Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa

I traveled to Lajolla specially to play Torrey Pines and was not disappointed. I could only play the south side to north being closed due to renovations. Some of the most memorable holes I've ever played... #3 ,#4 #1, #5,and #17 are amazing. Course had some bare spots but tees and greens were flawless, that's what counts. Factor in golf history ,weather and culture and I was thrilled to be able to play. I stayed at Hilton on 18th fairway so that made experience more complete. Only drawback was no on site clubhouse for refreshments but The Lodge is right there. Pro shop is a huge department store with all ur Torrey needs. Will be back to do North!!

Layout and scenery are outstanding. Tee boxes were punched and overseeded, a few of the greens were recently aerated and there were several bald spots, especially around the greens. Not too out of the ordinary for summer in San Diego. However, if you are paying rack rate, then I suggest waiting until maintenance is complete and the conditions improve. It should be perfect in the winter.

Definitely should be on your bucket list! Amazing course, beautifully designed and maintained. Great service and just overall a great place to test out your skills. Highly recommended!

The drought has done some serious damage to the fairways otherwise the course is beautiful

Second time playing Aviara and it was a great round. Many sceneic holes and challenging shots. Your experience depends on choosing the correct tees. The course can play both too easy or too difficult if you select the wrong tees. Ask starter for advice.

The course was in great shape! Highly recommend playing!

This was the 2nd time playing this course. The first time was right after a reseeding of the fairways. The difference was very significant. Not only were the fairways in much better condition, so was the rough. The greens are tough , but fair. Course played much longer and much more difficult. If you haven't played this course, you should. It is a beautiful resort. A bit pricey, but you definitely get what you paid for. You're at a high end resort and it feels that way... minus the snobbery you sometimes get at higher end golf resorts. Beautiful scenery and very challenging! I highly recommend it.

I booked the round on golf now and was forced to pay online before I played .$160... A discount!??

When I was warming up on the range someone told me it was there 25th anniversary and had rolled back prices yo opening day of $65. I politely asked the pro shop about this and said since pre paid a third party to play their course there was nothing they could do for me!!! No discount no here's a coupon for the next time you players. It would have been real easy for them to say hey there is not anything we can do because you booked through golf now but here's a shirt, a hat a f$&&&ing sleeve of balls anything!!! But no it's sorry pal have a nice day. Then when your done the do the typical fleecing t clean your clubs. We waited on every single shot all day!!! My clubs were clean believe me, so when I told them I'm good fellas they looked at each other and just said really dude.... Hey club cleaners here's the best tip you will ever get, if you have to ask for more money i.e. Tip after you do your job that your paid to do then it might be time for a real job..

The starter and my playing partner were the best part of the course . I had a great time with a gentleman from Texas, at least he helped me enjoy my birthday round.

The scenery/landscaping of this course was beautiful. Awesome Par 3's that will have you snapping a few photos off the tee. The fairways and greens were in great shape.

The locker room is open to the public golfers, and was a huge bonus to the pre/post round visit. Full locker rooms with showers/sauna etc.

Check golfnow and you should be able to play this course for around $130.

Well worth it.

I now live in LA, I played the NORTH last year and I played the SOUTH yesterday. This course is a great one, It's a legendary course and the most famous design from William Bell and Son. You immediately step into history and local golf culture here, make sure to chat with as many employees and locals as possible, they are very friendly with some great knowledge of the place. The staff is on their "A" game anybody that says different on here probably has some personal issues that they are projecting onto their experience here...but don't we all do that from time to time. The course is't extremely intimidating visually. Don't get me wrong, some of the approach shots are scary with the bunker layouts and raised blind greens from your approach. Also the par 4s play really long, really tough to get on in 2 with a head wind. I play a lot of public courses in LA and the greens here are a million times faster, hard for me to get used to uphill putts. The rough was down according to the locals we played with, still there were areas around the greens where my ball would get buried in some rough and it was very hard to play that kinda shot to a raised green, partly because I'm not used to being in that kinda rough with such short touchy shot, I screwed up a few times in that situation. In the rough with a long shot I was able to play it off my back foot and advance it nicely. Reading the greens was like being on an acid trip. This William bell was a sick genius, you swear you have a uphill left to right putt just to find out it's very much downhill right to left. I don't think I'm a slow golfer as I'm usually right on the leading group's butt when playing, but here I guess we ended up a hole behind after the first few holes. A local playing behind us kinda let us know that he was a local that has played there for the last 30yrs and that we should pick up our pace(he kinda yelled at us)...which we did and he thanked us for it later. I totally respect any local golf culture that I'm walking into and I hate when duffers visit a famous track and play super slow while taking a bunch of videos and pics with their phones...show some class people!! And make sure to play Torrey! If you respect the course and don't get too greedy, you can post a decent score at a true test of a course. It's not that difficult to get a tee time if you do your research and you will experience the game where so many greats have walked.

Watch out for #17, very tough 2nd finishing hole. Great fun overall, beautiful landscape.

You know how every course has that signature hole? It's their staple one? You could argue that EVERY hole at Aviara was a signature hole!! Very pricy, but you get your value.

Course is pretty pricy but you do get a lot for the money. Staff is very friendly and helpful. Track is in great shape and a good test of your golf game. Water comes into play on a lot of holes and lots of bunkers to contend with. Not a course I can play much do to cost, but if you have the extra money and feeling good about your game, well worth the play.

On my first trip to San Diego, Torrey Pines South was to be the "star" of the golf trip. Turned out to be a bust. We teed off on time at 12:10 pm and only barely finished at 6:00 pm. Spent virtually the entire day waiting to hit our next shot and we were walking. A group ahead were a hole and a half behind well before the turn. We thought we saw a ranger at one point, however, as soon as we neared him, he drove off without acknowledging us. Never saw another ranger; I realize it is a muni but at the prices out of towners pay, it should at least be a well-managed muni.

Weather-wise it was nice although foggy early. The layout was just OK; a few early holes along the coast were picturesque but the remaining holes (while well manicured) were not memorable.

I feel like I wasted a day of our trip playing this course and was cheated due to the cost. Got the feeling they are a muni coasting on their reputation. Won't happen again.

It's a giant property. I mean overall, it's a massive golf course. And that might intimidate some people, but if you can quickly realize that makes it mostly tee-shot friendly, there's plenty of space to put your drive, as well as par 3s. The fairways are mostly very wide all the way to the green too, so you get away with a lot. But then the fun begins, as you try to negotiate where to put it on the maniacal, massive, huge, gigantic, greens. But I've seen worse, even quicker greens. I doubt you can make the greens any quicker, it would make it impossible to play. The uphill putts still need a good whack, so you'll just have to leave yourself below the hole, and hope that you don't get too many silly sidehill putts. Other than that, it truly is a very pretty place, lots of flowers and lush vegetation. But because of that, you can understand why they have to charge you so much, to keep the HUGE property looking this good. So in the end, it's a course that was designed before the water-conservation and reduction came into place, during the period of opulent, grand-course design, so it has that exhaustive feel of an unnecessarily huge golf course property. And for being multiple-diamond hotel and resort properly, why is the snack shack so bad? That was almost like a muni course type quality. Doesn't match the rest of the place.

It is one of the most beautiful courses i've ever played, and the professional friendly staff is wonderful. The dining facilities and club house are also top notch.
However, the greens (though very well maintained) are not realistic and virtually unplayable…The putting experience on the greens is reminiscent of the frustration (and fun) found with negotiating amusement park miniature golf artificial greens.

A tough, tight course with some of the trickiest greens around. They not only were rolling fast, but the undulations are remarkable. Very easy to have a chip roll 30 feet past even if it's barely moving at the hole. Local knowledge on some of the doglegs invaluable. GPS in the cart helps, but the first round here is a doozy.

First, credit where credit is due: Torrey Pines is a historic golf Mecca, and the scenery is just about unmatched anywhere in the world.

But right now, the South course simply is not worth the $200+ greens fee commanded of out-of-towners.

The course was overseeded several weeks ago, and since then, maintenance appears to have been nonexistent. This is not an exaggeration: the fairways have not been mowed in weeks, and the bunkers have not been raked in perhaps that long. The greens are also still quite bumpy from having been punched, but I can almost live with that; after all, it has to be done. But on a course of this caliber, there is no excuse for not having raked a single bunker on the course. That's absurd.

I generally enjoyed the "vibe" of Torrey Pines (it felt like a municipal course, and usually in a good way...i.e., not intimidating, accessible), and I'm glad that I can check this one off my list. But I would not go back unless I were sure that maintenance had improved.

I'm rating it four stars because the scenery is unparalleled, and that's true no matter how shaggy the fairways get. But if this were another golf course, the course conditions would drag the rating down to three stars or fewer.

If you're a local, go have a blast. It's $40. Big whoop. But if you're an out-of-towner, wait until after the Farmers tournament next year so that you're assured the course has its game fact back on. Right now, it just doesn't.

I visited Aviara for the LPGA Kia Classic earlier this year and enjoyed watching the event at this beautiful course. Finally got around to playing it and it was well worth it. Despite being in a drought in Southern California and going through the aerification process the conditions were great. A few dead spots in the rough but nothing significantly affecting play. The greens were immaculate. Fast, smooth and perfectly maintained. The staff was extremely helpful and friendly including the starter and Marshall. The carts with GPS were the best GPS system I've seen on a golf cart to date. It is expensive being a resort course and I don't have the kind of money to be a regular here and play 3 days a week but it's well worth it to come here a few times a year as a treat.

Farms is in fabulous shape, no water problems, and the members are unpretentious. A solid young group of members helps assure the place is vibrant and will be around a long time. The course is challenging and will make you a better player.