly the temperature went from 60's to 80's, the greens dried out and because medium fast, smooth and firm. I rated them based on the last 11 holes, because those would be more typical conditions. I really liked the green complexes in spite of multiple 3 putts.

This is probably one of the top 2 dozen courses I have ever played. Everything about it, from the layout, the design, the difficulty to the conditions were all well above average. Many very high end homes are high up on hills looking down on the course, the scenery and the views were both stimulating.

The customer service was excellent. The guys paired with us evidently paid rack rate, and I about choked when they mentioned how much they paid. If you really want to be tested, this is a good test. We played the 3rd set of tees and it was plenty for players of Mark & I's skill level. Definitely recommended if you can get a deal, but playing here on the weekend for full price would be significantly more than I have ever paid for a round of golf.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
METICULOUSLY MAINTAINED AND VERY CHALLENGING.
THE RECEPTION, COURSE FACILITIES, LAYOUT, HAZARDS, CHALLENGES, SLOPES, APPROACH SHOTS AND GREENS ARE TRULY EXCEPTIONAL. A VERY SCENIC COURSE INDEED.

Course condition was excellent.Highly enjoyable for any level. Quiet , relaxing yet a bit challenging on some holes. Lost only 2 balls. Mid day was good with shade and you do need to ride.

This will be one of the best and prettiest course you will ever play. It was in excellent shape and was just beautiful to look at. Played Torrey Pines south the day before and Maderas was so much better.

Course was in great condition and you get complimentary range balls to warm up. The starter claimed the greens to be the 2nd fastest in SD area but not sure as these were not fast.

Love this course. Will be playing here more often.

Maderas has instantly made my best of San Diego list...Only Torrey Pines South tops it in my book( and barely). There is everything to like about this course. The layout is challenging, well thought out, scenic...and yada yada yada.... Conditions are nothing less than what you expect from a Troon course. I found the staff to be quite friendly and helpful, almost to a fault. Be warned though...bring your "A" game here. This course will "make you cry for mommie" if you don't...hehe...

Had played about 10 years ago, with good memories, so wanted to revisit. Course was harder than I remembered, but very consistent with Johnny Miller design principles. (the man does not suffer fools gladly). Difficult to route your way around if you don't know the course and where not to miss, definitely a shotmaker's course.
Conditioning was OK given the drought and recent heat (was 97 the day I played); greens have been getting plenty of water to protect presumably so they were actually quite slow and receptive, though many were pretty marked up from unrepaired divots.

Without a doubt it is one of the best golf courses in San Diego. It is a bucket list event for any avid golfer. There is not a friendlier and better staff anywhere. You will be treated like no other on the course and in the clubhouse. The conditions are always perfect and the course is a great layout. 5 Stars all the way around.

It was really hot. Like 97 degrees hot.

They are clearly doing their best in the face of this really awful drought. Fairway lies were shockingly good. Greens don't have their teeth right now -- they rolled true but are slow b/c of the need to water down due to the drought/heat. I could play a low spin flop that would plunk and stay put. I didn't even come close to having a 3-putt, and I'm sure I wouldn't be able to say that under more normal conditions. Rolling fast, those greens would be a bear.

Course is mix of somewhat easy holes contrasted w/ legitimately difficult holes. Hole 16 is a gnarly par 4, trouble left & right off tee, long iron into narrow green that offers jail if you leak it right even just a little. Hole 14 is a par 5 w/ a fantastic approach shot uphill and over a rock cliff and mini-canyon.

First time playing it, had a yardage book which is a good idea. W/ the book, it was very clear where to play and where not to play. Yardages were true.

Didn't use driver from holes 6-11, including multiple par 4s and even a par 5. Teed off w/ long irons playing 200-220 yds and had short wedges to greens. This stretch seemed really easy. It was the shortest 6900 yd course I've ever played. Only hit one long iron approach all day (hole 16).

Staff is great. I was a single and flew through the course in 3:20. When play got gummed up, the marshal escorted me to some open holes and then brought me back to the holes I had skipped. Thank you.

But I could imagine that rounds could get VERY long here if stuck behind groups of novice golfers. This is not a friendly resort course. It's a golfer's shot-making course.

It's a great track and kind of unique. No need to travel way out of your way to play it, but you'll enjoy it if given the chance.