I have been to the tournament there many times.
I know that all of the tour players love going there for the exact reason stated above... the entire atmosphere at Callaway is great, very relaxing.
As for the course, it is a classic Dick Wilson course. It has some very interesting holes and is really solid throughout. While not overly dramatic or breathtaking, the routing is good and flows through some slightly rolling land. The hole variety is nice. The 15th hole is exceptional...the short approach over the water is played from a downhill lie, so the players really have to think about what kind of shot to hit...try to float it in high and soft or punch it real low with tons of spin? I have sat at that green for hours at a time watching the pros position their lay-ups and then stress over the approach.
The 17th is also a really good hole. Its green is shown on the link offered above. It is a middle length par four with a green that BEGS for a fade approach but a tree encroaches on the left that really forces the players to position their tee shots or be faced with a real difficult approach.
Other holes are similarly interesting. All in all I think that the course is above average for a tour stop. I also seem to remember that it is often considered one of the best conditioned courses on tour. Is it as good as Riv or any other of the great classics, probably not...but it is pretty good. I do think, though, that the course could be lengthened just a little in places. For example, the sixth hole is the longest (I think) par four on the front side, somewhere in the 435 yard neighborhood, and I remember just about all of the pros were hitting three woods off of the tee. Maybe just eight or ten yards here or there would make the players take some more drivers off the tee.
Anyway, that is just my take on the course.
Keith.