Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa

If you ever get a chance to play The Farms, go! And bring some extra golf balls with you!

Probably one of the most unique, challenging, and incredibly designed golf courses in the country.

No two holes or golf shots are alike here. Filled with tons of elevation changes, sloping and tight fairways, deep bunkers, elevated greens and plenty of hazards, you’ll be forced to hit every golf club in your bag. There is no way to fake your way around this course. Either you’re straight or not. The course gives you nothing, and if you are a serious golfer... look no further.

Great food and service. It’s said to be home to some of the best amateur golfers in the country.

Came back for a couple of pre Christmas rounds at one of my favorite courses. Customer service is still over the top excellent. Course is in great shape for the most part . Fairways were in excellent shape. Very green and lush throughout. Greens were rolling smooth but have a LOT more undulations than I remember. Basically the greens kicked my tail! Some Sand traps were a bit hard packed and a couple of tee boxes on the par 3's were full of divots.

Overall the course is still in really nice shape. The elevation changes mixed in with all the water features makes this track a winner in my book.

Aviara is a challenging course that eases the pain with its beauty.

Some miscellaneous info. Driving range (balls are included with green fees) is mat only so getting a correct tee height for your driver is challanging. Carts have GPS with numbers to the pins. Rounds are generally 4 1/2 hrs long. Beverage cart comes around on a regular basis.

The LPGA play here in March so can see how you measure up against the "girls" on one of their regular tour courses

The customer service Is great. The course itself is a top 3 in all of Southern California, conditions were fantastic. I would only play if you get the afternoon rates due to the cost of playing an Arnold Palmer design. But the signature 18th will be playing into the Sun in the afternoon so I may choose a cloudy day next time.

Top line: expensive course with sub-par muni conditions

I, like most golfers, had the Torrey Pines as a ‘must play’ on my list. While I don’t regret playing it again, you need to lower your expectations for the conditions. If you are playing $200+ for a round of golf, one would expect for there not to be standing water in bunkers and tee boxes that were dirt patches... The layout was very cool that required lots of different shots, and the views were the absolute best.

Bottom line: while it was fun to play the course the Pros play, poor conditions made it less fun

The course and conditions were excellent. I really enjoyed the consistency of the greens.

Concerning price, this course is out of my budget. However, if I can find a way to play less than $130 of my own money, I’ll consider it. To bring the price down I suggest you do what I do and save up credits as a GolfNow frequent player and then apply the earned promo codes for discounted golf. I was able to get my $190 Hot Deal price down to $140 with $50 in promo codes. Furthermore, ask friends and family for GolfNow gift certificates for your birthday. Then redeem it for a round at Aviara.

I enjoyed the round. I’ll play at Aviara again next year.

Yes I mean Heavenly as in the Ski Resort. Sorry Arnold but moguls are for ski hills not fairways.

The water features are fairly spectacular-I guess they should thank Northern Cal for all the water.

It's a pass for me but the LPGA can have it!

BTW My wife is a 15 HDCP and I love playing golf with her. She hated it.

Nice course but overpriced. The price should be around $100 based on courses played in the Scottsdale area.

On my previous visits my group was amazed at the course conditions. It seemed that every blade of grass was perfect. Fast forward to last week: Even though the layout is still great, we were all surprised that the course is no longer immaculately maintained. Not sure its is worth the $170 we paid. Great par 3s!

This course is everything you should want. Great weather, conditions, pace of play and staff. Play the tips and you'll be wounded. Play the proper tee and you'll be totally satisfied. Greens are huge. Plan some 3 putts. It's fabulous so enjoy.

It used to be you could play the North course and avoid a solid kick to the gunt like on the South. No mas. The new bent grass greens repel shots over 130yds unless struck with very precise contact and spin. You better play a tour ball as well. Green complexes were redesigned with a ton of movement and sometimes multiple tiers. Frustrating to hit a 160 yd 7 iron only to see it release off the back. But that's the new reality. Adjust your expectations and enjoy the views. Not a fan of the fact they removed so many trees....but the views are million dollar from most of the course. As mentioned, nines have been reversed. ...meh on that. Still one of the best deals anywhere for twilight. Get on it!

While this is arguably one of San Diego's most beautiful courses with stunning landscaped layouts it's a little pricey for regular play. Pro shop staff a bit confused but Starter and Marshalls definitely make up for it. Treat yourself once!

For $250+ at peak times and $140 Twilight, Aviara leaves a lot to be desired, at least the way I found it in late June this year. The fairways and greens were both inconsistent, and a few were even plugged. I realize courses sometimes have to do this, but by June things should be in peak shape. The 3 or 4 greens that were plugged had so much sand on them that putting was quite difficult, and significantly slower than the other greens, which themselves rolled much slower than I expected.

I did enjoy the layout with the exception of the 10th hole, which is quite honestly one of the dumbest holes I've encountered in my life. Zero aiming point and a dogleg at about 220 yards - on a Par 5? The layup yardages on that hole on the cart were also inaccurate.

A course charging this much should be in nearly immaculate shape at all times, not simply when a professional tour event rolls through.

The redesign is epic, the front 9 is beautiful, but when you wind your way past the beautiful 14th, you get to the most beautiful hole in San Diego, 15 par 3 overlooking the ocean, with the beautiful pines. Just because it's not the tough south course, doesn't mean it's not tough. This course was super challenging, my short game and putting was great, other than that my second shot needs the most work. This is one very special golf course.

This is a beautiful course!! Track has Three of the most beautiful par 3's in California Hole#7 at Pebble is spectacular but the flowers, ponds and waterfalls on holes 3,11, & 14 at Aviara are just absolutely gorgeous. Elevation changes and more scenic water hazards add the enjoyable experience.

This is a resort course that plays like a true championship difficult course but yet manageable so you can shoot your normal score. Customer service is beyond superb. I can't say enough about the genuine friendliness of the entire staff.

The greens are in the process of being aeratyed so speed control was a bit off has every third green had recently been sanded. The rough while lush is thick and punishing after being in it for a while. Sand traps are excellent. There are a few fairways that are brown but other than that the course is a full on top notch track. Aviara has moved into a top 3 courses I've played.

I can't say enough good things about this corse I played by myself after the rates went down so I saved some money Besides being beautiful it's interesting and when played from the proper tees is fair for every golfer Don't miss this place if your in San Diego

Aviara remains a premier golf property but comes at a price. Cost is about 20% over where it should be.

Some of the greens were punched and sanded. Not mentioned by the starter which was a surprise.