Maderas Golf Club

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.

We are from the northeast, played it 3 days ago and decided to come back because we liked it so much. Very attentive staff, giving good advise on how to play the course. Good value with Golfnow. Would definitely play it again I we are in the area.

Beautiful course in incredible conditions. Had a lot of fun playing it for my first time.
Course is not too long but requires a good level of accuracy.
Fairways were in perfect conditions and green as well, even though I like faster greens.
I f I have to find a "negative" comment I would only say that the course misses some character, i..e., I do not remember many holes after having played it.

Great service from the card attendants to the pro shop. I also love all the high-end touch of iced, bottled water in their new, plush golf carts. The bermuda fairways were impeccable while the greens rolled well but had many subtle breaks.

There is some local knowledge required on a couple of semi-blind tee shots. GPS in the carts would be helpful to determine the distance to water and sand trouble in some of the driving areas, especially on the 18th hole drive where the water is closer than it looks. I would come back sooner if the green fees were a touch less. Overall, it was a fantastic course to play!

The course is in great shape and the greens undulate and role true. The course can be difficult if you dont stay straight off the tee box. From the time I drove up to the course I was greeted and treated to a first class experience. The staff was very helpful and friendly. Play was a little slow but that can happen when the fairways get a little tight. I visit San Diego each summer and will continue to make Maderas one of my golf stops.

Course was fantastic and staff were friendly and made you feel comfortable. We had a really nice time!

We played from the tips. It made the course challenging but playable. The golf carts are extremely comfortable but missing GPS which was surprising. This course must be played more than once as I found myself taking in the views. Kind of took the focus away from golf. The greens were slow and tough with the many breaks. With that being said, what a beautiful place to live and play golf.

Fun challenging golf course, well designed with plenty of elevation changes and wonderful views. Staff is very friendly and helpful. The course was in very good condition, especially considering the drought we are in. The course is an excellent value at the reduced Hot Deal rate that I got, but at full rate is pretty expensive.
Pace of play was excellent, 3:50 for round on a Tuesday afternoon.