La Costa

[John_D._Bernhardt]

I like the way the holes set up for the match play championship this week. I have not played there. Who designed the course and have any changes been made from a few years ago. they appear to have strategic balance and demand good shots. the holes look to fit the land very nicely.

[Richard_Goodale]

I agree, JDB.  Brings a tear to my eye that they moved the Mercedes to Kapalua......

[John_McMillan]

I played LaCosta around 1994.  The course was designed by Dick Wilson.  There are two courses at the LaCosta resort - North and South, and they create an 18 hole course out of these 36 for championship play.  I played the entire 36, but still don't have a good feel for the championship course, since some holes are used and others aren't - and other than the first couple of the North course being the first of the championship course, and the last of the South course being the closing of the championship, it's pretty confusing which are part and which aren't.  Landwise, it's a pretty flat piece of land - turned up at all the edges.  The resort/spa is built on one rim, and the others contain houses.  The elevation change for the approach to the 18'th green is about it as hilly as the course gets.  The thing which I remember most about the course is incredibly long and thick rough.  Being Southern California, as long as it has a regular supply of water, grass grows there pretty much without restraint.  I think it's as close as possible to a good course built on a flat site around lots of rough - but there's only so good that style is going to be.  The PGA tour likes it, because it has some resistance to scoring, but there are lots of other courses I'd go back to play before LaCosta.

[Pete Lavallee]

I find the tournameent course at La Costa very enjoyable. The front nine is played as part of the North course and the back nine is the back nine for the South course. The extra nines that are used to make up the North and South courses, appear to have been added at later time, and are not as good as the original Wilson holes. I believe the holes across the street on the North course were designed by Joe Lee.  

[John_McMillan]

I don't think it's as simple as front 9 North = front 9 championship; back 9 South = back 9 championship, though that's approximately true.

I'm pretty sure that the 16'th on the North course is the 7'th on the Championship, and I think there are a couple other exceptions.

[Shoter]

I spent a few years here and think that the "tournament course" is a really good Dick Wilson design. If you can single out the original holes it is a great routing. I think it may be one of his best efforts, on par if not better than Cog and Bay Hill.  It's pretty interesting to look at the GD top course book from about 30 years ago and view what the LaCosta hillside looked like. This was once a ranch "rancho la costa". Like many similar properties, demand dictated more golf. The problem was that on the now south course there just wasn't (and still isn't) enough room. What is now the front nine of the south course is a real shame. I don't blame Joe Lee for this, he had no chance with the land he was given. The routing for the original course is now 1,2,3,13,14,15,16,17,18 of the north course and then the entire back nine of the now named south course (including golf's longest mile 15-18). The new holes on the north course are on much better property, although I spent two years on this course almost every day and can't remember them. If you can get to play the "tournament course" I'd make a special trip, if you can't then go to Sea World.

[Jeff_Lewis]

What is the story with this poa greens? Are they as bad as they look? There is no traffic on this golf course, yet we have never seen so many 4 foot or shorter putts missed...many of them not even touching the hole!

[John_McMillan]

Shoter,

How does one get a chance to play the "tournament course?"  The only options on the resort's web-site are to play either the North or South courses (at $185 a round).  Are there ever occasions they offer play on the tournament course?  One would guess they're rare, if they exist, since it would involve the resort going with only 18 holes of golf, instead of 36, on any particular day.

[Ran Morrissett]

JDB,

Conversely, I wonder if the course looks better than it plays?

Take the (I think) 15th hole. A medium length sub 400 yard hole that doglegs to the left to a small green surrounded by bunkers. Sounds good so far but the more I look at it, the more I wonder.

The bunkers are all well away from the green which seems curious on a hole of this length. Yes, the green is well "framed" but is there any strategy? The rounded green shape doesn't seem to favor a ball coming in from any particular angle or side of the fairway.

I agree with you that the bunkers visually have real appeal but I wonder about the heart and soul of the course.

Cheers,

[Pete Lavallee]

John,
It is possible to play the tournament course. If you are one of the first groups off the North, you play the first three, and intsead of going under the road, you play 13-18 North to complete the front nine. As long as you hit the 10th tee of the South before the anybody from that course does, you're home free.

[A_Clay_Man]

I was there in 96 for the mercedes and don't remember those rocks on 17. To me they were out of place and seemed recently added, which reminded me of Love's work on the third at Wilshire. Blah
 Does anyone know if that is the case?