Carlton Oaks Lodge & Country Club
About
Carlton Oaks Country Club is the only public Dye Design golf course in San Diego. The course is covered with hundreds of mature trees interspersed with sparkling blue lakes and meandering creeks. The layout offers a diverse mix of holes that all possess a unique character. They all offer different challenges in the form of either water hazards of strategically placed sand traps along the fairways. Tricky pot bunkers and interesting elevation changes were also incorporated into the design as well as Dye's signature railroad ties. There are five very different sets of tees that offer a challenging round from the back tees but also enough playability to appeal to a range of skill levels. In addition to the enjoyable layout, Carlton Oaks is one San Diego's most centrally located courses, sitting just minutes from downtown and many of the city's major attractions.
Course Details
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Golfer Photos
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Photo submitted by jlbsam on 08/12/2026
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Photo submitted by jlbsam on 08/12/2026
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Photo submitted by farfromarz on 10/04/2024
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Photo submitted by farfromarz on 10/04/2024
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Photo submitted by u000005356432 on 09/25/2024
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Danny Boy shot 42 on the back Photo submitted by phurst3611 on 07/24/2023
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Photo submitted by mxxmares on 07/16/2023
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Photo submitted by mxxmares on 07/16/2023
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Photo submitted by AlexMathews on 03/06/2023
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Photo submitted by HKgolfgoon on 10/18/2022
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Photo submitted by HKgolfgoon on 10/18/2022
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Photo submitted by u314161476313 on 09/06/2022
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Challenging hole with nice view Photo submitted by u314162273561 on 06/05/2022
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Photo submitted by erpgolfer on 03/27/2022
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Photo submitted by erpgolfer on 03/27/2022
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Brown Fairway. I think this is the 9th fairway but it is typical of all fairways. Photo submitted by sherpaboy on 02/12/2022
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Sandless bunker showing maintenance neglect. This is on the 9th hole drive landing area. Photo submitted by sherpaboy on 02/12/2022
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From the 9th fairway looking at the 2nd green. Photo submitted by sherpaboy on 02/12/2022
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The 5th tee box and fairway Photo submitted by sherpaboy on 02/12/2022
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Between the 4th and 5th holes. The fourth green complex. Photo submitted by sherpaboy on 02/12/2022
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From the 10th tee box Photo submitted by sherpaboy on 02/12/2022
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Photo submitted by Andre1879710 on 12/01/2021
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Photo submitted by lleegill on 09/16/2018
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Hole 18 Photo submitted by u000003557755 on 06/05/2017
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Patio and Putting Green Photo submitted by u000003557755 on 06/05/2017
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#5 green much improved! Photo submitted by thevaporz on 06/16/2015
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#10 off the tee looking over to #18 approach over water Photo submitted by thevaporz on 06/16/2015
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#15 546 yds par 5 Photo submitted by thevaporz on 06/16/2015
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Photo submitted by thevaporz on 06/16/2015
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Photo submitted by thevaporz on 06/16/2015
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Photo submitted by Ryan9699255 on 08/12/2013
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Nice fairways...and beautiful scenery! Photo submitted by taz104 on 07/15/2013
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Photo submitted by GreenandGold12 on 06/28/2013
Golfer Reviews
Absolute Scam Here at Carlton Oaks “Country Club”
Played this course with a few of my buddies and was in complete awe of how awful this course is. We decided to try it because the pictures show an actually well maintained course maybe 4 years. Looks like the owners packed up ship and left this place to die. Fairways look like WW1 trench warfare and tee boxes had sprinklers going off when we were about to tee off. I wouldn’t be as frustrated as I am, but this place charged us a WHOPPING $60. I wouldn’t even let them pay me $60 to play this atrocious excuse of a “golf club”. Better yet, maybe they should fund the chiropractor I am going to need after driving their carts with zero shocks. Do better. This is a joke.
Under Major Maintenance
The greens are sandy and bumpy, really slow and hard to read. Harder than reading fast greens. Pretty frustrating. The tee boxes are all dead grass, looked like they’re putting some maintenance to them, fairways were sand in most areas, hard to even find preferred lies within 10 ft of where your ball lands on the fairway. If you pay for a deal, $25-$30 it’s worth the practice round I guess, but wouldn’t pay more than that currently. Just watched a video of the course from 4 years ago and man I miss the way it use to be maintained. Wish to see it come back to life soon
Wasteland
This course has been in decline for years, but it has reached a new low. The current ownership has checked out and obviously doesn’t care at all about maintaining the course. The fairways are just uneven patches of burned grass, dirt, some actual grass and weeds. The greens are more sand than grass and the tee boxes are almost unrecognizable. The whole course is basically a wasteland and gives off a real post-apocalyptic vibe. I’m really not sure how this place is getting enough business to stay open. The parking lot was almost empty. Anybody who pays full price to play here is simply flushing their money down the toilet. Even playing on a heavily discounted tee time feels like a rip off. The staff was nice, but that isn’t reason enough to play here. The sad part is this course could be nice if somebody was willing to maintain it.
Late booking on Labor Day
Had to play my annual, “Does it still suck at Carlton Oaks” round.
The answer is yes. Patchy slow greens with different grass types on the same green. Poor sand consistency. Doesn’t seem like they water the grass in the fairways much. Litter all over the course- probably due to lack of trash cans. No ball washers. Sad tee boxes. Divots went un-repaired all over. Probably due to the frustration of the course conditions. It is pretty much just dirt. This course used to be really nice. Owner should sell it, he is only interested in developing the land around it to make money.
The cart girl was nice and kept us accommodated. Maybe I’ll try again next year.
Dont go
Worst course I’ve played in San Diego over 20 dollars. Green’s are terrible, fairway is a dirt patch, there is no rough … just more dirt. Don’t go here. I’d give this 0 starts if that was an option.
The layout is cool and could be a good course if they did ANY maintenance over the last decade.
Playing after noon
The course played quickly. I was playing as a single and didn't catch the single in front of me until the 11th hole. Course could use more water but the greens were in great shape.
Pete Dye Crying
This used to be such a gem of a public course in San Diego. The Pete Dye design once showed greatness, but lack of care and investment in the ownership has really let this place go down the toilet. Dirt patches and gopher holes. Fire ants all over the greens and uneven tee boxes. Simply put - it’s a disaster.
I’m trying my best to be informative and put this nicely… but ownership of Carlton Oaks… PLEASE figure your $@!+ out and reinvest in the property. The layout of the course is amazing and has potential to be the best public course in greater San Diego county, but the lack of care (aka lack of water and maintenance) has destroyed this once-great golf course.
I will not be back until something changes… which is a real bummer because it’s close to home and was always one of my favorite courses to play growing up.
Don't waste your money.
Don't waste your money it's not even really golf it's more you need a chiropractor after the round worst golf course in the world.
Horrible day
Pace of play was so horrible we ended up leave after hole 10. We were waiting around 10 minutes every hole . Sometimes longer. Also the course is just in horrible shape. Roller my ankle multiple times do to holes everywhere. Fair ways are basically one big bunker. No matter where u land u are hitting from dirt . Green were not well kept either
Hello, rpmalGolf. Thank you for visiting us at Carlton Oaks Lodge & Country Club. We appreciate your 4-star rating and review. We hope you join us for another round soon.