Coronado GC (pics)

[David Stamm]

I played here again earlier in the week and thought the gang might appreciate some photos I took.


Coronado Municipal Golf Course enjoys a wonderful and unique setting quite unlike alot of city owned courses throughout the country. Designed by Jack Daray in 1957, it is a pleasant experience on one of the most played courses in the country. This would prove to be one of Daray's last courses before his death the following year. Daray had come to California for health reasons after serving as pro at Olympia Fields in Chicago. Daray had also designed courses for military bases as well such as Admiral Baker GC, also in San Diego.






While there is the typical palm tree setting that is so often seen throughout the city, Coronado offers a very easy and leasurely walk throughout some wonderful views of the bay and city skyline. Here is the opening tee shot on the 371 yd par 4 1st.




The approach on the par 5 2nd, 500 yds.



Not confining in any way, the playing corridors are wide and spacious. The tee shot on the 406 yd par 4 3rd.




One is always reminded of the unique setting everywhere the golfer looks. The green for the 3rd..



The property winds it way throughout some of the neighborhoods of the military city. Generations of retired naval officers homes can be seen and in no way take away from the experience. It some parts it reminds one in some ways of the front nine at Pacific Grove. The approach to the 536 yd par 4 5th.



Some subtle fw movement on the 396 yd par 4 6th.




The uphill approach to the 409 yd par 4 10th.




The view from left of the tee on the 142 yd par 3 11th. A quintessential San Diego look.



From the fw on the 543 yd par 5 13th. Again the wide playing corridors are apparent. The conditions as the viewer can see are top notch and one wonders if this really is a muni. Rarely has this golfer seen conditions on high end daily fee courses as good as this. Dave Jones should be commended on his efforts.




The green of the same hole



The 391 yd par 4 14th.




From in front of the right greenside bunker




The proximity to the marina of Coronado is very unique and is also very San Diegan as it reminds one of the close ties the city has with the sea.



The tee shot on the 370 yd par 4 16th Cape hole, probably the most famous hole here and in this golfer's mind, also the best.



As the golfer walks the fw to his ball he is greeted with this view to the right. This golfer couldn't help wonder what others were doing in other parts of the country this Holiday Season!




A closer view of the famous Hotel del Coronado from the fw, a San Diego landmark and oldest, largest all wood structure still standing in the U.S.




The greensite...



The tee shot on the 427 yd par 4 17th.




The view to the right..




The approach..




The tee shot on the home hole, the 493 yd par 5 18th





Coronado is not in any way an architectural marvel. The critic can easily imagine what more could've been done with such a property. What Coronado IS is a pleasant day of golf with wonderful views of one of the finest cities in America. For all of $25 for visitors, one can hardly ask for more.

[Matt_Ward]

David:

I've had the pleasure in playing the course -- I also had the pleasure in staying at the Hotel Del which is a real treat.

Quick question -- given the proliferation of trees bordering the fairways like junkyard dogs were the trees a feature that came later or has that always been the situation there?

No doubt -- the views of the entire area when playing are stellar.

[David Stamm]

David:

I've had the pleasure in playing the course -- I also had the pleasure in staying at the Hotel Del which is a real treat.

Quick question -- given the proliferation of trees bordering the fairways like junkyard dogs were the trees a feature that came later or has that always been the situation there?

No doubt -- the views of the entire area when playing are stellar.

Matt, I don't know. I haven't seen early photo's of the course but I would imagine that it was alot more open (less or no trees) when it first opened. It is a very exposed piece of property and becomes quite interesting when a brisk wind comes in from off the bay.

[ed_getka]

David,
   Thanks for sharing pix of my old stomping grounds when I lived in San Diego.
   For many years I would go for runs by the course, but never played it thinking it was just an executive course for some reason. Once I did get out there and play I enjoyed it quite a bit. It has some interesting holes, but it used to be even better until they dumbed down 4-5 holes in the interest of speeding up play. The most egregious example being #9 the par 3. There used to be a deep bunker guarding the front right of the green, and with the prevailing wind, attacking the pin was a risky proposition as getting up and down out of the sand was far from a certainty.
    At first glance/round, one might not think the course is much to write home about, but then you keep playing it over and over and you realize you are not getting bored. Then you wonder why the course is still interesting after 30 rounds and you start noticing interesting and subtle features aren't uncommon here. Given the usual pace of play (slow) 10 years ago, you had plenty of time to contemplate such things.
   #1 par 4  This hole is effectively a slight dogleg left. Down the right side are (were?) a couple of bunkers that protected the preferred angle in. This preferred angle was set up by the narrow green being set on a diagonal from 4:00 to 10:00. The green is raised up about 2-3 feet in front and goes up another foot on the way to the back of the green. An excellent starting hole.

[ed_getka]

David,
   On the one picture you meant to say the Par 5  4th hole.
Does that hole still have an alternate green?

[TEPaul]

David:

For some reason I actually walked around that course about six years ago.

Does it have anything to do with that great hotel---eg The Del Coronado or whatever?

I stayed in that thing back in the Tunney campaign in 1970 and my wife and I stayed in it about six years ago during some drug company convention in San Diego (she worked for a drug company).

The hotel told us our room might be haunted.

Of course being the ultra-Doubting Thomas I am I just said:

"Yeah right, haunted houses and haunted rooms are the illogical imaginations of little kids and wackos."

Well, anyway, we stayed in that haunted room and Goll Darnit to Hell if they weren't right---the room sure as shootin' was haunted.

I didn't get a real good look at the ghost so I can't tell you if it was a he or she or a murderer or a seacaptain or some old golfer but luckily I brought my .45 out there with me and whatever that ghost was I blew it away totally. I know I did because there was all kinda gooey shadows or whatnot on the wall.

Next morning I told the hotel Goll darnit to Hell if they weren't right about that ghost and the haunted room but that I blew it away last night with my .45 and even if they looked a bit hurt and disappointed they told me if I didn't say anything for 6-7 years about blowing that ghost away they'd rip up my bill.

I said; "Ah, I understand, who the hell am I to ruin a great hotel's promotional stock--tear away."

[David Stamm]

David,
   On the one picture you meant to say the Par 5  4th hole.
Does that hole still have an alternate green?

Ed, you are right. I transposed the numbers. It's the par 5 4th. No alternate green seen.

[David Stamm]

David:

For some reason I actually walked around that course about six years ago.

Does it have anything to do with that great hotel---eg The Del Coronado or whatever?

 

Tom, it's not associated with the hotel. The hotel did have it's own course many, many years ago on the grounds. It's long gone.


Was the ghost seen after procuring some of California's finest reds?

[ed_getka]

A good stretch of holes is #6-8. All par 4's, but all asking different things of you.

#6 A longish par 4 that slides to the right on the way to a raised up green.

#7 The key is getting your drive in between the goalposts of trees. The hole moves a little to the left, but really prefer to stay down the right side. Given this hole is US Open width in the landing zone, you are just happy to be on short grass with the drive. A straight driver of the ball won't think too much of the hole, but for the rest of us the decision to try to go for birdie with driver is enticing, but missing the fairway will often preclude making par, so you have to think hard about laying up short of the gauntlet. Of course, laying up then makes the approach 2-3 clubs longer and birdie becomes less likely.

#8 is effectively a dogleg right, with bunkering protecting the direct line to the green. The wider a berth you give the bunkering left, the poorer your angle into the green becomes. Water down the left (from the pond you see in the photo to the left of #1) keeps you on your toes with the drive and the approach.
 

#11 par 3  An excellent par 3 with the green on a diagonal to the tee from 8:00 to 2:00. The green surface is raised up and has enough contour to keep an birdie putt interesting. Given the prevailing wind you are always extremely happy to put your tee shot on this green, which is a very elusive target.

#12 short par 4    Used to be a better hole until they put containment mounding all down the right (I can see why they did it, but it doesn't mean I have to like it). David will have to describe this one.
   I'll try from a 10 year old memory of it. The hole is probably 270 yards long. It arcs on a continuous crescent to the left off the tee. The opening to the green is almost perpendicular to the line off the tee, so you want to drive it as deep as possible into the fairway to open up the angle into the green. However, to do this one risks losing the ball right into some trees that used to make recovery difficult, but now mounding has neutered to some degree. The problem with driving deep into the fairway is then you are left with a half wedge shot which is never an easy proposition for a higher handicapper. Some nice internal contour on this green, and a nice grass bunker long right to give some variety.

#16-18 is a nice finishing stretch, with a nice birdie opportunity on the last. Water is down the right for all 3 tee shots as you work your way along the shore of the bay.

David did a really nice job of capturing the surrounding backdrop which makes for a pleasant day of golf. It is certainly one of the great values in SoCal golf.

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

This is a very fun course to play.  It really could have used a few more acres because the playing corridors are tight in some areas.  There is an internal OB on the right side of #13 to make the dogleg right play effictively.  I made my first ,very much not official, hole in one on this hole in the 1988 San Diego County Pinehurst Championship--my partner hit his drive OB right and I hit a wonderfull safety snap-hook left that followed a gimmie putt into the hole on the 16th green!  The group who had been playing the 16th were waiting for free beers when we finished--one more reason why the SD County events are fun to play.

[Craig Sweet]

You played here recently?  I can not relate....palm trees, green grass....!!!!

I have been snowboarding lots and lots of fresh deep powder everyday for the last week...wide and steep bowls.....ahhhh.....Montana!

[Mike_Cirba]

Coronado GC is a treat.   If you go there with a critical eye, you're just too damn intense.  

[Matt_Ward]

David, et al:

What would really be interesting is if Coronado underwent a modernization / upgrade, etc, etc -- I'd like to see the massive amount of trees removed and strategically located bunkers inserted instead.

I can remember what a few of the posters have stated -- the playing corridors are a bit too tight and often defeat the real gains the design seeks to provide.

I really enjoyed the course and anyone venturing to the greater San Diego area should include it -- the locale and the price are hard to beat.

[David Stamm]

#12 short par 4    Used to be a better hole until they put containment mounding all down the right (I can see why they did it, but it doesn't mean I have to like it). David will have to describe this one.
   I'll try from a 10 year old memory of it. The hole is probably 270 yards long. It arcs on a continuous crescent to the left off the tee. The opening to the green is almost perpendicular to the line off the tee, so you want to drive it as deep as possible into the fairway to open up the angle into the green. However, to do this one risks losing the ball right into some trees that used to make recovery difficult, but now mounding has neutered to some degree. The problem with driving deep into the fairway is then you are left with a half wedge shot which is never an easy proposition for a higher handicapper. Some nice internal contour on this green, and a nice grass bunker long right to give some variety.

 

Everything you describe is spot on except the yardage is 300 yds. Just a 5 or 6 iron off the tee really. You are correct about making sure about not driving it too far or else you'll have a tricky half wedge shot.

[David Stamm]

I can remember what a few of the posters have stated -- the playing corridors are a bit too tight and often defeat the real gains the design seeks to provide.

 

It's interesting to hear a few say this about the playing corridors. While I agree that a couple of holes are somewhat confining, especially the interior holes, I found the majority to be very wide open off the tee.

[Matt_Ward]

David:

My only point is that some careful revisions to the course would likely add to what is there now. I don't see the trees -- beyond their beauty -- being a real plus.

I have no allusions that my suggestion will happen (replacing trees with strategically-placed bunkers) but it would make for a far more attractive and likely enhanced overall design in my mind.

[David Stamm]

David:

My only point is that some careful revisions to the course would likely add to what is there now. I don't see the trees -- beyond their beauty -- being a real plus.

I have no allusions that my suggestion will happen (replacing trees with strategically-placed bunkers) but it would make for a far more attractive and likely enhanced overall design in my mind.

I understand. My choice also would be far less trees and open up the vistas more and enhance the strategy of the course with some well placed bunkers.

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

The front nine does have some pretty good width and would do very well by eliminating a large quantity of trees.  I am curious if there would be legal issues if a few trees on the back nine were eliiminated and someone got brained by a shot.  Last time I played there, shots from the 12th tee were still ending up on 13.  And on 16, players tend to aim down the 14th in order to stay away from the water.  This course gets played by a lot of very bad golfers.

[Forrest Richardson]

http://www.golfcoronado.com/assets/111.4Coronado%20Bunker%20Ph2.pdf

This is self-explanatory.

[Matt_Ward]

Forrest:

Thanks for the link.

I like a number of the suggestions -- but I have to wonder why the desire to get rid of the bunker behind the solitary tree on one of the early slides. Frankly, I'd rather see the tree go and the bunker enlarged.

Coronado is a very attractive course but the clutter of trees from the two times I have played the course only seem to minimize playing angles and encourage the bowling alley syndrome that often subtracts from the quality of the holes there.

An aggressive bunkering plan would enhance the overall nature of what is there IMHO.

Appreciate again the link.

[ed_getka]

Forrest,
   Thanks for the link. I liked the bunkering changes on #8 and #10 greenside. The rest I don't think fit particularly well into the landscape as I remember it.
    It is interesting that they are looking to make bunker changes which for the most part are going to make the hole seem more difficult, with the exception of #1. The grass bunker in the fairway is a horrible idea IMO. The bunker was always the key to getting in the best position for the approach. Granted rough isn't fairway, but a grass bunker does not pose as many problems as the high lip the sand bunker had. The reason I find the bunkering changes interesting is that about 15-20 years ago they took out or made more shallow most of the bunkering that was most strategic. I never talked to anyone about it at the time, but the intent was obviously to speed up play.

[Forrest Richardson]

Bunker removal does not necessarily speed pace. In fact, in many instances it goes against speed of play. A bunker shot around a green requires one club selection typically — not several choices as with short chipping areas, deep rough and other lies near greens. A sand shot is executed quickly and with little or no delay in deciding what to play. A particularly dangerous hazard before the green area usually helps guide the golfer, while one lame and uninteresting is of no great concern — yet it will be the one NOT avoided.

It strikes me that the work proposed at Coronado is somehow being determined in a vacuum. I am not sure it has been really well organized — but, I will admit that I know nothing about it beyond what I have seen on line.