San Diego Golf

Travel, Wine Tourism, and Restaurants Forum
1

One round…Maderas or Torrey Pines South course?

2

TP if you haven’t played it before and from the back tees for the full experience.

3

I have played it before but it was a long time ago. Never played Maderas and some friends say it is the best course in SD area and therefore the reason for the question.

And playing from the back tees would not be a “fun” experience for me.

4

Maderas. TP-S has all that fame and history of course, however it still is basically just one long beast of a golf course in a scenic coastal location. I assume you have a way to assure a decent tee time at TP but that is often a problem. Conditioning is sometimes suspect. Weather can also be a factor as well (fog, marine layer, etc.). And then there is the 5 hour round (not always, but if there is a corporate outing that day…watch out! Maderas is a higher-end daily fee course that, in my experience, is always in great condition, good pace of play and great weather since it is in Poway (inland).

Anybody higher than a 2 index who plays from the absolute back tees at TP-S (7,700 yards) is: a) a fool/masochist b) will not enjoy shooting 10-25 shots higher than their handicap(assuming they are counting everything and adding penalty shots when required) and, most infuriatingly, c) is contributing to the huge problem golf has with the pace of play. There is no way that most people can play from the tips at TP-S in less than 5 hours…even if nobody else is on the course. The problem with those guys is that not only aren’t they good enough to play back there, but they still want the “full experience” as Brig put it. That is, they will play every hole like it was the Open, will take their time looking for shot after wayward shot hit into the spinach and yet, they never pick up prior to holing out. I’m not saying this is you, Brig…I hope not. Those “full experience” types are the sort that make the sport less enjoyable for the rest of us and the “5+ hour round syndrome” is often given as a reason why folks don’t play more or take up the game in the first place. [soap.gif]

Playing TP and want to see it from the tips? By all means, if you have time (i.e. not holding anyone up behind you) walk back there (as much as 80 yards in the case of #9!) take a look, and thank god you don’t have to earn your living playing from back there. Then go out, play from the proper tee boxes for your skill level, and brag about the score you shot on the South…and that you hit 18 in 2! [cheers.gif]

5

No offense taken, I agree with your comments.

Aviara is another beautiful course, closer than poway.

6

I agree on all of the above and Aviara is a “fun” layout. Not as good of views as Torrey but beautiful none the less.
Havent played Maderas but have heard good things. If you have a chance and a decent tee time at TP-S by all means go for it, how often do you get to play a U.S. Open track? Just play from the appropriate tees.

7

Paul,
You played Torrey Pines. Is it worth $292 greens fee that out of staters pay? Worse for me was the 5-6 hours it took to play it. Even New York only extracts $130 from out of staters playing a truly great course, Bethpage Black. TP is not a great or fun golf course to me…it is just long slog and many of the holes look the same. I have stayed at the hotel next to the Aviara course, this Palmer design is fun and like Tom says, it does not have the TP ocean wow factor.

8

Thanks. I think I’m going to try Maderas. It’s been a long time since I played TP but I don’t remember it being long rounds. Again it’s been a long time.