Barona Creek GC (San Diego, CA) - Photo Tour

[Jordan Standefer]

A recent thread on recommendations in the San Diego area gave me the idea of taking my camera out to Barona Creek Golf Club.

Barona Creek Golf Club (Public)

 
Location: Lakeside, CA  (about 45 minutes northeast of downtown San Diego) 
 
Architect: Todd Eckenrode (under Baird Design)
 
Black - 7092 yards - 74.4/140
Gold - 6632 yards - 72.0/136
Silver - 6231 yards - 69.8/131
Burgundy - 5296 yards - 70.6/126
 
All yardages are from the Gold tees.
 
#1 - Par 5/512 yards
 
Whether you are going for this green in two or laying up, a tree in the fairway
about 110 yards from the green will have to be negotiated.  Left of the tree
will give the golfer an open look at the green.  As with most holes at Barona,
the firm turf will allow a run-up approach from the correct angle.
 
Tee shot

 
Landing Zone

 
100 yard approach

 
Green

 
#2 - Par 4/377 yards
 

 

 

 
#3 - Par 3/215 yards
 

 

[Jordan Standefer]

#4 - Par 4/416 yards
 
A downhill two-shotter, the golfer's line from the tee will vary greatly
depending on the wind (another common theme at Barona).  A wide fairway is
obscured by the placement of the fairway bunkers, a visual trick used
effectively a few times during the round.
 

 

 

 
#5 - Par 4/370 yards
 

 

 

 
#6 - Par 5/522 yards
 

 

 

 

[Jordan Standefer]

#7 - Par 3/151 yards
 
Redan
 

 

 
#8 - Par 4/370 yards
 

 

 

 
#9 - Par 4/383 yards
 

 

 

[Jordan Standefer]

#10 - Par 4/413 yards
 

 

 

 
#11 - Par 3/152 yards
 

 

 
#12 - Par 4/385 yards
 
Perhaps the most intimidating tee shot on the course, the golfer is required
drive his ball to a blind landing zone.  Though not a long hole, a decision must
be made on both club and line off the tee.  A long iron or hybrid can be played
to the crest of the hill towards the small trees in the distance, but a driver
or 3-wood must be played over the bunkers on the far right, or risk running
through the fairway on the left.
 

 

 

 

[Jordan Standefer]

#13 - Par 5/513 yards
 
This canted fairway will leave the ball below your feet (for the right handed)
all the way to the green.
 

 

 

 

 
#14 - Par 4/300 yards
 
The tightest hole on the course, two precise uphill shots are required to get on
the green.  The back tier of this green is tucked behind a bunker, while front
pin positions flirt with a dangerous false front.
 

 

 

 
#15 - Par 4/392 yards
 
The highest point on the course.  The tee box is protected by trees and
boulders, so the golfer will have to note the wind direction before arriving. 
Though the right side of the fairway will move balls back toward the middle, the
bunkers down that side will grab any drive that is too strong.
 

 

 
Not visible on approach, the back three-quarters of this green tilt noticeably
away.  Many approach shots without the right spin or distance control will find
themselves well away from a middle pin, or perhaps off the green entirely.
 

 

[Jordan Standefer]

#16 - Par 3/137 yards
 

 

 
#17 - Par 5/548 yards
 

 

 

 

 

 
#18 - Par 4/440 yards
 
A stout finisher.  A drive left of center will leave a better angle into this
green, albeit slightly further away from a drive down the right.
 

 

 

[Tim Leahy]

Great pics. How about Maderas or the Grand next?

[Tommy Williamsen]

Do you like the course?
Bunkering seems different on the back nine.

[Jordan Standefer]

Do you like the course?

I do.  Especially when you consider the public options in the county.

[Jason Thurman]

Jordan, that's what I always hear. No one ever gives a glowing endorsement of Barona. It's just the best in a crappy area for public golf.

But when I look at photos, the course looks pretty great. I don't look closely enough to try and ascertain strategy or anything like that, but the aesthetics look wonderful. What keeps it from being mentioned in the same class as places like Rustic Canyon?

[Jordan Standefer]

What keeps it from being mentioned in the same class as places like Rustic Canyon?

The course, on its own merits, plays similar to Rustic.  The ball bounds down the fairways, certain angles are preferred to access the greens, and sometimes aiming away from the pin will get you closer to the hole.

However, I'm pretty certain more dirt was moved at Barona.  I think I read somewhere that the creeks running along holes #5, #6, and #17 were created.  The lakes on the property (coming into play on #9 and #18) aren't natural, either.  Rustic is minimalist in that regard.  That's not to say that Barona's routing doesn't fit the land-- it does-- but there are those aspects.

Barona Creek is also part of a casino/hotel on a Native American reservation, where as Rustic Canyon is much more understated.  So that might play into one's viewpoint.

As far as an endorsement, I always enjoy my time out there and I would recommend it to anyone who finds themselves in SD with their sticks.  When the question about where to play in SD comes up, Torrey Pines and Coronado are the two places that usually get mentioned the most.  Torrey costs an arm and a leg for an out-of-towner and you might not get out on Coronado because the place is usually packed to the gills.  I think Barona is worthy of mention.

[Mark McKeever]

Thanks for the tour, it looks great!

MM

[Frank Sekulic]

It is by far the best public option in San Diego, yet it gets very little play despite being a 30 minute drive from most of the county.

[Patrick Kiser]

Outstanding!

I'm really impressed with how it's looking given the drought.  Really good management of the native in this case.

It all ties in so nicely and the colors look great.  The course seems to be maturing nicely.

Thanks for posting and sharing.

[DMoriarty]

Jordan,  Thanks for posting the pictures.  Barona is definitely worth checking out for anyone down in that area.  

Jordan, that's what I always hear. No one ever gives a glowing endorsement of Barona. It's just the best in a crappy area for public golf.

But when I look at photos, the course looks pretty great. I don't look closely enough to try and ascertain strategy or anything like that, but the aesthetics look wonderful. What keeps it from being mentioned in the same class as places like Rustic Canyon?

Jason,  While I like both courses very much I have a clear personal preference for Rustic, but I can see why others might see it differently.  I generally agree with Jordan's comments on the differences, but thought it might be fun to pull up something I wrote over a dozen years ago when the courses were new and the comparison came up much more.   Overall, I still agree with my previous assessment, although repeat plays have increased my appreciation for Rustic, and probably haven't done the same at Barona (although I've probably only played it a dozen times.)

Any, this is from 2002, answering a question about how the two courses should rank:

Lou

That is a great question, but I am not going to answer, at least not yet.  

First, I have played Barona 5 times under a variety of conditions, but have only played Rustic once. Any comparison would be premature.  This is especially true because my one round at Rustic left many more questions than answers.  

Second, I don't find ranking courses as productive as some on this site.  Don't get me wrong, I love to read the comparisons, but I just don't get much out of the "which is better" question.  I like both of these courses quite a lot. I would rather play either one rather than any other public-access course south of Ventura.  If they were both close to my house I would play one or the other every weekend.  

I will say this, they are very different.  A few of the differences:

The Sites.  Rustic is unlike many of the canyon courses in California in that it plays mostly on the canyon floor (like Riviera.)  The movement in the land is definitely there, but it is very subtle.  Barona, in comparison, has lots of ups and downs.  The movement is more obvious.

Tee shots.  With the exception of a few holes at Barona, you really see what you get.  And, as the photos demonstrate, Barona a beautiful course to look at from the tees.  At Rustic, it is not so simple.  Most of the tees are low profile and the absence of the usual bunkering makes perception off the tee difficult. The shots aren't blind, just not obvious. There aren't any targets.  And the greens are, for the most part, extremely low profile.  No green complex, just an interesting area that it mowed slightly shorter than the surrounds.  For example the green on the three shot 10th is a long and narrow rectangular green that runs along the side of the wash. No bunkers, no built up base, plenty of room to miss to the right, no way to distinguish the green area except for the slight difference in the grass.  I thought I hit a very good pitching wedge from about 125 -- thought I had 10 feet -- but was left with what seemed like a 90 foot putt.  Very deceptive.

Bunkering.  Both course have beautiful bunkering, but very different.  Barona's bunkers are big, flashy, bright, white, and jagged, and contrast against  both the green fairways and the stark surrounds.  Many of the holes are defined by the big beautiful Barona bunkers.  Rustic's are much more subtle (again).  Slightly darker, earthy sand, in places where one could imagine a bunker or waste area forming naturally.  Blended. And some are tiny, concave, ominous.   Barona has many bunkers, but a few at Rustic are really scary.

Strategy.  The fairways at Rustic are extremely wide and thus offer an multitude of angles from which to approach the green.  The greens offer interesting contours which help dictate the desired attack.  It will take me many rounds before I feel like I will be able to figure out the best angles, if I ever do.  Barona certainly offers choices, and even I can usually figure out what they are.

Conditions.  At this point, Barona plays harder and faster, especially around the greens (even with the overseeded Rye).  I have a feeling that over time Rustic will catch up.  At both courses, hard and fast will be a necessity if they want to keep the interesting options alive.  This may even be more true at Rustic, which is really relying in the countours around the green to define the strategy of the holes.  

Scoring.  I am not a very good golfer, and certainly felt challenged by Barona.  When I got a rare good score I felt like I really earned it.  The course seems difficult.  At Rustic, it is the opposite.  The course seems like it should be easy --  wide open fairways, short par threes, greens not guarded by bunkers. A number of short, wide par 4s.  I hit the ball well Saturday (after a miserable start), yet, it was difficult for me to score. The challenges were apparently there, just less obvious.  I am curious to hear from some of the more accomplished golfers whether you have a similar experience at Rustic.  

Playability.  As I said above, Rustic will be playable for all levels of golfer.  I am of the Mackenzie school on this one, and believe that this is should be a goal of most (if not all) designs.  Barona may be less playable to the hack, like me, but is still very playable and enjoyable.

Appeal to the Public.  Barona has already shown that it can be successful. This is potentially good for S.C. public golf, in that it may help convince more developers to step outside the box and build better, more interesting courses.  At Rustic, winning over the public might be more of a challenge.  The course is SO DIFFERENT than anything most in Ventura and LA counties have seen.  If you thought Barona was different, just wait until you see Rustic.  I hope the public loves it (but not so much that I can't get out.)  I have a feeling that, at $40 dollars on the weekend, Rustic will get all the play it can handle.  

In sum:  Barona is more of a "you get what you see" experience, and a thrilling one at that.  Rustic is much less defined, more esoteric.  The thrill will be in trying to figure it out.   I would play either any day.

How is that for a long-winded non-answer?  

[Andrew Buck]

It is by far the best public option in San Diego, yet it gets very little play despite being a 30 minute drive from most of the county.

Yep, I enjoyed it thoroughly when we played.  One of the best parts is for $64 in the afternoon, we walked 18 holes and never were within two holes of another group on either side ... however we may have caught someone if Frank didn't have to wait for me to cautiously look in every direction for snakes down all the walking paths.

[Paul Gray]

It looks superb. Looking at the turf it perhaps would benefit from drying out just a touch more but I'm a Brit and know not of these foreign playing conditions so am merely throwing about an ill informed opinion. From initial viewing it looks to have bags of interest if allowed to play suitably firm and fast.

Thanks for the excellent tour.

[Pete Lavallee]

I played there on Sunday and the course is MUCH DRIER than depicted in these photos. They did their annual maintenance in Sept., aerating the greens and it looks like they dethatched the bermuda fairways some. However they didn't overseed this year and the turf is very tight and dry right now with the Bermuda about to go dormant. Give Sandy Clark and his crew credit, they always go for playability over looks!

[Andrew Buck]

It looks superb. Looking at the turf it perhaps would benefit from drying out just a touch more but I'm a Brit and know not of these foreign playing conditions so am merely throwing about an ill informed opinion. From initial viewing it looks to have bags of interest if allowed to play suitably firm and fast.

Thanks for the excellent tour.

I was there two weeks ago, and it was as dry as any course I've been fortunate to play.  It also was a little more brown in my mind, so I wonder if overseeding has started to take.

[Stewart Abramson]

It looks superb. Looking at the turf it perhaps would benefit from drying out just a touch more but I'm a Brit and know not of these foreign playing conditions so am merely throwing about an ill informed opinion. From initial viewing it looks to have bags of interest if allowed to play suitably firm and fast.

I was there two weeks ago, and it was as dry as any course I've been fortunate to play.  It also was a little more brown in my mind, so I wonder if overseeding has started to take.

Andrew is correct. I played Barona on 18 October and it was a little browner than shown in several of the photos.I think it may be  because of the color saturation level of the posted photos rather than the overseed. The course was dry and firm with  lot of fairway roll. In case you have an appetite for even more Barona photos, here's a link to mine: https://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/sets/72157646637756504/

[Andrew Buck]

I guess i should qualify that the fairways were as dry as any I played, the greens were firm, but not overly so.

Also, this excludes the courses of my youth that lacked watered fairways in drought summers.

[Ivan Lipko]

One of my favorites. Thanks!