Thursday: Barona Creek. The fact that it's a wonderful course has already been discussed here at great length. More to the point of "great length" (get it?) is the fact that at least ten new back tees have been added for the Nationwide Tour Championship this fall. The holes are 2, 4, 5, 6, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, and 18 with probably 350 yards being added. The biggest change is on #4: into any kind of wind, the left fairway will be difficult for some players to reach, and carrying the bunkers will be extremely tough. Everything about the course was presented beautifully. There is talk of some fairways being narrowed for the tournament but let's hope that doesn't happen.
Friday: San Diego Country Club. I received a surprise invite and I was very lucky to play 27 holes there. I haven't played the course since 1995. A Cary Bickler renovation about four years ago lengthened a number of holes and added seven new fairway bunkers (5, 7, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, I think). They're all shallow and I'm not sure they were necessary, to be honest. The holes most affected by new tees are #3 at 245 yards, #8 nearly 570, #16 over 600, and #18 at 460. Things around the greens look great and the bunkers still have their huge sandy faces reminiscent of Southern Hills. The property has a lot of small (10-15 foot tall) trees close together, in addition to the large eucalipti. It's very common to have an impeded swing on shots from the rough. I think many of those trees will stay small but there will be some foliage issues if they grow large. Overall the course remains a fantastic experience, and getting into the Pacific Coast Amateur there this summer remains one of my biggest goals.
Saturday: Redhawk. Tommy and Tim, you expressed your dislike for the course, but didn't you see the size of the waterfall on the way in? I mean, it's a big waterfall! I don't see what you guys have against waterfalls. Hydrophobes...
OK. Is it the best course in the San Diego area? Of course not. It's probably not in the top twenty. But it's also not nearly as bad as you said it was. The fairways are very narrow, yes. I wouldn't say the houses are in play unless you hit one very far sideways. The only thing claustrophobic about the course was not the houses - it was those long dark tunnels between a few of the holes. That said, I agree the corridors should have been larger. The fairways had some unnecessary pinch points. Also, most of the holes are in valleys; the sides of the valleys were planted with bushes and the OB stakes were at the bottom of the sides rather than the top. I would suggest that the grass should extend higher up those hillsides.
I generally dislike tiered greens, especially three- and four-tiered greens like Redhawk's. But they played better than I remembered them because there are a lot of small slopes within the tiers that make short shots interesting. Many of the greens are elevated above deep hollows of rough, a feature that is difficult and either repetitive or consistent, depending on your point of view. The greens were spongy, and although they were moderately fast, they were not consistent. Overall the course was in acceptable condition.
Ed, all of the holes with cross hazards are now marked with yardage signs from the tee.
Alas, the putting green has been split into two chipping greens, high and low. You won't lose balls but you might lose interest. A new, non-matching putting green has been constructed next to the cantina (yes, the cantina).
Overall, the course is not unfair. It is tight, probably too tight for the average player, and it's reasonable to fault the course for that. But it's far from the worst course out there, and if you can hit the ball more or less down the fairway, you can certainly enjoy your day out there. If you're really wild off the tee, you're not likely to have fun. But we had a good time, and although I won't strongly suggest it as a place to play, I will attest that it's very possible to enjoy it for 18 holes.